Imagine a company that operates like a specialized global consulting firm, similar to Deloitte or Accenture, but with a specific focus on advising large corporations on their employee benefits, retirement plans, and all aspects of corporate insurance and risk management.

• Retirement & Pension Consulting: Provides actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for traditional pension and retirement savings plans.
• Health & Group Benefits Consulting: Offers plan management consulting, broking, and administration services for health and group benefit programs.
• Benefits Outsourcing: Delivers comprehensive outsourcing services for various aspects of employee benefits administration.
• Talent & Rewards Consulting: Supplies advice, data, software, and products to address clients' total rewards and talent management issues.
• Risk & Insurance Brokerage: Provides risk advice, insurance brokerage, and consulting services for areas such as property and casualty, aerospace, and marine.
• Investment Consulting: Offers investment consulting and discretionary management services, particularly to insurance and reinsurance companies.
• Insurance Industry Consulting & Technology: Delivers specialized consulting, technology, risk and capital management, pricing, and financial modeling services for the insurance sector.
• Wholesale Insurance Broking: Provides wholesale insurance broking services to retail and other wholesale brokers.
• Capital Markets & Advisory: Offers underwriting, capital management, capital market, and advisory services, often related to risk transfer.
• Health Benefit Exchanges & Account Administration: Operates primary medical and ancillary benefit exchanges and administers consumer-directed healthcare accounts like HSAs and FSAs.

Carl Hess, Chief Executive Officer

Carl Hess is the Chief Executive Officer at WTW. He has been with the company for over thirty years, joining in 1989 (then Watson Wyatt). Throughout his tenure, he has held various leadership positions, including head of the Investment, Risk and Reinsurance segment, co-leader of North America, and managing director for the Americas of Towers Watson. He also served as the managing director of Towers Watson's Investment business since January 2010 and as global practice director of Watson Wyatt's Investment business. Mr. Hess holds a Bachelor of Arts in logic and language from Yale University.

Andrew Krasner, Chief Financial Officer

Andrew Krasner serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Co-head of Corporate Development at WTW. He rejoined WTW in August 2021, having previously served as global treasurer and head of Mergers and Acquisitions for the company after first joining in 2009. In 2021, he briefly left WTW to serve as chief financial officer for AssuredPartners, an insurance brokerage. Prior to his initial tenure at WTW, Mr. Krasner held various financial roles at Banc of America Securities (Financial Institutions Group), Deutsche Bank, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Kristy Banas, Chief Human Resources Officer, Marketing and Communication

Kristy Banas is the Chief Human Resources Officer, Marketing and Communication at WTW, overseeing global human resources, marketing, and communication functions. She joined WTW in 2011 and has held several HR leadership roles within the company, including head of global total rewards, head of human resources integration and transformation, and global talent advisor for Human Capital and Benefits. Before joining WTW, she held human resources leadership positions at XL Group (now Axa XL). Ms. Banas began her career in accounting before transitioning to human resources in 2001.

Alexis Faber, Chief Operating Officer

Alexis Faber is the Chief Operating Officer at WTW, responsible for the oversight of operations, real estate, and technology. She joined WTW in 2003 and has held numerous senior leadership roles, including chief operating officer for Corporate Risk & Broking, global head of Financial Lines, and co-head of the North American FINEX business. Before joining WTW, Ms. Faber worked in investment banking at Citigroup, with a focus on the financial services industry.

Adam Garrard, Chairman – Risk & Broking

Adam Garrard serves as the Chairman of Risk & Broking at WTW. He joined the company (Willis Group) in January 1994 and has over 27 years of industry experience, with 24 of those years at Willis Towers Watson or its predecessor firms. His previous roles include global head of Risk & Broking from 2019 to 2024, head of the International business from 2016 to 2019, and regional CEO of Willis Asia from 2012 to 2015. He also held regional CEO positions in Continental Europe and Australasia and was involved in setting up Willis' China operation.

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) faces several key business risks in its operations as a global advisory, broking, and solutions company:

1. Intense Competitive Pressures and Evolving Market Dynamics: Willis Towers Watson operates in a highly competitive global market, contending with large industry players like Marsh McLennan and Aon, as well as specialized firms and emerging insurtech companies. Competition is driven by the breadth of service offerings, global reach, technological capabilities, and pricing strategies. The firm faces pressure on fees and must continuously innovate to offer integrated solutions and leverage data analytics to maintain its market position.

2. Regulatory and Litigation Risks: The company is exposed to significant regulatory scrutiny across its diverse service lines, including brokerage commissions, pension disclosures in various jurisdictions, and evolving data privacy laws. Directors and officers within the industry face increasing accountability and legal scrutiny, with regulatory risks consistently ranked as high concerns. The complex and dynamic regulatory landscape, particularly in areas like data privacy (e.g., UK GDPR and DPA 2018), can lead to challenges in compliance, potentially resulting in substantial penalties and reputational damage.

3. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks: Cybersecurity continues to be a major concern, with data loss and cyber-attacks, including ransomware, identified as top risks for companies and their leadership. Human error is frequently cited as a primary cause of global cyber incidents. Given Willis Towers Watson's role in handling sensitive client data and providing risk management solutions, the evolving and increasingly complex nature of cyber threats necessitates continuous adaptation, investment in security measures, and robust expertise to protect against breaches and their significant financial and reputational consequences.

The emergence of specialized AI-driven platforms and Insurtech/HR Tech companies offering automated, data-centric solutions for risk assessment, benefits administration, actuarial services, and talent management, which could disintermediate traditional advisory and brokerage models.

• Sustained Organic Growth in Core Segments: Willis Towers Watson expects continued mid-single-digit organic revenue growth, with particular strength projected in its Health, Wealth and Career and Risk & Broking segments. The Health segment is anticipated to achieve high single-digit growth in 2026, while the Corporate Risk & Broking business has demonstrated a consistent track record of high single-digit organic growth, driven by strong client retention levels, new business generation, and geographic diversification.
• Strategic Acquisitions and Portfolio Optimization: Recent strategic acquisitions, including Newfront, Cushon, and FlowStone Partners, are expected to contribute to revenue expansion. Notably, the acquisition of Newfront is projected to add approximately $250 million in revenue in 2026.
• Investments in Talent, Technology, and Digital Infrastructure: The company is making maturing investments in talent and technology, including leveraging AI and digital infrastructure, to enhance client retention and generate new business. These investments are intended to boost performance in areas such as risk and broking and to support growth in sectors like digital infrastructure, where WTW serves major data center developers.
• Specialization Strategy: Willis Towers Watson's focus on a "specialty orientation" and a refined specialization strategy is proving to be a durable driver of growth. This approach has enabled the company to outperform expectations and generate new business momentum, particularly within its Corporate Risk & Broking segment, by offsetting standard pricing pressures.

Share Repurchases

• Willis Towers Watson repurchased $1.65 billion in shares in 2025 and guided for $1.0 billion or more in buybacks in 2026.
• The company executed $1.0 billion in share repurchases for the full year ended December 31, 2023.
• WTW’s Board of Directors approved a $1.5 billion increase to the existing share repurchase authority on September 18, 2025, bringing the total authorization to $12.15 billion.

Share Issuance

• Willis Towers Watson has consistently reduced its shares outstanding over the last few years, indicating a focus on share repurchases rather than issuance.
• Shares outstanding declined from 122.038 million at the end of 2021 to 95.08 million by the end of 2025.

Outbound Investments

• WTW completed the divestiture of its TRANZACT business on December 31, 2024, for $632 million, aiming to enhance growth, operating margins, and free cash flow.
• The company sold its reinsurance business (Willis Re) for an initial payment of $3.25 billion around late 2021.
• Willis Towers Watson is shifting its focus to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as of February 2025, seeking smaller acquisitions that can integrate into its existing operations and fill capability gaps. (Note: The acquisition of Newfront was completed on January 27, 2026, which is outside the specified 3-5 year range but reflects a decision made within the period.)

Capital Expenditures

• Specific dollar values for capital expenditures were not explicitly detailed in the provided information.
• The company has focused on internal investments in talent and technology as part of its "Grow, Simplify and Transform" strategy.
• Lower spending on the Transformation program partially offset decreases in free cash flow in 2025, indicating an allocation of capital towards operational efficiency initiatives.