Bill Pieroni Named Marsh COO

Global insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, has appointed Bill Pieroni chief operating officer, effective Sept. 19. Pieroni will be responsible for Marsh's global operations and will focus on the Marsh platform to maximize performance and delivery what the broker characterizes as superior, differentiated value for its clients. Pieroni will be based in New York and will report to Peter Zaffino, president and CEO, Marsh.

"Achieving operational excellence is a critical element of our business strategy as it strengthens our capabilities to serve our clients more effectively," comments Zaffino. "The appointment of Bill Pieroni, a distinguished industry leader with a tremendous track record in organizational transformation, will give us greater focus as we ensure that our business is well positioned to meet the evolving needs of our clients."

Pieroni was most recently senior VP and member of the office of the chairman at State Farm (Bloomington, Ill.). In that role he was responsible for U.S. and international strategic planning, competitor and consumer research, internal consulting, as well as leading key transformational initiatives across the enterprise.

Prior to joining State Farm in 2006, Mr. Pieroni served as Aon's (Chicago) senior VP and global CIO, with responsibility for operations across retail, wholesale, and reinsurance brokerage. Pieroni earlier held the position of general manager of IBM's $7 billion insurance business. He had also been a partner at Accenture (New York) and a consultant with McKinsey & Company (New York).

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio