Storms Out at Marsh

September 14, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. says that Brian M. Storms is stepping down from his position as chief executive officer of Marsh, Inc., MMC's insurance broking subsidiary, effective immediately.

The search for a successor is already underway, according to a press release. In the interim, Michael G. Cherkasky, president and chief executive officer of MMC, will serve as Acting CEO of Marsh.

“Brian has made important contributions to Marsh’s recovery over the past two years,” Cherkasky said. “Our long-term strategy is sound and a solid foundation has been built. That said, we now need a different set of leadership and operational skills to complete the successful transformation of Marsh.”

On Friday the Wall Street Journal said that Storms was removed from his post, citing people familiar with the matter. Storms declined to comment about the circumstances of his departure to the Journal.

Storms was named as Marsh CEO in 2005, after just nine months as president and chief executive officer of Mercer Human Resource Consulting (see Storms Moves Up at Marsh ). Storms had been tapped to head the merged operations of Mercer’s defined contribution administration business with Putnam in 2004 (see Marsh Melds Mercer, Putnam DC Operations ). Previously Storms was president and chief executive officer of UBS Global Asset Management, Americas (see New CEO Storms into UBS ).

Marsh’s corporate parent, Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), was a key target in a federal/state insurance bid-rigging probe and agreed in January 2005 to set up an $850 million fund to compensate clients hurt by business practices it admitted were “shameful.”(See MMC Settles ‘Shameful’ Bid-Rigging Case ).

Marsh is part of the family of MMC companies, including:

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