One major industry player appears not to be swayed by Lloyd’s of London and other firms that are considering plans to relocate operations elsewhere in Europe following the Brexit vote.
In an interview with the
Financial Times, Willis Towers Watson chairman Jim McCann said the company is “not very likely” to move staff away from the UK in response to Brexit.
He added, however, that it is “too soon” to give a commitment.
McCann said he was against Brexit and that holding the EU membership referendum was a mistake in the first place. The poll results came as a shock to the brokerage boss.
“It was a very firm headshake, like, ‘what?’” the
Financial Times quoted him as saying.
The UK’s decision to leave the EU has created economic uncertainty but it has also opened opportunities for the brokerage’s other businesses, according to McCann. He said companies are turning to consultancies for advice on how to deal with the Brexit fallout.
“There’s a ton of inbound,” he told the
Financial Times. “It’s got consequences on the talent side… People are saying to us, ‘How do we adjust our pension scheme, our reward programmes’.”
McCann’s statements echoed that of Willis Towers Watson CEO John Haley, who said in June that the company is well-equipped to deal with disruption from the Brexit vote.
“Typically, our business benefits from regulatory changes, political risk or economic uncertainty,”
Bloomberg quoted him as saying in a previous report.
According to the report, Haley has sought to reassure shareholders as many CEOs are discussing the possibility of scaling back in the UK.
Haley recognised the challenges brought about by the Brexit vote, but he stressed the global reach of the company, which has 39,000 employees in more than 120 countries.
“We also pride ourselves on being a company that has the agility and the nimbleness to be able to, not just to respond to change, but to prosper in it,” he said.
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