Talk:Willis Towers Watson

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 6 September 2020 and 7 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Martinmadison.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 14:03, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Name

According to the Nasdaq, the company is still called Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company; see https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/wtw Dormskirk (talk) 14:44, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

Edit to description of company

• What I think should be changed (include citations): WTW (formerly Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company) is a British-American multinational company who provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. The company has roots dating from 1828 and.[2] were the insurance broker for the Titanic (1912) and the Moon Buggy (1971). [Source link to wtwco.com our history page: https://www.wtwco.com/en-GB/About-Us/our-history]

• Why it should be changed: This is the company's new name and description of the services offered

Cshenkir (talk) 15:43, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

References

Comment: "...who provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital" is highly promotional. It is also a copy and paste straight from the company's website: See https://www.wtwco.com/en-GB/About-Us/overview#:~:text=At%20WTW%2C%20we%20provide%20data,deep%20commitment%20to%20your%20success. Please read WP:PROMO. Also as explained above the company has not changed its name. According to the Nasdaq, the company is still named Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company; see https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/wtw. Unless, of course, you are saying that the company really has changed its name and has failed to make the properly filings. Dormskirk (talk) 15:50, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

I would like the logo to be updated to reflect WTW's new rebrand. The logo on the page now is not the permanent logo, and we would like it to be replaced with the permanent one.

• What I think should be changed: The logo for WTW needs to be the ultraviolet logo which I can provide. I submitted a request with the logo but it was flagged for copyright.
• Why it should be changed: This is the new logo for the company. The one that is currently their is displayed on our website in support of pride month, but this is not the permanent WTW logo.
• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button): At the bottom of this page it mentions the company becoming WTW. I do not have a public website that talks about the company's rebrand, but if you look into the website you can see that all the logos are being changed to reflect WTW. Thank you for your help.

Cshenkir (talk) 20:43, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

References

Now replaced. Dormskirk (talk) 22:09, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

Proposed changes

There are four sections I would like to make changes to. I have detailed the changes below and added the reason for the change and references supporting the change for each section.

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company is a British-American multinational insurance advisor company.

* Specific text to be added or removed: Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company is a British-American multinational insurance advisor company that provides advisory, broking, and solution services across people, risk, and capital. ¹

* Reason for the change: This provides an accurate description of the lines of business WTW operates in. The strike through text can be removed, and the underlined text can be added.

* References supporting change:

1. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wtw

Completion of merger

On completion, Towers Watson CEO, John Haley, became the CEO, Willis Group CEO, Dominic Casserley, became the President and Deputy CEO while Willis Group Chairman, James McCann, became the chairman of the merged group with the twelve board seats shared equally between the two companies.

* Specific text to be added or removed: On completion, Towers Watson CEO, John Haley, became the CEO, Willis Group CEO, Dominic Casserley, became the President and Deputy CEO while Willis Group Chairman, James McCann, became the chairman of the merged group with the twelve board seats shared equally between the two companies.

* Reason for the change: Please remove the word "man" so the reference is Chair. It is more inclusive this way.

* References supporting change: N/A

* Specific text to be added or removed: Please add the following Section and text underneath the current section "Carl Hess becomes CEO"

Board of Directors

Paul Thomas succeeded Victor Ganzi as WTW Chair after Ganzi chose not to stand for re-election after the April 2022 AGM.^[1,2]

* Reason for the change: This provides an accurate picture of WTW's Board of Directors.

* References supporting change:

1.https://www.theinsurer.com/news/wtw-appoints-thomas-chairman-as-zeller-catalano-and-lane-depart-board/

2.https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/willis-towers-watson-announces-changes-with-respect-to-the-board-of-directors-2021-11

* Specific text to be added or removed: Please add the following Section and text underneath the current section "Acquisition of Butterwire"

Heritage

WTW’s ¹ roots date back to 1828 when Henry Willis kick-started his career as a merchant, selling imported goods at the Baltic Exchange in London. In 1841, Willis applied for membership at Lloyd’s, and began to broker insurance for the very cargoes of commodities he had previously sold on commission. He later made a name for himself in marine insurance while founding Henry Willis & Company.

In 1878, Reuben Watson formed R. Watson & Sons, the world's oldest actuarial firm, when the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows appointed him as actuary the same year.

Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby – the firm that later became Towers Perrin – was founded in 1934. It initially operated a reinsurance and life division, eventually specializing in pensions, reinsurance brokerage and employee benefit plans.

And in 1943, Birchard Wyatt formed the Wyatt Company, an actuarial consulting firm, in Washington, D.C.² In 1995, R.³ Watson & Sons and The Wyatt Company forged an alliance, forming Watson Wyatt and consolidating their global resources.

In 1998, Willis operations were amalgamated under one name, Willis Group. ⁴

During this long history, Willis was the broker for the ill-fated Titanic in 1912, and the hull claim of US$1 million was settled in full within 30 days of the tragedy. Then in 1971, Willis was the broker for the moon buggy used during the American Apollo program’s missions to the moon. ⁵

In 2010, Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt combined to form Towers Watson. ⁶ Two years later,⁷ Towers Watson acquired Extend Health and entered the private health care exchange market in the U.S.

* Reason for the change: This section will help detail the history behind the formation of WTW.

* References supporting change:

1. https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/companies/wtw/67048/
2. https://www.professionalpensions.com/news/4043139/willis-towers-watson-names-lost-wtw-rebrand
3. Watson Wyatt Worldwide
4. https://www.companieshistory.com/willis-group-holdings/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWillis%20Group%20Holdings%20History&text=Our%20origins%20lie%20in%20the,Willis%2C%20Faber%20%26%20Dumas%20Limited.
5. https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/companies/wtw/60475/
6. Towers Watson#:~:text=Towers Watson was formed on,benefits consulting firm by revenue.
7. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1470215/000119312512233757/d352831dex991.htm

Cshenkir (talk) 14:53, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Not done: The above contains several copyright violations as outlined below. Also there is no need to repeat history in the WTW article which is already detailed in the articles on Willis Group and Towers Watson. The request edit process is useful for the correction of errors or omissions in the article of basic verifiable facts but at the moment I don't see any errors or omissions except the name of the chair which I have updated. Dormskirk (talk) 15:39, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

• the words "Willis traces its roots back to 1828 when Henry Willis began his career as a merchant selling imported goods on commission at the Baltic Exchange in London. In 1841, Willis founded Henry Willis & Company – the business that would go on to become Willis Group – to focus on marine insurance." is cut and pasted from https://www.insurtechinsights.com/willis-towers-watson-rebrands-to-wtw-under-hess/#:~:text=Willis%20traces%20its%20roots%20back,to%20focus%20on%20marine%20insurance.
• the words "In 1878, Reuben Watson formed R. Watson & Sons, the world's oldest actuarial firm, when the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows appointed him as actuary the same year" is cut and pasted from https://www.wtwco.com/en-GB/About-Us/our-history

etc.

Hi, thanks for the explanation. I was wondering if expanding the company description would be possible?

This additional sentence helps explain the companies' lines of business:

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company is a British-American multinational insurance advisor company that provides solutions, broking, and advisory services across people, risk, and capital. 1

Thank you in advance for your guidance on these changes.

Cshenkir (talk) 17:30, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Hi - This has been lifted from the company's website so it is not independently sourced and it might again be considered a copyright violation. See here https://www.wtwco.com/en-US/About-Us/overview. Also "solutions" is management-speak: see WP:SOLUTIONS. Dormskirk (talk) 17:40, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Hi - I would like to cite this website: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wtw. WTW is broader than just insurance services and works across pensions, talent, inclusion, etc. I do not want to directly cite the website.

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company is a British-American multinational insurance company that provides products, broking, and advisory services.   

Cshenkir (talk) 21:07, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

In my opinion, "Providing products, broking and advisory services" does not impart any new information. Indeed I know of very few companies who do not provide products or services. Dormskirk (talk) 22:27, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposed changes for Infobox company

* Specific text to be added or removed: Add Paul Thomas in and remove Victor Ganzi

Key people	Victor Ganzi (chairman)Paul Thomas (Chair)Carl Hess (CEO)

* Reason for the change: New chair for WTW, exclude 'man' for inclusivity.

* References supporting change:

1.   https://www.theinsurer.com/news/wtw-appoints-thomas-chairman-as-zeller-catalano-and-lane-depart-board/

2.   https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/willis-towers-watson-announces-changes-with-respect-to-the-board-of-directors-2021-11

Cshenkir (talk) 16:08, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

That change has already been made. Dormskirk (talk) 16:36, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Merger or takeover

An editor has twice altered the text to present the creation of this business as a takeover rather than as a merger despite extensive evidence to the contrary in the material cited. That editor has also removed extensive critical analysis of the merger (which, incidently, describes it as a merger). Any discussion on the matter should take place here. Dormskirk (talk) 12:12, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

Can you clarify the difference? Towers Watson shares were exchanged for Willis Group shares, and the name of the company was then changed to Willis Towers Watson. From the filing: "As a result of the Merger, each issued and outstanding share of Towers Watson Class A common stock (“Towers Watson common stock”) was canceled in exchange for 2.6490 validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable Willis ordinary shares......Immediately following the Merger, Willis effected ..... an amendment to its Constitution and other organizational documents to change its name from Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company to Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company." Also, for the period before the merger, the stock price history of WTW is the stock price history of Willis. Ultra 348 (talk) 15:34, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

In the case of a true acquisition, as opposed to a merger, you have a dominant partner. With this transaction, both companies and the media presented this as a merger. In law, one legal entity will have to acquire the other as legal two entities cannot coalesce into a single entity, but that is a legal nicety as to how the transaction is implemented. In this case, as explained in the material cited, Towers Watson actually had the larger capitalisation. I see no evidence of a dominant partner...so it was a merger of equals, as the two companies and the media have asserted. Dormskirk (talk) 15:58, 17 October 2024 (UTC)