CEO Patrick Ryan has been nominated because, as Council President Michael Gibbons said, he has “done much to strengthen the ties that bind out two countries.”
Ryan’s connections to Ireland are strong and he chose the name Aon for his company because it is the Gaelic word for “one,” or “oneness.”
Aptly, Aon is now the world’s leading reinsurance broker, the largest captive insurance company manager in the world, and the third largest employee-benefits consultant.
In Dublin, Aon has established reinsurance and risk management operations in the International Financial Services center and acquired several smaller Irish companies in the same line of business.
Aon saw fast growth through the 1980s and ’90s and Ryan has recruited some of the top experts in the field, industry watchers say. It’s a Fortune 500 company with revenues of $8.8 billion in 2002. About 55,000 employees work for Aon in 125 countries around the world.
Ryan’s company was devastated on Sept. 11, 2001, as it occupied floors 98 through 105 in the south tower of the World Trade Center. The impact zone from the second hijacked passenger jet ranged from floor 82 through 93.
Most people trapped above the impact zone in the south tower died, including 175 Aon employees. A handful of workers from the highest floors of the south tower escaped through a single stairwell that was still accessible after the crash.
Ryan has steered the company through the dark days after 9/11 and the Ireland-U.S. Council has recognized this and also his philanthropy. His address at an interfaith memorial service in St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sept 24, 2001 was hailed by colleagues as helping Aon through the devastating losses.
This year, Aon reaffirmed its commitment to the Aon Memorial Education Fund.
“The Aon Memorial Education Fund honors the memory of our lost colleagues by helping ensure that their children can pursue an education,” Ryan said at this year’s memorial service. “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our employees, clients, partners, and friends, and we thank them for their support in helping these children achieve their dreams.”
Ryan and his wife, Shirley, were awarded the 1998 Distinguished Philanthropist Award. They also founded the Pathways Center for Children and the Pathways Awareness Foundation, which is dedicated to serving the needs and interest of children with disabilities.
A consequence of 9/11 has been Aon’s development of a global sabotage terrorism risk monitor. On the global terrorism risk map, the U.S., Northern Ireland and the UK are rated as “high risk” areas for terrorist attack, one step below the highest rating, “extreme risk.” The Irish Republic is rated as “negligible risk.” Aon is a leader is sabotage and terrorism risk consulting.
Since 1963, the Ireland-U.S. Council has fostered greater business and commercial ties between Ireland and the U.S.