Pat Ryan Profile
“With nothing to prove and, arguably, a lot more to lose, the ink had barely dried on his farewell card from Aon when he was back behind a new desk, launching a new company.”
believes that many carriers will be more interested in partnering in such a vehicle with proven expertise in specialist risks rather than attempting to build their own—with all the additional costs and problems in terms of infrastructure and talent management that can bring.
Ryan also sees this side of the business from an investor’s perspective. He LEARN FROM THE PAST; LOOK
TO THE FUTURE Nevertheless, with such a long time at the helm of a company that has,
“I thought the variable cost factor associated with only paying on
the premium generated, instead of having to build your own platform, would be attractive as companies consider their capital investments at the moment,” he says. “It allows them to broaden their portfolio with fewer costs and risks. So far, that has also proved true. We have 12 speciality areas so far; we are still expanding and I see more opportunities for us as a consolidator in this market.”
Ryan is also very considered when it comes to the ways in which he
believes the business can set itself apart from competitors in the market. He sees the issue of brokers also competing with their clients as a big taboo for RSG, and is determined to steer clear of that at all costs. He also believes this is the right direction for the industry generally.
“It is very important to us that we are totally independent and that we do
not compete with our retail clients in any way. When I was at Aon, we saw some of the bigger players get out of this market for a number of reasons, but in fact they were competing in other areas of the business with the retail clients. That represented an inherent conflict.”
In every interview or speech he has given since the launch of RSG, this is
a recurrent theme that Ryan pushes constantly. To avoid this conflict, he is adamant that his business will not become a retail broker anywhere in the world; it will not act as a wholesale broker in the London market because its retail broker clients in the US often own wholesale operations in London; and it will not enter the reinsurance brokerage business anywhere in the world. Despite confessing a love for the reinsurance business, this too, he says, would mean competing with clients.
He accepts that this discipline is not agreed on by all in the industry—
other brokerages continue to compete with clients. But he stands by his own beliefs. “There are different perspectives on this issue. Personally, I believe there is a growing trend away from it, where companies prefer to do business with companies which are not in competition in other areas. I guess history will record who is right. It has certainly worked for us so far.”
Perhaps part of the reason he is so insistent on this point is that it also means no
conflict with his former firm, Aon. When it is suggested that some competition with Aon may, eventually, be inevitable, he is quick to dismiss this. “We do not and will not compete with Aon. They are, however, a big client of ours,” he says. “We will not compete with any of the top brokers; we bring them business and vice versa. We are trading partners only and that will not change.”
10 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | Spring 2012
to a large extent, shaped the industry he remains in, Aon can never be far from Ryan’s thoughts and it seems inevitable that his current direction is influenced by his experiences there. Aon once established a solid presence in the wholesale broker market but, through the sale of Swett & Crawford in the post-Eliot Spitzer reorganisation of the industry, it was decided to sell it in 2005. In some ways, Ryan’s new business might take that strategy to its natural conclusion.
He is clear, however, that RSG is a different model in a different age for
the insurance industry. “There is no natural conclusion to that,” he says. “It is a different time and it is important to us we remain independent. We are very focused on growth in other ways through the MGA/MGU model and we also foresee lots of growth potential globally. But it is a different model and we will never compete with our clients.”
Yet his current thinking and decision-making are informed by his accomplishments when building the world’s biggest broker. He describes himself as a man who looks forward rather than in the rear-view mirror, but he is also clear that we must learn from past mistakes. “You must learn from the past, recognise human frailties and try and learn from mistakes, but not dwell on them and always try to look to the future,” he says.
When pushed to detail some of the mistakes he has learned from, Ryan
says his biggest failings have resulted from a lack of quality information. “It is a cliché, but I have learned that in order to expect, you must inspect,” he says. “You have to know what is going on in your business. It is not about micromanaging, but I have found mistakes usually happen because of a lack of knowledge or information. I aim to rectify that. I always want to know what is going on.”
Despite these admitted past shortcomings, however, Ryan is relatively
unusual when compared with many of his insurance peers in that he has survived so many industry scandals and crises with his reputation intact. He is reluctant to comment on the fall from grace of others but believes a handful of key values that he has preserved throughout his career have stood him in good stead.
“I certainly don’t see myself as some guy on a white horse but I would
say I have always tried to instil a culture in my organisations where we put the client first and where staff are always encouraged and empowered to do the right thing.
“By that I mean, and hopefully without sounding sanctimonious, people can
do what they know is right rather than what offers the greatest financial reward, or what might be right because of corporate politics. If you do that, it is easier
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