Aon plc (AON) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and welcome to the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Aon. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to Lester Knight, Chairman of the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Knight, the floor is yours.

Good morning. I am Lester Knight, Chairman of Aon's Board of Directors. At this time, it's my pleasure to welcome all of you to Aon's 2021 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which is being held in Chicago as well as via satellite meeting in Dublin, Ireland, in accordance with Irish law. We also have shareholders joining us virtually through our meeting center website due to travel and health recommendations and restrictions in connection with COVID-19. In accordance with the Notice of the Meeting, given that it's now past 8:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time, and I'm informed that there is a quorum present, I declare that the Annual General Meeting is open. There are 8 items of business on today's agenda on which a vote will be taken. These agenda items are as set forth in the proxy materials sent to shareholders on or about April 15, 2021. Furthermore, we are formally laying before the meeting for consideration to shareholders the company's statutory financial statements under Irish law for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. And we'll also present a review of Aon's 2020 affairs. Copies of these statutory financial statements have been mailed to shareholders of record and are also available in hard copy form at the meeting venues as well as on the Financial Reports section of our website. There's no requirement under Irish law that these financial statements be approved by the shareholders, and we are not seeking any such approval at today's meeting. There will be an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions. Shareholders attending in person in Dublin or Chicago can ask questions by raising their hand during the question-and-answer period. Those attending virtually can submit their questions at any time by clicking the Message icon on the meeting center website. I'm joined in Chicago by Aon's CEO, Greg Case. The other members of our Board of Directors are participating virtually and are available to answer any shareholder questions. Now it is my pleasure to introduce Darren Zeidel, Company Secretary, who will provide the Secretary's report.

Thank you, Lester. Notice of this Annual General Meeting, together with Aon's proxy statement and annual reports for the year ended December 31, 2020, were made available beginning April 15, 2021, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 8, 2021. Aon has appointed Fred Papenmeier of Computershare as Inspector of Election for the voting at the Annual General Meeting. In accordance with our Articles of Association, the voting today will be done by way of a poll on each of the resolutions put to the meeting. This is seen as best practice as it gives all shareholders the opportunity to participate in the decision-making of the company and have their votes recorded even if they are unable to attend the meeting in person. Based on the preliminary report from the Inspector of Election, approximately 93% of the total voting rights of the shareholders entitled to vote are present in person or by proxy at the meeting. As a result, I will declare that a quorum is present, and we will proceed with the meeting. Now I would like to turn the meeting over to Greg Case.

Thank you, Darren. On behalf of the management team, we'd like to thank our shareholders for their continued support as well as our Board of Directors. Looking back at 2020, I'd like to highlight 2 important observations. First and foremost, as we continue to deliver value for shareholders, clients and colleagues, our performance is driven by our Aon United strategy and culture, which ultimately comes back to our colleagues. Our people are the cornerstone of Aon United, and we're committed to their safety, health, well-being and productivity, and we're proud of the steps we took to better support colleagues and their families as well as the steps we're taking to further our commitment to an inclusive and diverse culture. They bring the best of our firm to clients and to each other. Second, we remain very excited about our pending combination with Willis Towers Watson. In a world with increasing risk and interdependency, new and innovative solutions will be required. Our pending combination with Willis Towers Watson will accelerate our ability to develop these solutions. Throughout 2020, as we had a chance to get to know the Willis Towers Watson colleagues, their client-first culture and their capabilities, our conviction around the opportunities for clients, colleagues and shareholders has only grown stronger. Now our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Christa Davies, will provide a review of 2020. Christa?

Thanks so much, Greg. Our 2020 financial results demonstrate the resiliency of our business. In a year of challenging macroeconomic conditions, we delivered progress against all of our key financial metrics, organic revenue growth, margin expansion, earnings per share growth and free cash flow growth. These results continue a decade of momentum and demonstrate the strength of our Aon United strategy in any economic environment. Now I'd like to turn the meeting back to Lester.

Thank you, Christa and Greg, for the update. Now we're ready to take your questions. Please direct any questions to Greg, Christa, me or any other member of the Board of Directors. Any shareholder who wishes to ask a question should please raise your hand if you're attending in person in Chicago or Dublin. If you're attending virtually, please enter your question online via our meeting center website. Please give your name or the name of the person you represent and ask your question. I kindly remind you that questions must be confined to the business of this meeting. There being no questions, I would now like to turn the meeting back to Darren for the resolutions to be considered at today's Annual General Meeting.