Willis

NEW YORK January 12, 2012 - Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced the appointment of Richard Sheldon as Environmental Practice Leader, effective immediately. Mr. Sheldon has been serving as National Placement Leader for the Environmental Practice since January 2011. He will report to Rick Hawkinberry, Chairman of the Willis Environmental Practice.

Mr. Sheldon assumes this position from Mr. Hawkinberry. In this role, Mr. Sheldon will lead a team of environmental specialists to drive growth across the platform. He will work closely with Willis North America’s regional retail offices to align resources and deliver industry leading solutions to over 2,000 North America-based clients. Mr. Sheldon will also work closely with Willis’ key carrier partners to implement superior insurance programs.

Willis is an industry leader in the environmental space, helping organizations identify and analyze environmental risks and potential liabilities in an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment. Willis has a deep commitment to this space and was the first major broker to create a dedicated Environmental Practice, earning a reputation of unrivaled technical expertise.

Based in Radnor, PA, Mr. Sheldon joined Willis in 2004 and brings more than 20 years of experience in the environmental insurance industry from both an underwriting and brokering perspective. Previously, he served as Environmental Regional Team Leader for Willis’ Atlantic & New England Regions. In addition, Mr. Sheldon has held leadership roles at ECS Underwriting, Inc., and Kemper Environmental.

Commenting on the appointment, Eric Joost, Chief Executive of Willis North America Specialties said, “Rich is a proven leader with a respected reputation in the environmental insurance marketplace. His expertise as a placement specialist will help us continue to deliver solutions with the best markets, price, and terms for our clients.”

ABOUT WILLIS

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.