By James Thaler

March 10 - (The Insurer) - Aon has hired Marsh’s U.S. construction leader Rob McDonough and a team of at least 15 from the unit at its rival, including claims leader Regina Adler, innovation leader Avi Khanna, project risk leader Chris Davis and Northeast leader Keith Jurss in a major raid.

McDonough has been named North America CEO of construction, infrastructure, and surety at Aon and is returning to the firm after spending the last nine years with Marsh, which he joined in 2016 following 22 years with Aon.

Los Angeles-based Adler is also returning to Aon, following a four-year stint with Marsh. Adler previously worked as a director of claims and SVP for Aon for four years, after spending over a dozen years with Zurich North America.

Khanna spent the last four years at Marsh as innovation and operational excellence leader, with previous experience at WTW, Aon and William Gallagher Associates.

Among the other hires made by Aon from Marsh is Brian Hodges, who has been named head of North America surety for the firm.

A spokesperson for Aon confirmed the appointments of McDonough and Hodges, and said that the executives will be starting in their new roles in the coming weeks and report to Brian Wanat, head of commercial risk for North America at Aon.

The company also said that the pair will accelerate Aon’s construction, infrastructure and surety practice in North America.

In his new role, McDonough will lead the strategy and growth of the business and be responsible for leveraging the firm’s investments in data, analytics and content, while based in New York.

Aon said McDonough returns to the firm with a deep understanding of the complex nature of construction projects and the full extent of the risk capital value chain.

As head of surety for North America, Hodges will be responsible for leading the team across surety, which includes contract and commercial surety and fulfilment teams.

Aon described Hodges as one of the industry’s “largest surety brokers” and said he will accelerate the firm’s work managing complex indemnity structures and creating differentiated solutions for clients to help them protect and grow their business.

"Construction is a top priority for Aon as we navigate the evolving risks impacting the industry. We are thrilled to welcome Rob and Brian to the firm and for their leadership in this dynamic sector,” said Wanat in a statement.

“With the addition of these two talented leaders and our continued investment in construction, we are excited about our ability to deliver unmatched service and expertise that help our clients mitigate risk and make better decisions," Wanat added.

Lori Goltermann, Aon’s CEO of regions and North America for Aon, also commented on the appointments.

"We are excited for Rob and Brian to join our team – their expertise and vision will undoubtedly build on the success of one of our largest industry practice groups,” Goltermann said.

“The construction industry remains a global priority for Aon, and their leadership will be instrumental in meeting our clients' evolving needs,” she added.

“In a market characterized by new and emerging risks, we are confident that their addition will help us continue to deliver outstanding results for our clients," Goltermann concluded.

In a recent exclusive interview, Aon’s Eric Andersen and Andy Marcell said the company's strategy to bring reinsurance analytics to insurance buyers under its Risk Capital strategy is leading the company to win “twice as much” retail RFPs and setting up it to win an analytics “arms race”.

They also said that incoming reinsurance chief executive John Neal checked all the boxes of what the firm was looking for in a candidate, which included understanding the ongoing evolution of risk capital, global experience and broad industry relationships.

Andersen also said that Aon is currently focused on deploying capital “back into the business” after recent major acquisitions of NFP and UK-focused Griffiths & Armour, with the firm’s management team focused on growth regions that will position the company for the next 25 years.

Marsh declined to comment.