Marsh: Everything you need to know
Year established: 1980
Headquarters address: Tower Place West London, EC3R 5BU, United Kingdom
Number of offices (UK): 30
Size (employees): About 2,000
Turnover (2020): £1,205 million
Investment income (2020): £13 million
Profit before tax (2020): £120 million
Underwriting expertise: Property, liability, motor fleet, marine, aviation, credit, political risk
About Marsh
Marsh Limited is one of UK’s leading broker of risk and insurance services and the principal subsidiary of US-based professional services giant Marsh & McLennan Companies. The London-headquartered firm provides property, liability, motor fleet, marine, aviation, credit, and political risk insurance products, as well as employee benefit, business protection, and financial planning advice to multinational corporations, SMEs, public sector organisations, private businesses, and high-net individuals across the country.
Marsh has about 30 offices throughout the UK, with a workforce of about 2,000. Its parent company traces its roots to the 1870s and boasts operations in more than 130 countries. Marsh & McLennan Companies also include global leaders Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman.
Key people
Chris Lay – chief executive officer, Marsh UK & Ireland
Chris Lay took the reins as CEO of Marsh’s UK and Ireland operations in 2018. He also serves as country corporate officer of Marsh McLennan in the UK, working closely with the company’s global businesses.
In his more than 30-year career with Marsh, Lay has held several senior leadership positions in the UK, North America, EMEA, and globally. He also took leadership responsibilities in the firm’s Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russian, and Nordic businesses. He has led business development for Marsh’s international division and held global responsibility for its sales and captive solutions businesses.
Lay obtained his BSc. (Econ) Hons at University College in London. He is an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Chartered Insurance Practitioner. Lay is a member of the executive council and deputy president of The Insurance Institute of London. He also serves on the president’s committee of the CBI and the leadership council of The CityUK.
Culture
Marsh fosters a culture within the organisation in which bribery is never acceptable. In The Greater Good, Marsh & McLennan’s Code of Conduct, the company makes it clear that employees are expected to “behave with integrity at all times.”
“We will conduct business consistent with the highest ethical and professional standards, and we will not tolerate behaviour that deviates from those standards. We will act with integrity, honesty, courage, and mutual respect,” the Code says.
Marsh also promotes diversity and inclusion in its global workplaces. The company boasts more than 25 inclusion and diversity resource group across its businesses dedicated to fostering and advocating for a more inclusive work environment.
“The question is not only what we stand for,” said Dan Glaser, president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan, highlighting the importance of inclusivity. “It is what we will do. Black lives matter. And change is up to all of us.”
Volunteering efforts across the company has reached a global scale. In 2018, Marsh employees spent more than 200,000 hours volunteering around the world, reaching 45 countries in that year’s Global Volunteer Month. Volunteer participation among employees has grown steadily since the programme was introduced in 2012.
Marsh is also doing its share in environmental preservation. All the company’s technology equipment is reused, harvested for useful materials, and recycled – reducing its technological waste by 200 tons in 2018 alone.
