Willis has appointed James Gillespie as head of data and analytics for its global direct and facultative (D&F) specialty business. In this role, Gillespie will lead the development of new products powered by data from Willis’ proprietary platforms, including its Broking Platform.
Gillespie joins Willis with over 15 years of insurance industry experience, having previously led pricing at Aon and RPC Tyche. During his career, he has managed international teams and advised clients across both direct and reinsurance markets.
At Willis, he will focus on expanding client and product offerings by leveraging data insights to support risk-based decision-making. He will also provide Willis brokers with advanced tools to help bring innovative products to market. For cedant clients, Gillespie will deliver enhanced modelling insights and build risk quantification and pricing solutions to support underwriting of emerging risks.
This appointment comes as Willis continues to strengthen its global risk and analytics capabilities. Recently, the firm launched its Global Risk Engineering team, comprising nearly 200 risk engineers operating across 30 countries. The team provides risk assessments at both individual site and portfolio levels.
Separately, WTW has bolstered its Insurance Consulting & Technology (ICT) practice with a series of senior hires. In August, Nicholas Carbo was appointed senior director, focusing on annuity product development, pricing, modelling, and M&A activity. The ICT division has also added Gary Finkelstein, Poojan Shah, and Erika Dochney to leadership positions as part of its broader growth strategy.
