Willis appoints Michael Butch and Jim Blaney to enhance growth and efficiency in North America Corporate Risk & Broking.
Quiver AI Summary
Willis, a WTW business, has announced new leadership appointments in its Corporate Risk & Broking North America division to enhance growth. Michael Butch has been named Growth Operations Leader for North America, tasked with improving alignment and efficiency in growth initiatives, leveraging his 20 years of experience from Marsh. Jim Blaney has been appointed Growth Enablement Leader, focusing on providing teams with the necessary tools for business generation and client retention, bringing a strong background in sales and growth strategies. Both will join Brian Hetherington on the North America Growth leadership team, reporting to Chief Growth Officer Paul Graziano. These appointments aim to strengthen client engagement and drive overall growth in the region.
Potential Positives
- Appointment of experienced leaders Michael Butch and Jim Blaney is expected to enhance growth initiatives and client engagement across North America.
- Creation of new roles focused on growth operations and enablement signals a strategic commitment to improving efficiency and business development.
- The leadership team brings extensive expertise and a strong commitment to culture and community, which are emphasized as key reasons for long-term client relationships.
Potential Negatives
- The announcement of new leadership appointments may indicate a response to previous challenges in growth, suggesting potential difficulties in the firm's current performance.
- The creation of new roles for growth operations and enablement may imply a lack of adequate leadership or strategies previously in place to drive sales and client retention.
- The focus on enhancing processes like RFP adoption and pipeline development could highlight existing inefficiencies in the company’s current operations.
FAQ
Who is the new Growth Operations Leader for Willis North America?
Michael Butch has been appointed as the Growth Operations Leader for North America.
What is the role of the Growth Enablement Leader?
The Growth Enablement Leader focuses on equipping teams to support new business generation and client retention.
What experience does Michael Butch bring to Willis?
Michael Butch brings over 20 years of experience in sales analytics and data-driven decision-making.
What is the goal of the new leadership appointments at Willis?
The goal is to strengthen growth and client engagement across the North American market.
Who does the North America Growth leadership team report to?
The North America Growth leadership team reports to Paul Graziano, the Chief Growth Officer for Willis.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$WTW Insider Trading Activity
$WTW insiders have traded $WTW stock on the open market 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $WTW stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- MATTHEW FURMAN (General Counsel) sold 3,000 shares for an estimated $912,008
- LUCY CLARKE (President of Risk & Broking) purchased 1,896 shares for an estimated $499,340
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.
$WTW Revenue
$WTW had revenues of $2.4B in Q1 2026. This is an increase of 8.5% from the same period in the prior year.
You can track WTW financials on Quiver Quantitative's WTW stock page.
You can access data on WTW stock through the Quiver Quantitative API.
$WTW Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 312 institutional investors add shares of $WTW stock to their portfolio, and 451 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- CITADEL ADVISORS LLC added 552,964 shares (+2591.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $160,746,634
- BARROW HANLEY MEWHINNEY & STRAUSS LLC removed 527,903 shares (-71.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $153,461,402
- T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 476,225 shares (-16.8%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $156,487,535
- BAUPOST GROUP LLC/MA removed 464,475 shares (-34.2%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $135,022,882
- DODGE & COX added 406,889 shares (+5.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $118,282,632
- HARRIS ASSOCIATES L P added 404,593 shares (+7.2%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $117,615,185
- SOUTHPOINT CAPITAL ADVISORS LP removed 400,000 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $131,440,000
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.
$WTW Analyst Ratings
Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $WTW in the last several months. We have seen 2 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 1 firms issue sell ratings.
Here are some recent analyst ratings:
- BMO Capital issued a "Outperform" rating on 05/01/2026
- Barclays issued a "Underweight" rating on 01/08/2026
- Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued a "Outperform" rating on 01/06/2026
To track analyst ratings and price targets for $WTW, check out Quiver Quantitative's $WTW forecast page.
$WTW Price Targets
Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $WTW recently. We have seen 13 analysts offer price targets for $WTW in the last 6 months, with a median target of $347.0.
Here are some recent targets:
- Meyer Shields from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a target price of $380.0 on 05/12/2026
- Matthew Heimermann from Citigroup set a target price of $300.0 on 05/06/2026
- Yaron Kinar from Mizuho set a target price of $338.0 on 05/05/2026
- Brian Meredith from UBS set a target price of $400.0 on 05/04/2026
- Michael Zaremski from BMO Capital set a target price of $300.0 on 05/01/2026
- David Motemaden from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $360.0 on 05/01/2026
- Paul Newsome from Piper Sandler set a target price of $283.0 on 05/01/2026
Full Release
NEW YORK, May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Willis, a WTW business (NASDAQ: WTW), today announced new leadership appointments designed to strengthen its growth platform across Corporate Risk & Broking North America.
Michael Butch joins the business as Growth Operations Leader for North America. In this newly created role, he will drive alignment, efficiency and consistency across growth initiatives to help accelerate pipeline development and conversion, Request for Proposal (RFP) adoption and recruitment. Butch brings more than 20 years of experience in sales analytics, financial analysis and data-driven decision-making. He joins Willis from Marsh, where he most recently served as North American Sales Analytics and Insights Lead.
Jim Blaney has been appointed Growth Enablement Leader, North America, effective immediately. In this role, he will focus on equipping teams with the tools, insights and capabilities needed to support new business generation, client retention and disciplined sales execution. Blaney has held multiple leadership positions throughout his career at WTW and most recently served as Head of Sales and Client Management. He brings deep expertise in organic growth, disciplined sales execution and specialization-led strategies.
Butch and Blaney join Brian Hetherington, Strategic Growth Leader, North America, as part of the North America Growth leadership team, reporting to Paul Graziano, Chief Growth Officer for Willis. Together, the team will work to accelerate growth and strengthen client engagement across North America.
“These appointments mark another step in building a stronger, more connected growth platform across North America,” said Graziano. “Mike, Jim and Brian bring deep expertise, trusted leadership and a strong commitment to culture and community – key reasons clients choose WTW and continue to grow with us over the long term.”
About WTW
At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance.
Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success - and provide perspective that moves you.
Media contacts
Lauren Ryan
[email protected]
Arnelle Sullivan
[email protected]
