Aon Assembles Broad Coalition to Move the Economy Forward

Coalition to focus on how organizations work, travel and convene in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Jun 15, 2020, 09:00 ET

CHICAGO, June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, today announced the formation of a coalition of leading companies and organizations to strengthen communities and move toward societal and economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coalition, which recently held its founding members virtual kickoff meeting, consists of large employers and other key organizations from a broad set of sectors focused on how to re-introduce fundamental aspects of society and the economy: working, traveling and convening. These top Chicago organizations will collaborate to outline a set of guidelines for businesses and communities to confidently and safely help restart the economy.

Convened and led by Aon, the focus of the coalition will be around Work, Travel and Convene efforts across leading businesses. The goal is for member companies to share key learnings and insights related to planning and operations, to assess impact and measurement of efforts, to evaluate the latest technologies, and to develop a set of guidelines that can help navigate the challenges businesses face as society reopens throughout the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have used our expertise to assist clients in maintaining operations and mitigating risk during the pandemic—and believe we have a responsibility to play a larger role in helping the private and public sector navigate the recovery," said Greg Case, Aon CEO. "This coalition of some of the world's leading organizations will support local leaders to help the economy come back better and stronger than before. We are deeply committed to the communities we operate in around the world and are excited to begin this important work in Chicago. We know with the collaborative efforts of these companies, we can help businesses and cities around the world open safely and continue to grow and thrive."

The coalition will share existing internal and external efforts as well as insights and learnings from their ongoing efforts across industries, sectors and geographies. This collective knowledge will then be used to create a first-of-its-kind benchmark to help develop key recommendations and guidelines to build a path forward. An initial report is expected in November 2020.

Starting in Chicago, the coalition will create a model and framework to inform criteria and guidelines that will help restart the economy worldwide. The intention is to scale this work to other key geographies including London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo.

"I applaud Aon, as well as all of the coalition participants, for their leadership and commitment to getting Chicago's businesses back on track and our residents back to work in the wake of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic," said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. "Just as it has throughout our city's history, the civic passion of our business community will play a central part in our transformational recovery effort as we join together in our shared mission to make Chicago more inclusive, more equitable, and more successful than it's ever been."

The initial group of coalition members includes: Abbott, Accenture, Allstate, Beam Suntory, BMO Harris, CDW, CNA, ComEd, ConAgra, Exelon, Fortuna Brands, Hyatt, JLL, McDonald's, Mondelez, Morningstar, Motorola Solutions, Sterling Bay, Ulta Beauty, United Airlines, Walgreens, Whirlpool, Zurich and more.

"As a global leader in commercial real estate, we understand the challenges large employers face as they prepare their organizations to return to the workplace and ensure a safe and positive re-entry experience," said Dan Ryan, president of JLL's Central Region. "This is a critical time for us to come together as a coalition of business leaders in Chicago and leverage our capabilities. JLL's deep industry expertise combined with the collective knowledge of this impressive coalition will guide a successful reentry to the workplace and drive economic growth in Chicago and beyond."

"As Illinois reopens, businesses will have the opportunity to reinvent how they operate and compete," said Jim Coleman, senior managing director, who leads Accenture's Chicago office. "We are proud to join Aon and other leading Chicagoland companies to revitalize a sustainable, thriving economy for our city and state."

Reflective of business leaders' expertise, the coalition will continue to work closely with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's and Mayor Lightfoot's offices to ensure alignment with public health and city/state official recommendations.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.

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