Willis Towers Watson management check
WTW · Financials · Insurance Brokers · CEO Carl Aaron Hess
Filings as of
6 good · 1 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $167, against $137 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.87 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.8% of net income$12.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.6bn of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are buying2 insiders bought $1.0m on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $250k.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -3.4% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Haley, Mr. Hess. 1 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 77 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 94 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 58 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | 80 | 51 | |
| Dilution | 92 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Insurance Brokers, by management score. Willis Towers Watson is 13th of 72 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 27, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Hess | $12.8m | $21.7m | $4.2m | $167 | $137 | $1.6bn |
| 2024 | Mr. Hess | $12.5m | $22.0m | $4.5m | $157 | $158 | −$98.0m |
| 2023 | Mr. Hess | $12.7m | $17.3m | $3.2m | $119 | $128 | $1.1bn |
| 2022 | Mr. Hess | $10.7m | $11.4m | $2.8m | $119 | $111 | $1.0bn |
| 2021 | Mr. Haley | $20.3m | $14.6m | $3.7m | $114 | $123 | $4.2bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted Operating Margin. Its other key measures: Adjusted EPS Growth, Adjusted Net Revenue, Adjusted Net Revenue Growth, Adjusted Operating Margin Improvement, Free Cash Flow Margin, Relative TSR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Carl Aaron Hess (Chief Executive Officer) held 117,577.296 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 15, 2026.
2 insiders bought $1.0m on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $250k.
- BoughtCarl Aaron HessChief Executive Officer$510kMay 4, 2026
- BoughtLucy ClarkePresident of Risk & Broking$499kMay 6, 2026
- SoldAlexis FaberChief Operating Officer$250kAug 10, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Mar 3, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 24, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 9, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 28, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 30, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 10, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 21, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $10.5bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 135% of net income, and $599.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.8bn | $8.7bn | $9.3bn | $9.7bn | $9.5bn |
| Net income | $4.2bn | $1.0bn | $1.1bn | −$98.0m | $1.6bn |
| Stock-based pay | $101.0m | $99.0m | $125.0m | $121.0m | $153.0m |
| Buybacks | $1.6bn | $3.5bn | $1.0bn | $901.0m | $1.6bn |
| Dividends | $374.0m | $369.0m | $352.0m | $354.0m | $358.0m |
| Diluted shares | 129m | 112m | 106m | 102m | 99m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.