Aon Hewitt

Aon Hewitt was a human capital and management consulting brand operated by Aon plc after Aon's acquisition of Hewitt Associates in 2010. It combined Hewitt's established capabilities in employee benefits, retirement consulting, human resources consulting, talent and rewards, and human resources business-process outsourcing with parts of Aon's existing consulting operations. The resulting business served large employers, multinational companies, public-sector organizations, and other institutional clients. The brand's roots lay in Hewitt Associates, founded in 1940 by Edwin Shields "Ted" Hewitt as an insurance and personal financial services brokerage. Hewitt gradually developed specialist expertise in employee benefit administration and retirement plans. Its work included benefit-plan statements, investment-goal frameworks, pension design, benefit benchmarking, healthcare-plan analysis, and technology-supported administration. Over subsequent decades the company expanded into human resources strategy, compensation, talent management, organizational effectiveness, payroll-related services, and outsourced benefits administration. Hewitt remained privately held for most of its history, becoming a public company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2002 under the ticker HEW. During the 2000s it expanded through acquisitions and combinations, including businesses associated with retirement consulting, payroll technology, and HR business-process outsourcing. Its 2004 acquisition of Exult strengthened its position in outsourced human resources services. By early 2010, Hewitt described itself as serving thousands of corporate clients through a large international workforce and office network. Aon announced the acquisition of Hewitt Associates in July 2010 in a transaction valued at approximately $4.9 billion in cash and stock. The transaction closed on October 1, 2010, at which point Hewitt ceased to exist as an independent listed company and its stock ticker was removed from the NYSE. Aon's acquired operations were combined with elements of Aon's consulting business under the Aon Hewitt name. The business offered consulting, outsourcing, and related services across employee benefits, retirement, compensation, talent, organizational strategy, and human resources operations. Aon Hewitt was a business brand rather than a separately listed corporation. Its visibility as an independent external name declined after the acquisition, and Aon subsequently absorbed or restructured many of the activities associated with the label into its broader Aon business. In 2017, Aon Hewitt's benefits-outsourcing business was acquired by Blackstone and rebranded as Alight Solutions. The remaining Aon Hewitt identity and associated legal entities were later absorbed into Aon, making the name principally historical rather than a current standalone brand.

Aon Hewitt's direct history began with the acquisition of Hewitt Associates, but its institutional heritage extended back to 1940. Edwin Shields Hewitt established Edwin Shields Hewitt and Associates on October 1, 1940, initially as an insurance and personal financial services brokerage. The firm's work increasingly focused on employer-sponsored benefits and retirement arrangements. It developed methods for documenting benefits, setting investment objectives, and designing pension plans in ways connected to an employer's financial outlook. Hewitt's expertise became particularly relevant as postwar changes in taxation, employment, healthcare, and retirement security increased the complexity of employer benefit programs. During the 1950s and 1960s, Hewitt expanded its benefits and pension consulting work. The firm prepared materials used in the administration of welfare and pension plans and participated in a federal interagency task force involved in the development and implementation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In the 1970s, Hewitt introduced benefit-performance measurement and flexible investment approaches, and created the Hewitt Investment Group in 1974. The company broadened its technical and research capabilities during the 1980s. It studied automated benefits administration, retirement plans, healthcare reimbursement, part-time-worker benefits, mental-health coverage, profit sharing, and defined-contribution programs. Hewitt Technologies, created in 1988, reflected the growing use of software and computer systems in benefits administration. By the 1990s, the company had expanded outside the United States, including operations in the United Kingdom, and was researching healthcare-plan quality and effectiveness. It also became a significant administrator of outsourced benefits programs. Hewitt pursued larger-scale expansion from 2000 onward. Its activities included combinations with UK and Irish consulting operations, the acquisition of Northern Trust Retirement Consulting, the purchase of Cyborg Worldwide's software and payroll-related activities, and the acquisition of Exult in 2004. Exult strengthened Hewitt's human resources business-process outsourcing platform. Hewitt also experimented with online benefits enrollment and investment advice, including the Sageo service, although Sageo was later discontinued. The firm became a public company in 2002 under the NYSE ticker HEW and used acquisition proceeds to reduce debt and support international growth. Aon announced its purchase of Hewitt Associates on July 12, 2010. The transaction, valued at about $4.9 billion in cash and stock, closed on October 1, 2010. Hewitt's public-company identity ended, and the acquired operations were combined with portions of Aon's consulting business under the Aon Hewitt name. The new business operated within Aon's global network and provided human capital consulting, employee benefits and retirement advice, talent and rewards services, organizational consulting, and selected outsourcing functions. The Aon Hewitt label did not remain a permanent standalone identity. Its prominence declined as Aon consolidated its business structure and branding. In 2017, the benefits-outsourcing division was sold to Blackstone and became Alight Solutions. Aon later absorbed the Aon Hewitt name and related legal entities into the broader Aon business. Accordingly, Aon Hewitt is best understood as a historical Aon business brand and as the successor platform to Hewitt Associates, rather than as an active independent company.

1. 2017Benefits outsourcing becomes Alight Solutions

   Blackstone acquires the benefits-outsourcing business associated with Aon Hewitt and rebrands it as Alight Solutions.

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2. 2012Aon Hewitt acquires Omnipoint

   Aon Hewitt acquires Omnipoint, expanding its Workday implementation capabilities and partnership activity.

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3. 2010Aon completes the purchase of Hewitt Associates

   Aon's acquisition closes on October 1, and Hewitt's operations are combined with parts of Aon's consulting business to form Aon Hewitt.

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4. 2004Exult acquisition expands HR outsourcing

   Hewitt completes its acquisition of Exult, strengthening its human resources business-process outsourcing capabilities.

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5. 2002Hewitt becomes publicly traded

   Hewitt Associates lists on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HEW after nearly six decades as a private company.

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6. 1988Hewitt Technologies is created

   The company establishes a technology unit to address computerization and automated administration of employee benefit programs.

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7. 1974Hewitt Investment Group is formed

   Hewitt creates an investment-focused consulting group after developing flexible investment strategies for employee benefit programs.

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8. 1940Edwin Shields Hewitt and Associates is founded

   Edwin Shields “Ted” Hewitt establishes the firm as an insurance and personal financial services brokerage, beginning the corporate history that later leads to Aon Hewitt.

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A global professional-services platform for large employers seeking advice and operational support across workforce strategy, employee benefits, retirement, talent, rewards, and human resources administration.

• Human Capital ConsultingConsulting services

  Advisory work covering workforce strategy, organizational design, human resources strategy, talent management, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness. The offering connected people-related decisions with broader business objectives and was delivered primarily to large employers and multinational organizations.

• Employee Benefits and Retirement ConsultingEmployee benefits services

  Consulting and administration support for employer-sponsored benefits and retirement programs. Activities included plan design, governance, benchmarking, investment considerations, pension strategy, healthcare benefits, and evaluation of program effectiveness. This line represented one of the central areas of expertise inherited from Hewitt Associates.

• Talent and RewardsHuman resources consulting

  Services focused on compensation, executive and employee rewards, talent strategy, performance, succession, and organizational capability. The work helped clients align pay and workforce practices with business strategy, labor-market conditions, and desired organizational behaviors.

• Human Resources OutsourcingOutsourcing services

  Outsourced and managed services for selected human resources processes, including benefits administration, retirement operations, payroll-related work, and employee support. The business grew through Hewitt's earlier acquisitions and was later partly separated from Aon and rebranded as Alight Solutions.

• SageoOnline benefits service

  An online service intended to help retirees and older employees compare, select, and enroll in benefit programs. It was designed to simplify benefits decisions and potentially reduce employer administration costs, but it did not become profitable and was dismantled after its launch.

• 2017Benefits-outsourcing business is sold to BlackstoneM&A

  Aon separated the benefits-outsourcing operation from the rest of its human capital consulting activities.

  What changed. Blackstone acquired the relevant Aon Hewitt benefits-outsourcing business and established it as Alight Solutions.

  Aftermath. The transaction removed a significant operating segment from the Aon Hewitt platform and accelerated the decline of Aon Hewitt as a distinct brand.

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• 2010Aon acquires Hewitt AssociatesM&A

  Aon sought to expand its consulting and human capital capabilities, while Hewitt brought a substantial employee-benefits, retirement, and HR outsourcing platform.

  What changed. Aon agreed to acquire Hewitt Associates for approximately $4.9 billion in cash and stock. The transaction closed on October 1, 2010, and the combined operations were organized under the Aon Hewitt name.

  Aftermath. Hewitt stopped operating as an independent public company, its HEW ticker was removed, and Aon announced planned workforce reductions of approximately 1,500 to 1,800 positions. The transaction created a major human capital business inside Aon.

  Transaction value. Approximately $4.9 billion (Announced July 2010; completed October 1, 2010)

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• 2021Aon terminates proposed Willis Towers Watson transaction after U.S. antitrust lawsuit

  Aon abandoned its proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson after the United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit. The event concerned Aon plc rather than an operating Aon Hewitt brand, but it was relevant to the parent group's later corporate strategy.

  LawsuitM&ARegulation
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• 2017Blackstone acquires Aon Hewitt benefits-outsourcing business

  Blackstone acquired the benefits-outsourcing portion of Aon Hewitt, which was subsequently separated and rebranded as Alight Solutions.

  M&A
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• 2010Aon agrees to acquire Hewitt Associates

  Aon announced an agreement to acquire Hewitt Associates in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.9 billion.

  M&A
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• 2010Aon completes acquisition of Hewitt Associates

  The acquisition closed on October 1, ending Hewitt's existence as an independent public company and leading to the creation of the Aon Hewitt business.

  M&ALeadership change
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• 2010Aon announces workforce reductions after Hewitt acquisition

  Aon said that approximately 1,500 to 1,800 positions would be eliminated following the combination.

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1. Aon Hewitt