Aon appoints Pothen Jacob and Surya Shekhar De in leadership roles

British professional services firm, Aon, which sells a range of financial risk-mitigation products, has appointed Pothen Jacob and Surya Shekhar De in its new leadership team. Jacob will join Aon to lead the Executive Compensation & Governance Practice for India.

With over 25 years of domain expertise of having worked in organizations including Mercer, Dell, Towers Watson, Corporate Executive Board (CEB), Sapient, and Diageo, Jacob has held leadership positions covering India and APAC countries, the company said in a statement.

While at Diageo, Jacob led Organisation Effectiveness and Transformation agenda. At Sapient he was heading the Total Rewards across India and the Asia Pacific. At Dell, Jacob was posted as the Head of Rewards, HR Information Management, and Operation for India and the Philippines.

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In consulting and management research, he was the head of research at the Corporate executive Board for Asia, headed Willis Tower Watson’s Human Capital Business in India, and was the Industry Leader for Tech and Office Head for South at Mercer HR Consulting.

Further Shekhar De joins Aon’s Human Capital Business to lead the Financial Services Sector in India after his two-year stint at the Dubai office of Aon, leading the Financial Industry Sector for the Middle East and Africa.

Before that, he was in India with Aon’s Human Capital Practice and responsible for managing key sectors across Financial Services & was a Key Account Leader for the firm.

“Pothen and Surya add the significant capability to the Aon team in India which is already the largest and preeminent advisory firm in the areas of Performance, Rewards & Organization Effectiveness Consulting,” Nitin Sethi, CEO, India, and Asia – Performance and Rewards, Aon, said.

According to Sethi, the company, which is a market leader in over 150 consultants, continues to experience growth.

“As experienced thought leaders across multiple geographies and sectors, Surya and Pothen will partner with our clients to bring the best of Aon to them. We will continue to invest in data, technology, and thought leadership to empower our clients to unleash higher performance through their people,” Sethi added.