Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan: Career Highlights

Ryan's career in the insurance industry began after graduating from Northwestern University when he joined Penn Mutual's Chicago office as a life insurance agent. In 1962, he founded the first Finance and Insurance (F&I) department at Dick Fencl Chevrolet. Two years later, he established Pat Ryan & Associates, a brokerage and underwriting agency. Ryan's entrepreneurial drive led him to transform Pat Ryan & Associates into a nationwide business by borrowing money to buy a dormant insurance company. This bold move allowed him to take the firm public in 1971 with $25 million in annual sales.

In 1976, the firm's name was changed to Ryan Insurance Group, and in 1977, Ryan made a significant acquisition by purchasing the retail brokerage units from Esmark Inc. The company's growth continued with the purchase of the James S. Kemper agencies in 1981. The following year, Ryan Insurance Group merged with Combined International, and Ryan became the CEO. In 1987, he changed Combined's name to Aon Corporation and served as its chairman and CEO for an impressive 41 years.

Under Ryan's leadership, Aon grew into a global insurance brokerage and consulting firm with more than 500 offices in 120 countries, generating revenues of over $7 billion at the time of his retirement in 2008. Ryan's entrepreneurial spirit continued to drive him, and in 2010, he formed Ryan Specialty Group (RSG), a global specialty insurance holding company.

RSG's wholesale operation, RT Specialty, is the 3rd largest wholesale broker in the US, and RSG Underwriting Managers (RSGUM) comprises 16 underwriting facilities.