Senior executives from Marsh & McLennan have visited Australia as they finalise the acquisition of broker JLT.

“Our leadership team recently visited JLT’s major locations around the world, including stops in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, many cities in the US and, of course, London,” CEO Dan Glaser told an earnings briefing last week. “Through town halls and other interactions, we have had the opportunity to engage with colleagues representing 80% of JLT's global revenue base.”

Marsh and JLT are working through further appointments to the Australian businesses after new roles for Nick Harris and Scott Leney were announced after the takeover deal.

Mr Harris, who is JLT CEO for Australia and New Zealand, will become Marsh Pacific CEO, while Mr Leney, who currently holds that role, will become Head of Australia and report to Mr Harris.

JLT Australia and New Zealand Chairman Andre Louw will become Chairman of Pacific for Marsh.

Further local appointments are being finalised as the company secures global antitrust and regulatory approvals for the merger. Marsh & McLennan has already gained JLT shareholder support.

“We continue to expect closing in the spring,” Mr Glaser said last week.

Marsh & McLennan announced the deal last September, creating a global giant with a workforce of 75,000 and providing the US-based group with a stronger position in the Australian market.

Mr Leney will take up the Australian leadership position after three years running the Pacific business. Before that he was CEO of Marsh Australia.

His roles have involved driving growth in New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Marsh & McLennan reported net profit rose 10.6% to $US1.6 billion ($2.2 billion) last year after a strong fourth quarter, while revenue increased 7% to $US15 billion ($20.7 billion)

The company’s Risk and Insurance Services division comprises Marsh and Guy Carpenter, and its consulting operations include Mercer and Oliver Wyman.

Marsh CEO John Doyle said commercial pricing was up nearly 2% in the fourth quarter overall, with the major markets of the US and UK up slightly on average.

“Australia remains the outlier market, where prices are relatively firm on average, 10-plus percent increases across most product lines,” he told the conference call.