New Willis Australasia Chairman Roger Wilkinson says he will be concentrating on “building our bench strength” at the top end of the market and in specialisations.

Mr Wilkinson, who started at Willis in Sydney on Monday and took over management of the company from CEO Peter Lindhout, says the company is “underweight” in comparison with other countries and markets, and will adopt inorganic growth strategies to supplement organic growth.

Mr Lindhout, who joined the company last year from a management position at GE, left Willis suddenly following Mr Wilkinson’s arrival.

Mr Wilkinson told insuranceNEWS.com.au that Willis “decided this job needed the focus of a senior insurance person”.

“I’ve been around a long time, and anyone who knows me will tell you I am a builder, not a slasher,” he said.

Mr Wilkinson was formerly the Hong Kong-based Chairman and CEO of Willis Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa – a post that has now been split in three.

A New Zealander who joined Willis in 2005 after a 32-year career at Marsh, he says Willis International CEO Tim Wright instructed him to “concentrate on building the business in Australia and New Zealand”.

He is credited with tripling the size of Willis’ Asia business over the past seven years. In a statement in July announcing Mr Wilkinson’s appointment, Mr Wright said the appointment to Willis Australasia “underscores the importance of the region to our business”.

Mr Wilkinson says he was working on the local business long before he arrived in Sydney and was instrumental in convincing key managers to stay at Willis during a period of considerable movement between international brokers.

He says he will work on improving the local company’s relationship with its London headquarters.

“No more ‘Fortress Australia’,” he said. “When we need expertise and assistance, we’ll ask for it.”

He says Willis staff will concentrate on “understanding our clients’ needs and providing them with the best insurance opportunities available”.

“We’re not going to spend time at the bottom end of the market.”