Marsh McLennan has appointed David Bryant to a newly created Pacific leadership role as the company looks to draw on expertise from across its four businesses to assist clients facing interconnected challenges.

Mr Bryant takes on the role of Marsh McLennan Pacific CEO in addition to his responsibilities as Pacific President for the group’s Mercer consulting business. The change is effective from the start of next month.

“David is a proven leader in the region, with experience leading multiple lines of businesses,” Marsh McLennan International CEO Flavio Piccolomini said. “He has a deep understanding of the challenges organisations in the Pacific face and has already led a variety of collaborative efforts across our businesses with spectacular results.”

Marsh says Mr Bryant will lead a new collaborative effort in the region to deliver innovative solutions and greater client impact at the intersections of the Marsh, Mercer, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman businesses.

Mr Bryant, based in Melbourne, will report to Mr Piccolomini. Marsh Pacific President Nick Harris will report to Mr Bryant and continue also to report to Marsh Global President Martin South.

“Our clients face a range of interconnected challenges from sustained inflation to the potential for geo-economic confrontation and that impacts their approach to risk management, workforce strategies, investments and more,” Mr Bryant said.

“They need capabilities from across our businesses to tackle these issues holistically, and that is what we will deliver together - greater expertise and client value.”

Before joining Mercer, Mr Bryant was CEO of Wealth & Capital Markets and Chief Investment Officer at Australian Unity. He is the current Financial Services Council Chairman.

The Pacific region includes Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.