Risk Management Magazine Spoke with John Sinnot, Chairman and CEO of Hew York-Based Insurance Broker Marsh Inc., Recently about Evolving Leadership Styles, the Lessons Learned from September 11, Understanding Corporate Culture and What Kind of Risk Managers Will Succeed in Tomorrow's Risk Environment. (Executive Perspective: John Sinnott Chairman & CEO Marsh Inc.)

RM: Is there a leadership crisis looming?

John Sinnott: That's a rather broad statement. I suppose in certain companies that's true. But I don't think you can apply that in any way across the board for business throughout America. Unfortunately, there is that connotation that's coming out.

In the business that we're in, what we've seen for the last six or seven months certainly hasn't created any distraction. The whole area of risk has gone through a rather dramatic shift not only because of September 11, but other events thereafter, and we've had to apply our talents to those challenges. And this includes not just my leadership talents but the leadership talents of all our senior people.

I don't see a leadership crisis for our business or for the vast bulk of our clients. So long as you maintain a close eye on what are proper business practices, as long as you do that, I think you'll be OK.

RM: Over the course of your career, has your leadership theory changed?

Sinnott: I'm not sure the right word is "change." As with anything else, leadership theory grows as your area of responsibility becomes greater and wider, not just geographically, but financially and in terms of people. That growth does require you to change.

I've been with the company for thirty-nine years. Looking back thirty years, twenty years or ten years ago, I've had to change my style somewhat based upon my responsibilities. I certainly cannot be as hands-on in certain areas as I might have been thirty years ago when I had a smaller area of responsibility. That's one aspect. The other aspect is the change in my purview, from mostly U.S. risk issues to global risk issues.

I suppose if your responsibilities stay fairly stagnant, you might have to force yourself a bit more to reevaluate your leadership style, but when a business is growing, you don't have to prompt yourself very much to realize that change is important.

RM: Would you say that you have one underlying …

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Publication information: Article title: Risk Management Magazine Spoke with John Sinnot, Chairman and CEO of Hew York-Based Insurance Broker Marsh Inc., Recently about Evolving Leadership Styles, the Lessons Learned from September 11, Understanding Corporate Culture and What Kind of Risk Managers Will Succeed in Tomorrow's Risk Environment. (Executive Perspective: John Sinnott Chairman & CEO Marsh Inc.). Contributors: Not available. Magazine title: Risk Management. Volume: 49. Issue: 9 Publication date: September 2002. Page number: 20+. © 1999 Risk Management Society Publishing, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group.

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