Aon on Thursday sued rival Howden, alleging that the brokerage and a former New York-based Aon executive orchestrated a raid on Aon staff, resulting in breaches of employment agreements.
Aon joins Marsh and Willis Towers Watson, which have also sued Howden and former executives since London-based Howden recruited hundreds of staff from competitors after launching a U.S. retail operation in August.
In Aon Risk Services Cos. Inc. v. Anthony Rampersaud, Nancy Montalvo, and Howden US Services LLC, filed in federal court in New York, Aon alleges that Mr. Rampersaud, a former Aon managing director, met with Howden’s top executive during an Aon business trip to London and later helped recruit six members of his team to Howden.
“After accepting Howden’s offer of employment, and acting as its agent, Rampersaud directed his assistant to transfer multiple boxes of Aon’s confidential and trade secret materials to his home address, concealing these actions through deliberate misrepresentations to Aon,” the suit alleges.
In addition, Ms. Montalvo, a former Aon account executive, sent an Aon client list to her personal email, the suit says.
Since leaving Aon, Mr. Rampersaud and other former Aon staff have been soliciting business from Aon clients in breach of the non-solicitation clauses in their employment contracts with the company, the suit says.
Before resigning from Aon in November, Mr. Rampersaud sought to secure a new compensation plan with Aon. The company did not agree to the deal but offered him a “substantially increased” incentive plan that, if applied retrospectively, would have meant he made even more than the $900,000 Aon paid him in 2023 and 2024, court papers say.
“Despite Aon’s generous offer, Rampersaud instead opted to violate his covenants by working with Howden to gut the entire group,” Aon alleges.
Aon is seeking an injunction enjoining the employees from breaching their employment agreements, noting that more than 45 other Aon employees have joined Howden “under similarly suspicious circumstances,” according to the suit.
Howden declined to comment on the suit.