LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hewitt EnnisKnupp, an Aon Hewitt company, announced today it has hired Karen Rode as the leader of its Global Private Equity group. In this role, Rode will be responsible for leading a team of professionals that help Hewitt EnnisKnupp's clients build highly tailored and effective global private equity programs.

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Rode has nearly 20 years experience in the private equity market and has held a variety of senior positions, including sourcing, underwriting and portfolio management. Prior to joining Hewitt EnnisKnupp, she was the Senior Managing Director of Funds at GE Capital, where she led the company's global fund investment activities and co-led the GE Healthymagination fund.

"As one of the largest investment consulting firms in the world, Hewitt EnnisKnupp is committed to having best-in-class alternative investment consulting capabilities," said Steve Cummings, chief executive officer of Hewitt EnnisKnupp. "Karen is a seasoned professional who brings hands-on, tangible private equity experience to our team—a quality that's unique in our industry and highly desirable among our clients. Under her leadership, we're strengthening our ability to meet client needs and the growing market demand we're seeing for private equity advisory services."  

Hewitt EnnisKnupp has been helping clients with private equity services for more than 20 years and serves more than 35 clients with investments in and/or commitments to private equity of $35 billion. The Global Private Equity team has been involved with the deployment of aggregate capital commitments in leveraged buyouts, venture capital special situations, emerging managers, mezzanine, distressed debt, energy and natural resources. It is active in both fund of funds and secondary funds.

Rode holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's degree from Indiana University. She has both her CFA and CPA. She is based in Chicago.

About Aon Hewitt

Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions.  The company partners with organizations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance.  Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies.  With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon

Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting and outsourcing. Through its more than 59,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon's industry-leading global resources and technical expertise are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Named the world's best broker by Euromoney magazine's 2008, 2009 and 2010 Insurance Survey, Aon also ranked highest on Business Insurance's listing of the world's insurance brokers based on commercial retail, wholesale, reinsurance and personal lines brokerage revenues in 2008 and 2009. A.M. Best deemed Aon the number one insurance broker based on brokerage revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Aon was voted best insurance intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary and best employee benefits consulting firm in 2007, 2008 and 2009 by the readers of Business Insurance. Visit http://www.aon.com for more information on Aon and http://www.aon.com/unitedin2010 to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

SOURCE Aon Corporation