Dubai, 19 October 2011: Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consulting and outsourcing solutions business of Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON), today announced that according to its annual Salary Increase Survey (“SIS”), companies in the Middle East are projecting average salary increases in 2012 of 6.3%. 

The Aon Hewitt Salary Increase Survey is an annual survey conducted globally, with approximately 280 companies participating across the Middle East.  The survey is part of a suite of evidence-based, research-led studies, conducted by the firm.

Within the Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”), companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are projecting the biggest growth at 5.9% each. 

Across the broader Middle East region, companies in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon anticipates the highest rises in 2012, with Egypt projecting salary increases of 10%, nearly double the average of 5.4% in the GCC.

Globally, companies in India and China are among the most optimistic, estimating increases of 12.8% and 9.6% respectively.

Middle East Countries:

Launching the research today was Dr Markus Wiesner, Aon Hewitt’s newly appointed Middle East CEO.

Dr. Wiesner commented: “Recent macro events appear to have affected the GCC and the broader Middle East less than other parts of the world, when looking at expected salary rises.  As one might expect, companies in India and China are even more optimistic.  We believe the research provides a good litmus test for the general optimism within businesses in the region at the current time.”

Appointment of Markus Wiesner as regional CEO
Dr. Wiesner brings over 15 years of senior HR consulting experience to the role, and joins from Mercer Consulting, where he worked since 2002, firstly in Europe and most recently in Dubai, as Managing Director Middle East since 2007.

As part of his new role at Aon Hewitt, Dr. Wiesner will be responsible for growing the firm’s portfolio of blue-chip and public sector clients, and spearheading the expansion of the practice across MENA.  Dr. Wiesner brings enormous depth of experience to Aon Hewitt, particularly in the areas of large-scale HR transformations, set-ups, rewards, performance management and HR structure design. He has worked as a senior client manager for the majority of his career, implementing mission critical projects for major global multi-nationals.

Dr. Wiesner commented: “Since  the acquisition of Hewitt Associates by Aon in 2010, Aon Hewitt now offers an enhanced service portfolio, and a wider scope of consulting solutions for its client base both globally and across the MENA region.  I am delighted to be part of such a dynamic and forward-thinking consultancy, and am looking forward to working with the team on the next phase of corporate growth.  Having successfully completed a major HR transformation ourselves, we are excited about the wider opportunities that our new service offering gives.

“As part of our commitment to the region, we are pleased to announce the opening of a new office in the DIFC, and further investment through the appointment of several new senior-level hires.  We are now well placed to maximise the growth prospects represented by MENA.”

END

About SIS
Aon Hewitt has recently concluded its 4th Annual Middle East Salary Increase Survey. The survey measures actual and projected salary increases and compensation practices for six specific employee groups - top executive, middle management, professional/ supervisory, clerical/administrative, sales force and manual workforce. Information used in this report was collected during the period of July 2011 to August 2011.

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource 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 resources solutions and outsourcing. Through its more than 59,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to deliver 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 in over 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 revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Aon was voted best insurance intermediary 2007-2010, best reinsurance intermediary 2006-2010, best captives manager 2009-2010, and best employee benefits consulting firm 2007-2009 by the readers of Business Insurance. Visit http://www.aon.com for more information on Aon and http://www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon’s global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.