Governance professional of the year (large cap) Kate Brennan, Marsh McLennan
Kate Brennan, Marsh McLennan
Kate Brennan has worn many hats, often simultaneously, during her time at Marsh McLennan as a champion for governance, ESG, compliance and crisis management. In recognition of her feats, last June she followed her tenure as deputy general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer (CCO) for Marsh McLennan by becoming general counsel of the company’s Marsh business. ‘She’s a rock star,’ says one of our judges.
In her role as head of the company’s crisis management team, Brennan guided Marsh McLennan through the Covid-19 pandemic, responding to the crisis while leading the organization’s thinking about the future of work. She also took on the extra responsibility of managing the security and business resilience management teams.
‘It all ties back to governance,’ Brennan says. For example, preparing for potential vaccine mandates involved working with employees, communications and legal teams, bringing the issue back to a group with representatives from across the business then taking recommendations to the executive committee.
Brennan has been a champion of ESG internally and externally in her role as head of the management ESG committee and secretary of the Marsh McLennan board’s ESG committee. Between 2020 and 2021, the company adopted the TCFD standards, announced goals to reduce its carbon footprint by 15 percent by 2025 and released its inaugural ESG report, which uses TCFD, SASB and GRI disclosure standards.
‘We've used the report to drive change within the organization,’ Brennan says. For example, it led to the firm's climate pledge, the release of statements on pay equity and the disclosure of more granular workforce data.
It’s a team effort
The company has also appointed an ESG reporting lead who is part of the corporate governance team and works with colleagues across the organization to create a unified ESG reporting and disclosure strategy. The ESG reporting lead also works with the teams that manage the creation of Marsh McLennan’s annual report and proxy statement to ensure ESG matters are reported consistently and viewed holistically. In 2021 the ESG report and proxy statement were published on the same day.
‘The biggest advocacy group we hear from these days is our employees,’ Brennan says. Some ask as they come in the door what the company is doing about ESG issues, which means the ESG report has become a useful tool for recruitment and retention, she adds. She has also engaged with the market on ESG issues and co-authored articles on ESG topics in public disclosures and the role of boards. In addition, not content with taking up her new role as general counsel, she continues to chair the crisis management and ESG teams.
As CCO, Brennan led the digitization of the company’s code of conduct, The Greater Good, and a global effort to recertify colleagues’ commitment to its key principles: ‘winning with integrity’, ‘you are never alone’ and ‘speaking up'.
The code was updated and an app and chat bot were created that could answer questions about the code, many of which are similar. Brennan notes that there was initially caution about launching this online version during the pandemic but then a realization that it was the best time to do so to let employees know they were not alone while working remotely. A module on racial bias was added during 2020.
Asked what makes for a successful governance professional, Brennan mentions integrity, seeking diversity of advice and being able to bring people together. ‘It’s a team effort,’ she says.
‘Kate Brennan [has] embodied impeccable governance to lead Marsh McLennan through unprecedented shifts in the way we work, a reimagining of the way we engage with our community and a recommitment to our corporate culture and values,’ her nominating submission reads.
