DUBLIN, Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, announced today the appointment of John Neal as Global Chairman of Climate Solutions and Global CEO of Reinsurance for Aon, effective following the conclusion of his notice period.
Neal will help lead Aon's efforts to address the growing and complex risks associated with climate change, while also building on the success of the firm's industry-leading Reinsurance team, further enhancing the value Aon delivers to clients. His appointment arrives at a critical time as businesses and communities around the world must tackle increasing volatility driven by climate-related events, and as Aon continues to leverage its integrated Risk Capital capabilities to offer the firm's clients advanced analytics, innovative solutions and access to new sources of capital. Neal will play an important role in delivering Reinsurance solutions to meet the evolving demands of today's dynamic marketplace. He will be based in London, reporting to Andy Marcell, CEO of Risk Capital for Aon, and serve as a member of the firm's Risk Capital leadership team.
"John's career is celebrated for looking ahead to the future and investing in technology and talent to position the insurance industry for greater impact and growth," said Greg Case, CEO of Aon. "He brings significant and relevant experience that will advance our 3x3 Plan to accelerate our Aon United strategy, unlock integrated climate solutions and ultimately create key points of difference in how we serve our clients across risk and people issues."
Neal will join Aon from Lloyd's of London (Lloyd's), the world's leading insurance marketplace, where he has served as CEO since October 2018. During his tenure, Lloyd's experienced a remarkable transformation, achieving industry-leading performance and the company's strongest financial position in its 340-year history. His strategic initiatives helped position the company for long-term growth and sustainability, while reinforcing the vital role the insurance industry plays in helping clients navigate risks — from geopolitical volatility to climate change.
Marcell said, "I'm excited to welcome John to Aon. He brings a wealth of experience, strategic vision and a deep understanding of the shifting needs of our clients. His leadership will be instrumental in supporting the team to address the challenges organizations face across the megatrends of Trade, Technology, Weather and Workforce, and developing solutions that enable our clients to thrive in a rapidly changing world."
Neal added, "I will be forever grateful to my colleagues and many others across the Lloyd's market for the opportunity to put in place a framework that has delivered strong and sustainable financial performance and positions Lloyd's for future success. At Aon, I'm looking forward to supporting colleagues as they look to serve clients' reinsurance needs and deliver smart insurance solutions that help address some of the world's most pressing challenges, especially with regard to the climate transition."
Prior to joining Lloyd's, Neal served as Group CEO of QBE, a global insurance and reinsurance business, where he was responsible for running a $14 billion gross written premium (GWP) business with over 14,000 employees in 37 countries. Before becoming CEO, he held a number of leadership positions at QBE, including Chief Underwriting Officer and Chief Operations Officer of the firm's European operations. Previously, he led a management buyout of Ensign to establish a dedicated Lloyd's Managing Agency. As CEO of Ensign, he grew GWP to $300 million to create the leading specialist commercial motor underwriter in the UK. He also worked at Bankside Managing Agency, where he was the youngest active underwriter at Lloyd's, and started his career at the Crowe Underwriting Agency.
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries and sovereignties with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses.
Follow Aon on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Stay up-to-date by visiting Aon's newsroom and sign up for news alerts here.
Media Contact
mediainquiries@aon.com
Toll-free (U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico): +1 833 751 8114
International: +1 312 381 3024
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Aon appoints John Neal as Global Chairman of Climate Solutions and Global CEO of Reinsurance
BEIJING, Jan. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recent achievement, DP Technology's hit discovery platform RiDYMO® has successfully designed a cyclic peptide targeting β-catenin, a historically "undruggable" protein, in just two months. This innovative AI-driven approach combines advanced algorithms, physics simulations, and high-throughput experimentation to rapidly develop potential drug candidates for challenging targets. The platform's success with β-catenin, a key player in cancer development, demonstrates its potential to revolutionize drug discovery for previously intractable targets.
The Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a crucial role in various biological functions and is implicated in multiple cancers[1-3]. Despite its importance as a therapeutic target[4-7], β-catenin has long been considered "undruggable" due to its flat protein surface[8-10]. The RiDYMO® platform overcomes this challenge by leveraging a vast library of over 10^12 cyclic peptides and macrocyclic molecules, incorporating both natural and non-natural amino acids.
Using the RiDYMO® platform, researchers rapidly designed and screened cyclic peptide molecules for β-catenin binding. The process involved:
The results were impressive, with 12 compounds showing strong inhibition of protein-protein interactions (IC50≤10 μM), a success rate of over 40%. One standout compound, designated as compound 24, effectively bound to β-catenin, disrupted its interaction with BCL9, and inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Dr. Dongdong Wang, Co-President of DP Technology's Drug Discovery Unit, emphasized the platform's ability to tackle undruggable targets and rapidly design high-quality compounds. The RiDYMO® platform's success with β-catenin demonstrates its potential to accelerate the development of orally available cyclic peptide drugs, potentially transforming the pharmaceutical industry's approach to challenging targets.
This breakthrough in cyclic peptide design for β-catenin showcases the power of AI-driven drug discovery platforms in addressing previously intractable targets, potentially opening new avenues for cancer treatment and other therapeutic areas.
About the RiDYMO® Hit Discovery and Optimization Platform
RiDYMO® is a state-of-the-art hit discovery and optimization platform developed by DP Technology, leveraging the principles of AI for Science. It employs the proprietary Hermite® computational drug design software to elucidate the dynamics of "undruggable" targets and explores a broader chemical space encompassing small molecules, macrocycles, and cyclic peptides. By integrating advanced artificial intelligence, physics-based algorithms, and high-throughput experimentation, the platform excels in designing oral macrocyclic compounds and rapidly delivers innovative drug candidates.
As one of its core algorithms, Reinforced Dynamics (RiD)[4] has a significant advantage in the sampling efficiency of molecular dynamics simulation. By fully leveraging the high-dimensional representation capabilities of neural networks, RiD can efficiently capture dynamic conformational changes in complicated biomolecular systems. Previously, the core RiD algorithm of the platform was published in Nature Computational Science [11]. The study demonstrated that RiD could achieve a more comprehensive free energy surface within 1.86 μs, compared to 100 μs required by traditional MD methods, representing nearly a hundredfold increase in efficiency.
RiDYMO® has been successfully employed in various drug discovery programs, including the development of small molecule compounds for crucial targets such as c-Myc and GPX4, as well as other modalities such as cyclic peptides and ADCs.
For more information, please visit our website.
(https://www.dp.tech/en/services/medicine).
About Hermite
Hermite® is a next-generation computational drug design platform developed by DP Technology, powered by AI for Science, to provide a comprehensive solution for drug design. Hermite® integrates industry-leading tools such as the Free Energy Perturbation module ("Uni-FEP"), and the ultra-high-throughput virtual screening tool ("Uni-VSW"). The platform supports key stages of drug discovery from protein structure prediction and target validation to hit discovery and lead optimization.
In addition, the platform offers an interactive, web-based molecular visualization experience, with detailed management of projects, teams, and data. It features full compliance certification, multi-tier security measures. Users have the flexibility to choose between cloud-based or private deployment options.
Hermite® is rapidly gaining traction in the pharmaceutical industry, with over 60% of leading companies in China utilizing the platform across more than 50 drug pipelines. This growing trust is reflected in the impressive number of calculations performed—over 200,000 Uni-FEP calculations to date—demonstrating Hermite®'s reliability and effectiveness as a powerful tool for drug discovery and development.
For more information, please visit: https://www.dp.tech/en/product/hermite
References:
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
RiDYMO® Designs Cyclic Peptide for "Undruggable" β-Catenin Target Within Two Months
RiDYMO® Designs Cyclic Peptide for "Undruggable" β-Catenin Target Within Two Months
RiDYMO® Designs Cyclic Peptide for "Undruggable" β-Catenin Target Within Two Months
