NEW YORK, Apr 11, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company, has announced that president and chief operating officer Mark Mactas has decided to retire by the end of calendar year 2011.

Mactas, 58, has provided leadership in a number of geography and line-of-business roles during his 31-year tenure with the company. He served as Towers Perrin chief executive officer before stepping into the role of Towers Watson president and chief operating officer after the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt Worldwide in 2010.

"Mark has established a reputation as a leader who operates with unquestionable integrity and throughout his career has been a role model for the company's values," said John Haley, Towers Watson chairman and chief executive officer. "Although Mark is not leaving just yet, on behalf of the Towers Watson community and our Board of Directors, I would like to thank him for his many years of distinguished service and his selfless leadership."

Over the coming months, Mactas will continue in his current role as president and chief operating officer. His areas of focus will remain the same - positioning Towers Watson for growth through his input into overall strategy, furthering the company's integration efforts, and providing guidance in critical areas such as leadership development and succession planning.

"My primary goal and interest has been to ensure that our company is positioned for long-term success and I firmly believe that is the case," said Mactas. "I have tremendous confidence in and respect for John, our leadership team and our associates. Now is the right time for me to consider my retirement, and I feel confident that I can take a step back later this year and watch Towers Watson thrive from a new vantage point."

About Towers Watson

Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at www.towerswatson.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements and other forward-looking statements in this document by words such as "may", "will", "would", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "plan", "intend", "continue", or similar words, expressions or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Towers Watson's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: the risk that the Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt businesses will not be integrated successfully; the risk that anticipated cost savings and any other synergies from the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the ability to successfully make and integrate profitable acquisitions; the risk that the recently announced acquisitions of EMB or Aliquant Corporation are not profitable or are not otherwise successfully integrated; the ability to successfully address issues surrounding the number of company shares that will become freely tradable on January 1, 2012; our ability to respond to rapid technological changes; the ability to recruit and retain qualified employees, particularly given the company's recent changes in employee compensation plans; and to retain client relationships, particularly in the executive compensation business, given recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory actions; and the risk that a significant or prolonged economic downturn could have a material adverse effect on Towers Watson's business, financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks and factors are identified under "Risk Factors" in Towers Watson's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on September 7, 2010 with the SEC.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events because these statements are based on assumptions that may not come true and are speculative by their nature. Towers Watson does not undertake an obligation to update any of the forward-looking information included in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed expectations or otherwise.

SOURCE: Towers Watson

For Towers Watson
Ed Emerman, +1 609-275-5162
eemerman@eaglepr.com
or
Michael McNamara, +1 212-309-3669
michael.mcnamara@towerswatson.com