Aon Hewitt (NYSE: AON) today announced an alliance with Universal Consensus, LLC, a leading cross-cultural consulting firm, to enhance Aon Hewitt global M&A practice. Universal Consensus will enhance Aon Hewitt’s capabilities to serve global stakeholders from different cultures throughout the M&A process, from deal-making and due diligence to risk management and integration. http://www.universalconsensus.com/

1. NEWS FROM UNIVERSAL CONSENSUS
Media Contacts:
For Universal Consensus:
Meghann Boyd, +1 (760) 390-0185, Meghann@universalconsensus.com
For Aon Hewitt:
Maurissa Kanter,+1 847-442-0952, maurissa.kanter@aonhewitt.com
For Immediate Release
Leading Cross-Cultural Consulting Firm, Universal Consensus, LLC.,
Partners With Aon Hewitt to Serve Global M&A Clients
Cultural differences significantly impact the international M&A process and play a critical role in the valuation
of M&A targets and the reduction of cost and risk during M&A integration
SAN DIEGO, January 24, 2013 –, Universal Consensus LLC, a leading cross-cultural management
consultant and training firm, today announced it is collaborating with Aon Hewitt, the global human resource
solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), to enhance Aon Hewitt’s cross-cultural advisory, integration and
business optimization services for its global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) clients.
Headquartered in San Diego, Universal Consensus offers cross-cultural assessments, advisory services, and
training to hundreds of large organizations around the world. Its proprietary framework, the BMIA™ (Business
Model of Intercultural Analysis), evaluates companies’ challenges and growth opportunities of doing business
across cultures, both internationally and domestically. Armed with this data, Universal Consensus experts
develop customized solutions including assessments, strategic advising, training, executive coaching and
other programs to help companies improve how they integrate across cultures during a merger, acquisition or
joint venture.
“Culture is one of the big obstacles hindering deal success and is a driving force behind many other
immediate causes of deal failure, including delayed integration or implementation. Some of the largest
companies in the world pull out or scale back in foreign target markets simply because they failed to
understand the impact of national cultures on the very factors they relied upon to drive profitability,” said
David Sult, senior vice president of Merger and Acquisitions Solutions at Aon Hewitt. “Our partnership with
Universal Consensus complements our existing cultural capabilities, expands our global footprint and brings
us additional levels of insight, capabilities and tools to help companies understand and manage the cross-
cultural issues that impact the success of their M&A transactions.”
“More and more companies realize the importance of evaluating and controlling the impact of national
cultures coming together during the M&A process,” said Denise Pirrotti Hummel, CEO of Universal
Consensus. “Failing to appropriately identify, analyze and manage cultural differences can create significant
problems for organizations and can often lead to the success or failure of a transaction. Our partnership with
Aon Hewitt enables us to combine our talent and expertise to help companies find the most effective way to
bring together diverse national workforces and cultures.”
Aon’s M&A Solutions (AMAS) practice provides comprehensive services through the entire M&A lifecycle
including due diligence, integration planning and implementation. For the past four years, AMAS has provided
world-class thought leadership and experience on more than 3,700 diligence assignments. The practice’s
expert team is comprised of over 300 dedicated M&A professionals worldwide, including management
consultants, attorneys, actuaries, human capital specialists, brokers, underwriters, claims adjusters and
investment bankers.
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2. For more information about AMAS, visit www.aon.com/risk-services/mergers-acquisitions.jsp
For more information about Universal Consensus, visit www.universalconsensus.com
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About Universal Consensus
Universal Consensus is a global cross cultural advisory, management consulting, and training firm. Corporations are
enabled to leverage the power of culture to increase agility, improve profitability, and optimize operations in their business
ecosystems, across borders, and around the world. Universal Consensus clients include FedEx Corp., Whirlpool Corp.,
Qualcomm Inc., Roche Holding AG, the Pentagon, and the U.S. State Department. For more information on Universal
Consensus, visit www.universalconsensus.com. Are logo is available for media use.
About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource 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 plc (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and
human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 61,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to
empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through
industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker,
best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by
multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn
about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.