Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has appointed two senior leaders to accelerate its enterprise-wide artificial intelligence strategy, naming Spike Lipkin as chief AI officer and Gordon Wintrob as head of AI acceleration, effective immediately.
The appointments build on WTW’s acquisition of Newfront in January 2026 and are designed to scale the insurtech’s AI-native capabilities across the global organisation. Both executives bring direct experience from Newfront, where they played key roles in developing and operationalising AI-driven brokerage technology.
As chief AI officer, Lipkin will lead the strategic direction of AI across WTW, focusing on how the technology supports long-term growth, competitive positioning, and value creation. His background in building one of the industry’s largest AI-powered broking platforms, alongside his involvement in integrating Newfront into WTW, positions him to guide how AI is embedded across the company’s strategy, operating model, and culture.
Meanwhile, Wintrob, as head of AI acceleration, will focus on driving adoption across the business. His remit includes ensuring AI tools are implemented effectively across teams, enabling employees to integrate them into daily workflows with greater speed, consistency, and confidence.
Both leaders will work closely with WTW’s technology function and business units, reporting directly to CEO Carl Hess, as part of a coordinated effort to scale AI capabilities globally.
The move reflects a broader push within WTW to translate AI investment into operational impact, supporting faster insights, improved decision-making, and enhanced client outcomes across its advisory, broking, and risk solutions businesses.
Carl Hess said:
“I’m excited to have Spike and Gordon in these new roles. They’ll help to further embed AI across WTW to enable faster insights and smarter decisions. This allows our colleagues to focus on developing new, innovative solutions to accelerate performance, enhance efficiency and deliver better client outcomes – with technology that amplifies their expertise, deepens client relationships and advances our industry responsibly.”
