Design Highlights
- Howden’s aggressive recruitment tactics led to the loss of over 200 employees from Brown & Brown, impacting their revenue significantly.
- The talent exodus resulted in an estimated $23 million revenue hit for Brown & Brown in 2024.
- Brown & Brown’s CEO criticized Howden for its poaching strategies during a town hall addressing the talent loss.
- Howden’s employee ownership structure and substantial cash reserves enable continued aggressive talent acquisition in the brokerage market.
- Legal challenges are anticipated as Brown & Brown enforces non-solicit clauses to mitigate the impact of Howden’s hiring spree.
Howden is in a full-blown talent war that’s turning into a financial battlefield. The stakes are high, and the competition is fierce. Just recently, Howden set its sights on acquiring Risk Strategies’ parent company, Accession, for a whopping $10 billion.
But guess what? Those talks collapsed in March 2025. In a twist of fate, Brown & Brown swooped in and took Accession off the market for $9.825 billion in June 2025, effectively blocking Howden’s path into the lucrative U.S. retail market. Ouch.
Now, with the M&A dreams dashed, Howden is shifting gears to a “talent-led market entry strategy.” In plain terms, they’re gearing up to steal talent instead of companies. And steal they did—over 200 employees from Brown & Brown in just 48 hours. Talk about a talent heist!
Those employees aren’t just numbers; they represent specialized skills that could threaten the revenue streams of their former employer. New hires helped fuel a 30% organic revenue growth for Howden in 2024, which is reflective of their 13% organic growth in 2023. The math doesn’t lie—team lifts can be a cash cow. Furthermore, Howden’s recent 56 completed acquisitions demonstrate their robust growth strategy.
But Brown & Brown isn’t just rolling over. They held a town hall meeting to address the exodus of talent and are ready to enforce every non-solicit clause in their contracts. Legal battles are looming on the horizon, with an estimated revenue hit of $23 million from the talent losses. Like 40% of small businesses that face property or general liability claims within a decade, even major brokerages aren’t immune to financial disruptions.
It’s a high-stakes game, and the competitive pressure is rising between major brokerage firms. Meanwhile, Howden is facing its own legal headaches. Lawsuits from Marsh, Aon, and Willis Towers Watson are piling up, all stemming from their aggressive recruitment tactics.
Non-compete and non-solicit clauses? They’re front and center in the litigation circus. Howden’s approach to talent acquisition has sparked a pattern of aggressive hiring practices, but those legal costs are starting to mount.
On the bright side for Howden, they’ve got a unique ownership structure that sets them apart from their highly leveraged competitors. With 34% of the company owned by over 5,300 employee shareholders, they’re positioned as a “forever home” for talent.
And let’s not forget their financial muscle. With a £5 billion investment over the last three years, including a $5 billion refinancing, they have the cash to keep their talent acquisition strategy rolling.
