GLOBAL - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has named a new chief operating officer and president, both new roles.

Former Prudential Investments chief executive Michael Caulfield, 58, becomes COO. Former Putnam Investments executive Jeffrey Miller, 45, becomes president of Mercer HR Services.

And 51-year-old Patricia Milligan, formerly managing director at Mellon Financial Corp.’s Human Resources and Investor Solutions group, becomes global market development leader.

A spokesman denied the appointments were a signal that the firm is being prepared to be sold off from parent firm MMC, which has been caught up in regulatory investigations involving its insurance business.

“You should not interpret this as creating a separate management structure that in some way could be related to an M&A event, because it centralises certain functions that due to Mercer's growth through acquisition, were scattered geographically,” said Charles Salmans, Mercer’s global director of public relations.

He told IPE: “This represents an effort to integrate our resources globally for reasons of efficiency and profitability, as well as to provide the kind of globally integrated services our multinational clients increasingly demand.”

The three new hires will report to Mercer HR Consulting’s chief executive and president Brian Storms.

"These are three exceptional new leaders whose backgrounds complement an already strong executive team," said Storms in a statement.

"The appointments also signal our determination to take Mercer Human Resource Consulting to a new level of growth and competitiveness, delivering industry-leading advisory content in tandem with innovative, effective bundled products and solutions," Storms added.

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