Owing to the foresight of William M. Mercer, founder of William M. Mercer Limited in 1945, benefits packages that are responsive to clients’ and employees’ needs have become normalized in today’s world. As the first Canadian pension consulting business, it challenged the traditional corporate view of standardized employee benefit plans. His novel approach caught on, and the company soon had offices throughout Canada. In 1959, it was acquired by Marsh & McLennan, Inc. and today, Mercer Human Resource Consulting is the largest company of its kind, serving clients from more than 150 cities in forty countries.

In 1951, Mr. Mercer was the first author of the Mercer Bulletin and The Mercer Handbook of Canadian Pension and Benefit Plans. He died in 1961 at the age of 43. William M. Mercer was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2003.