This autumn marks a special chapter for Aon in Poland. The company is celebrating 20 years in Kraków. What began as a small outpost in 2005 has grown into one of Aon’s largest European centers, now employing around 1,400 people and shaping the city’s business landscape. The anniversary, beyond just a number, reflects two decades of growth, innovation, and community spirit.
To understand just how far Aon has come, it helps to look back at the very beginning — when a handful of employees, a single office key, and plenty of ambition set the stage for what would become a Kraków success story.
From One Key to Global Hub: Aon’s Rise in Kraków
In 2005, Aon’s Kraków story (then Hewitt Associates) began with five employees in the Galileo building on Armii Krajowej Street. One of those first colleagues, Dominika Maduzia, remembers the start-up feel. “The first question in the morning was always, ‘Who has the key?’” She recalled. That entrepreneurial energy set the tone for what came next.
In 2007, the team moved next door to Newton, still on Armii Krajowej, a step Kraków Centre leader Dariusz Pastuła would later call a milestone: back then, “the real estate market didn’t exist in Kraków… Galileo was one of the most modern and prestigious” addresses, and the office quickly grew to 250–300 people across two floors.
Through the 2010 Aon–Hewitt integration, Kraków expanded to 500 and then 1,000 colleagues, adding a second site at Diamante Plaza before consolidating the operations in 2018 at Enterprise Park under the “One Place” program — introducing activity-based working and a single, modern campus. The office was ‘SMART’ and offered a new experience for employees with hot desks and a booking system for ensuring you have a workstation for the day.
By the time the centre marked its 15-year milestone, Kraków had grown to nearly 1,400 colleagues. Aon has since renewed its Enterprise Park lease (over 11,300 sqm) to retain and modernize that footprint.
Building Bonds, Shaping Futures: Aon’s Kraków Legacy
Kraków’s rise has always had a community thread. Early charitable projects — renovating the Sieborowice orphanage, city volunteering, charity football — became annual routines. Internal committees built a social fabric around the work, and that culture remains a calling card for candidates who value purpose alongside performance. As Pastuła has put it, these moments created “challenging but exciting and empowering milestones” for a centre that matured in step with the city.
Leadership continuity helped the site scale. John Lyons — a long-time Kraków SSC leader — was appointed Kraków Centre Location Lead (effective 1 September, 2017 until recently), described the city as “an exciting and interesting market full of great opportunities.” Those remarks still reflect the centre’s positioning in 2025: a large, multi-disciplinary hub serving Europe, the Middle East and African (EMEA) clients and career paths that span finance, HR, procurment, tech, analytics and operations.
Lyons and the rest of the team were also instrumental in providing support to Ukrainian refugees during the commencement, and during the war in Ukraine. Lyons posted on LinkedIn how “I was honoured to accept the ASPIRE Dragon award on behalf of Aon at the ASPIRE gala on October 23rd [2024]. The award was given in recognition of Aon’s support in setting up the first ASPIRE education hub in co-operation with the Ignatianum University and ASPIRE. Through the hub we provided a space for Ukranian refugee children to continue their education in a normal and safe environment. The education hub was a great example of “beyond the bubble” co-operation. I owe a huge debt of thanks to my colleagues in Aon who volunteered to make the education hub a success.”
Two decades on, the “who has the key?” start-up days have given way to a mature global centre rooted in Kraków’s talent, real estate and community — proof that the city’s shared-services story is still being written.
Verita HR Celebrates Aon’s Kraków Milestone
At Verita HR, the team know that people are the real foundation of success. Aon’s 20 years in Kraków show how vision, culture, and community can turn a small office into a global hub.
As a recruitment and HR partner who has worked with Aon over the years, Verita HR’s teams are proud to see such growth shaping Poland’s business scene.
Verita HR celebtates Aon’s milestone, and the many successes the company has achieved over the years.
Do you need help identifying the right talent for your center in Poland? Perhaps you are thinking of setting up a new center in Krakow? If so, get in touch with the specialists at Verita HR to find out how they can help you. Recruiting, outsourcing or even through a recruitment process outsourcing model.
Verita HR offers services including RPO | Permanent Recruitment | Outsourcing | Media Services
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Author: Richardson Chinonyerem
See Also:
Krakow’s Tech Revolution Sparks a New HR Frontier – Verita HR
Why Verita HR joined the ASPIRE ecosystem in Krakow – Verita HR
