AIG’s Benmosche to Step Down in Early 2015
May 13, 2014 by Michael Buck
NEW YORK – The American International Group Inc. board of directors is evaluating candidates to succeed President and Chief Executive Officer Robert H. Benmosche, who plans to step down from his posts in early 2015.
It will be the second time Benmosche, who has been with AIG since 2009, has retired as head of a major U.S. insurance company. In early 2006, he retired from MetLife Inc. after an eight-year run as its chairman and CEO.
“Selecting a CEO is one of the most important responsibilities of the board of directors,” AIG said in a statement. “The AIG board has spent a considerable amount of time on succession planning as it evaluates both internal and external candidates.”
Benmosche has led AIG through a tumultuous time. He came to the insurer shortly after it nearly failed in the fall of 2008. The federal government rushed to its rescue with a bailout package valued at up to $182 billion. The company retrenched and sold some units to pay back the federal government.
The U.S. Treasury Department sold its remaining AIG common stock at the end of 2012, marking the end of its ownership in the insurer. Benmosche at the time said it was the beginning of a new chapter at AIG (Best’s News Service, Dec. 14, 2012).
One of AIG’s larger non-core divestitures is the pending sale of International Lease Finance Corp., AIG’s commercial aircraft leasing business. The company previously said it has received all regulatory approvals needed to complete the sale to AerCap Holdings N.V. The company expects to get about $2.4 billion of cash from the sale and 97.6 million AerCap shares.
Benmosche came to AIG after serving as the chairman and CEO of MetLife Inc. from 1998 until his retirement from those posts in early 2006. He led MetLife’s transition from a mutual to a public company in April 2000. Before joining MetLife, Benmosche spent more than 13 years at PaineWebber Group Inc., where he served in several capacities.
Rated AIG companies currently have a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent). On the afternoon of May 12, shares of American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) were trading at $53.42, up 2.18% from the previous close.
(By Michael Buck, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Michael.Buck@ambest.com)