Martin Sullivan, who has been chief executive officer of American International Group Inc. since 2005, is leaving the CEO post and the AIG board, the company says.
The board of AIG, New York, has picked Robert Willumstad, 62, the chairman, to take the CEO title, and it has named Stephen Bollenbach, 65, a banking executive affiliated with AIG shareholder Eli Broad, to be the "lead independent director."
In May, AIG reported a $7.8 billion net loss on $14 billion in revenue. The price of the company's shares has dropped to less than $35, from a price over $70 in the summer of 2007.
Willumstad, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been a director of AIG as well as the company's chairman since 2006. He spent 20 years at Chemical Banking Corp., New York, and later was president of Citigroup Inc., New York, from 2002 to 2005. He attended Adelphi University and is a veteran of the Marine Corps reserve.
Bollenbach, who was elected to the AIG board in January, has been the chairman of Hilton Hotels Corp., Beverly Hills Corp., and the chief financial officer of the Walt Disney Company, Burbank, Calif.
Sullivan, 53, first began working for AIG in 1971. AIG chose him to succeed Maurice Greenberg as CEO after ousting Greenberg. Immediately before Sullivan became the CEO of AIG, he was president of AIG's American International Underwriters unit.
"Martin successfully led AIG through the crisis it faced when he became CEO in 2005, and he has made significant contributions over the past three years in executing AIG's strategy and building on its global franchise," George Miles Jr., chairman of AIG's nominating and corporate governance committee, says in a statement about Sullivan's departure. "The board has determined that Bob's broad managerial and financial services experience makes him the right person to lead AIG through today's turbulent markets, drive further organizational change and rebuild shareholder value in the years ahead."
Bollenbach has issued a statement emphasizing the ability of Willumstad to hit the ground running.