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August 03, 2009 at 08:00 PM
WASHINGTON BUREAU — Robert Benmosche, who retired from the post of chairman at MetLife Inc. in 2006, will be the new chief executive officer of American International Group Inc.
Benmosche, 64, will be inheriting the CEO title from Edward Liddy, who is now both chairman and CEO of AIG, New York, Aug. 10, when Liddy retires, AIG says.
AIG also has announced that Paula Rosput Reynolds, the company’s vice chairman and chief restructuring officer, has decided to leave late in the third quarter.
Earlier today, AIG was refusing to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that Benmosche had been selected. AIG still has not said who will be chairman when Liddy gives up that title.
The news that Benmosche will be AIG’s next CEO came on the heels of rumors that MetLife, New York, may be in negotiations to acquire ALICO, Wilmington, Del. – the former American Life Insurance Company unit – from AIG.
A former insurance industry executive who worked with Benmosche at MetLife says the executive is more of a “chief operating officer-type than a hands-off CEO.”
When Benmosche becomes AIG’s CEO, “don’t expect Mr. Benmosche to be a punching bag when he talks to Congress,” the former executive says. “He will speak his piece, and will not take the abuse Mr. Liddy did when explaining his position [to members of Congress].”
At AIG, managers “ought to be stepping up their efforts, because Benmosche will demand results,” the former executive says. “He will take home reams of reports, and he will come back the next day ready to ask the tough questions.”
