Liam McGee will be the next chairman and chief executive officer of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the company says.
McGee, 55, will assume the chairman and CEO titles Thursday, and Ramani Ayer, the current chairman and CEO, will give up those titles but stay at Hartford Financial, Hartford, for a 1-month transition period, the company says.
Ayer, who announced plans to retire in June, has spent his entire career at Hartford. After he became chairman and CEO in 1997, he helped lead Hartford through years of strong growth, particularly in the annuity, retirement services and group benefits businesses. Earlier this year, the company ended up accepting help from the government after the capital markets crisis turned the financial system upside down.
McGee previously was president of the consumer and small business bank at Bank of America Corp., Charlotte, N.C.
"Liam's strong track record of success in leading large, complex financial services organizations makes him the ideal person to build on The Hartford's strong foundation," Michael Morris, Hartford's presiding director, says in a statement about McGee. "He has an outstanding combination of leadership skills, financial acumen and operational and technology experience, along with a demonstrated ability to evolve and profitably grow businesses in response to changing business environments and customer needs."
