AIG Veteran Promoted to President, CEO of Personal Auto Group

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October 24, 2008 Friday 04:10 PM EST

347 words

AIG Veteran Promoted to President, CEO of Personal Auto Group

Chad Hemenway

NEW YORK

Anthony J. DeSantis has been named president and chief executive officer of American International Group Inc.'s personal auto group.

DeSantis, who joined AIG in 1986, was chief operating officer of aigdirect.com following the company's merger with 21st Century Insurance Group, according to a statement from AIG. He has also held several other management positions, including president of AIG Marketing for the company's direct auto business.

Bruce Marlow, formerly the CEO of 21st Century, had been president and CEO of AIG's personal auto group. He has left the company, AIG said.

Recently, AIG hired former Safeco chief Paula Rosput Reynolds to its board to help with the sale of the company's assets and transition to a leaner and financially stable organization. Reynolds will serve as chief liaison to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, reporting directly to AIG's chairman and CEO Edward Liddy (BestWire, Oct. 24, 2008).

Richard H. Booth, formerly president and chief executive of Hartford Steam Boiler, has also joined the board as vice chairman, and has been assigned the role of helping with the restructuring of AIG's corporate center, overseeing the separation of companies being sold, and executing the operational transition to a new organizational structure. Booth also will report directly to Liddy.

AIG and the Federal Reserve Board reached an agreement on Sept. 16 to provide a two-year, $85 billion loan facility through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and for which the federal government received warrants redeemable for a 79.9% equity stake in the company. On Oct. 8, a $37.8 billion liquidity facility was announced, in which AIG "loaned" the New York bank investment-grade, fixed-income securities in exchange for the cash (BestWire, Oct. 8, 2008).

The current Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) for most of AIG's insurance units is under review with negative implications.

Shares of AIG were trading at $1.80 the afternoon of Oct. 24, down 14.29% from the previous close.

(By Chad Hemenway, associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])

October 25, 2008