Dooley Promoted to Lead AIG’s Investments and Financial Services

William Dooley, a 32-year veteran with American International Group, has been promoted to executive vice president, investments and financial services, according to an internal memo penned by Robert H. Benmosche, president and chief executive officer.

In his new position, Dooley will assume overall responsibility for the Asset Management Group. Monika Machon, who has more than 29 years of investment experience in the United States and overseas, will continue as the AIG chief investment officer, with responsibility for global portfolio management.

"In evaluating how we continue to transform asset management, I have asked Monika and Bill Dooley to take on new roles," said Benmosche in the memo, which was obtained by BestWire. Machon will report to Dooley, and Dooley will report to Peter Hancock, he said. Hancock joined AIG in February as executive vice president, finance, risk and investments (BestWire, Feb. 8, 2010).

Since joining AIG in 1978, Dooley served as senior vice president of AIG Investment Corp., chief investment officer of American International Underwriters, and treasurer of AIG. He and Machon will continue the work that she and her team have begun on systems improvement, asset-liability matching, and integrating asset management more consistently into the insurance companies' business processes, said Benmosche.

Dooley will also continue to have overall responsibility for the financial services part of the company. This includes the Financial Products unit, whose trading nearly caused the global insurer to fail in the fall of 2008. As of February, the unit had reduced its original staff of 440 down to 225 and reduced the notional value of the division's trades by more than half (BestWire, Feb. 4, 2010). "To the extent that AIG continues to hold certain legacy FP assets, those assets would be placed under the guidance of AMG," said Benmosche.

Machon previously served as AIG Investments' head of fixed income, CEO of AIG's London-based regulated asset management company, and head of emerging markets debt.

Most members of American International Group currently have Best's Financial Strength Ratings of A (Excellent).

On the afternoon of June 18, AIG (NYSE: AIG) was trading at $37.74 a share, down 0.08% from the previous day's close.

(By Ron Panko, senior associate editor, Best's Review: [email protected])