AIG American International Group Inc

By Leslie Scism 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (December 19, 2019).

American International Group Inc. promoted its chief operating officer to the additional job of president, signaling he is a strong contender to succeed Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault.

Mr. Duperreault will hand off the president's title on Jan. 1 to Peter Zaffino, who currently is global chief operating officer and CEO of AIG's core property-casualty insurance unit, the company said Wednesday.

The 52-year-old Mr. Zaffino will retain his existing positions, and Mr. Duperreault, 72, will continue as CEO.

The addition of responsibilities echoes how Mr. Duperreault groomed successors at two companies he previously ran. Those successors are Evan Greenberg, who remains CEO of the insurer now known as Chubb Ltd., and Daniel Glaser, still CEO at consulting and brokerage firm Marsh & McLennan Cos.

Mr. Duperreault recruited Mr. Zaffino to AIG soon after he came on board in May 2017 to lead a turnaround of the underperforming company, one of the biggest sellers of insurance to businesses around the globe and a big U.S. life insurer as well. Mr. Zaffino was a senior executive at Marsh and had worked with Mr. Duperreault when he was CEO there between 2008 and 2012.

In a statement, Mr. Duperreault credited Mr. Zaffino with much of the improvement in AIG's results in recent quarters. Mr. Zaffino's "strategic approach...has been critical to the significant turnaround taking hold in that business," the CEO said.

Mr. Duperreault has been mum about a possible retirement date, even as analysts have speculated his tenure likely wouldn't last more than several years. He took AIG's top job as the insurer was struggling in the wake of its 2008 government bailout to deliver above-average bottom-line results. To fully repay taxpayers, AIG had divested itself of a crown jewel Asian life-insurance unit and many other businesses to roughly halve itself by assets.

Mr. Duperreault has hired dozens of experienced executives and managers from across the industry.

Write to Leslie Scism at leslie.scism@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 19, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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