Insurance giant AIG appoints Peter Hancock as new chief executive

Peter Hancock, 55, is currently chief executive officer of AIG Property Casualty (Getty Images)

Insurance giant AIG said late on Tuesday that Peter Hancock will succeed Robert Benmosche as chief executive of the company on 1 September.

Hancock, 55, is currently chief executive officer of AIG Property Casualty. Benmosche led a turnaround of AIG after it was embroiled in the global financial crisis, heading the company during a period when it fully repaid $182 billion of government support.

AIG said Benmosche, 70, is expected to resign from the AIG board and will assume an advisory role at the company.

Robert Miller, chairman of AIG, said Benmosche had led “the largest turnaround in the history of corporate America” as AIG divested non-core assets, streamlined global operations and found opportunities to grow its business.

On Hancock, Miller said: “Peter’s deep experience in financial services, including as a strong risk manager; his understanding of the AIG enterprise and the insurance business as a whole; his success in revitalizing AIG’s property casualty business… position him perfectly to lead the company to an even more prosperous future...

“AIG today is a far stronger company than it was five years ago, and with the crisis well behind us, AIG now is focused on its core mission: to help people and businesses around the world prepare for the future, recover from loss, and retire with confidence.”