BENMOSCHE SAYS CANCER DIAGNOSIS SPED DEPARTURE FROM AIG

Robert Benmosche, who is retiring as chief executive of AIG on Monday, has told Bloomberg TV that he accelerated his departure from the New York-based group after learning in May that his cancer had taken a turn for the worse and that he had nine months to a year to live. Benmosche was initially diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and outlived earlier prognoses, which had prompted him to extend his tenure into early 2015. He also told the Wall Street Journal in an email that he moved up his retirement “to deal with getting the new CEO in place to make key hire decisions and organisation changes”. AIG announced in June that Peter Hancock, head of the group’s global p/c division, would succeed Benmosche as CEO. Benmosche told Bloomberg that he felt that he had completed his goals by the time Hancock’s appointment was announced. He took the helm at AIG in 2009, while the company was still controlled by the US government following the September 2008 federal bailout. He oversaw the sell-off of Asian life assurance businesses and other assets to help finance the group’s repayment of the $182bn rescue package, which was completed early last year. Benmosche’s condition has stabilised since the May diagnosis.