Yuri Gripas/Reuters Robert H. Benmosche, A.I.G.’s chief executive.By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED
7:46 p.m. | Updated The American International Group said Monday that its chief executive, Robert H. Benmosche, has cancer and that he is undergoing “aggressive” treatment.
Mr. Benmosche’s cancer was discovered recently. The type was not made public. He will maintain his normal schedule, he wrote Monday in a letter to employees.
“The good news is that I feel fine, and I continue to work according to my normal schedule,” Mr. Benmosche, 66, wrote. “As for my long-term prognosis — I will have a better idea over the next couple of months of what that will look like as I continue to undergo treatment and my doctors refine their diagnosis.”
In his letter, Mr. Benmosche said that the insurance giant A.I.G. had already begun succession planning and that he hoped to retire in 2012.
Mr. Benmosche, a former chief executive of MetLife, was hired to run A.I.G. last year to oversee its efforts to repay its $130 billion federal bailout. Since then, A.I.G. has begun selling major divisions as it pares itself down to two main businesses, global property and casualty insurance, and domestic life insurance.
Among its divestitures is the $15.5 billion sale of one international unit, the American Life Insurance Company, to MetLife in March and an initial public offering this month of an Asian operation, American International Assurance.
Last month, A.I.G. unveiled a plan to eventually repay its taxpayer-financed rescue the bailout. Under that plan, the Treasury Department’s common-stock holdings in A.I.G. will swell to just over 92 percent, which the government will then seek to sell over time.
“In the last year, Bob has made a profound impact on A.I.G., and under his leadership, A.I.G. has built a very strong management team that is working hard to repay taxpayers,” Robert S. Miller, A.I.G.’s chairman, said in a statement on Monday.
In a statement on Monday, James Millstein, the Treasury official supervising A.I.G.’s turnaround, said: “We were informed of Bob’s condition earlier today. Our thoughts are with him and his family, and we wish him the best of luck with his treatment. We are also very pleased that he is feeling fine and able to continue his exemplary work at A.I.G.”
Benmosche Letter to AIG Employees Disclosing Cancer Diagnosis