(Bloomberg) — Robert Benmosche is stepping down as American International Group Inc.'s chief executive officer this weekend after a five-year tenure in which he repaid the insurer's U.S. bailout and battled cancer.
Below is a timeline of noteworthy events in a career at New York-based AIG marked by clashes with the board and public officials, asset sales and a share rebound that beat the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Aug. 3, 2009: AIG says Benmosche, the former leader of MetLife Inc., will come out of retirement to run the company. He replaces Edward Liddy who took over in 2008 when AIG got a U.S. rescue that swelled to $182.3 billion. Shares close at $11.39.
Aug. 4, 2009: Benmosche tells staff he won't be rushed into asset to help repay the U.S. "I don't liquidate things, I build them," he says.
Aug. 11, 2009: Benmosche, in his second day as CEO, tells employees that the insurer needs to slow the pace of unwinding derivatives contracts. "I don't want to feed Goldman Sachs's bonus pool anymore," he says. "I want to feed ours. In order to do that, you've got to stop giving this stuff away."
Aug. 20, 2009: Benmosche propels AIG's stock 21 percent higher to $27.06, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumps 1.1 percent, as he tells Bloomberg News during a vacation in Croatia that says he expects to meet obligations to the U.S. and may "be able to do something for our shareholders as well.
Aug. 31, 2009: AIG says Benmosche "regrets his comments" as Bloomberg News reports that he told employees that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo acted like a "criminal" for drawing attention to traders who got retention bonuses at the unit where losses required a bailout.
Nov. 11, 2009: Benmosche tells staff he is "totally committed" to leading the insurer after the Wall Street Journal reported that he told the board he may step down because of government limits on what the company can pay his managers.
Dec. 22, 2009: Benmosche has halted preparations for an initial public offering of AIG's property-casualty unit because he considers the business a core holding, Bloomberg reports.
Feb. 8, 2010: Peter Hancock, a former banker, is hired by New York-based AIG to oversee finance and risk. March 1, 2010: AIG announces a deal to sell AIA Group Ltd. to Prudential Plc for about $35.5 billion after Benmosche decides against holding an IPO for the unit.
April 1, 2010: Benmosche says he expects to remain for another year or two.
June 1, 2010: Prudential deal collapses after Benmosche refused a request for a lower price. AIG falls 3.2 percent to $28.69.
July 1, 2010: Benmosche has threatened to resign unless Chairman Harvey Golub leaves, Bloomberg News says, reporting that the board had pushed to accept a reduced offer for AIA.
July 14, 2010: Golub steps down, saying it's easier to find a new chairman than replace a CEO.
Oct. 22, 2010: AIG holds the first of four public offerings for AIA shares. The divestitures raise about $35 billion.
Oct. 25, 2010: AIG says Benmosche has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing "aggressive" chemotherapy.
