Jay S. Wintrob, president and CEO of American International Group Life & Retirement, is leaving the company after missing out on becoming CEO.
AIG also announced that Michael R. Cowan, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, will retire from the company after nearly five years of service.
Wintrob apparently left after his rival to get the job, Peter Hancock, decided to end the independent status of the AIG life group, which is based in the Los Angeles area.
"We are steadfastly working toward the goal of one AIG," Hancock said. "We have learned that a federated business model exposes us to the weakest link in the chain."
As part of that effort, Hancock has established an operating committee and hired Philip Fasano from Kaiser Permanente, where he was executive vice president and chief information officer. According to a number of sources, he has extensive experience, is a proven leader in the information technology field, and has served as chief information officer at several high-profile financial services firms over the course of his 30-year career.
AIG also announced that David Herzog, its chief financial officer, will serve on the newly-established operating committee.
"Hancock has made clear his belief that investments in technology will yield a big payoff for the company," sources said.
Wintrob, 57, has been with AIG since 1999, when the then-expanding insurer acquired SunAmerica Inc. SunAmerica a few years earlier had been spun off from Kaufman & Broad, a Los Angeles-based homebuilder.
