Edward "Ed" Liddy (born January 28, 1946) is an American businessman who was chairman of the Allstate Corporation from 1999 to 2008.
In September 2008, at the request of the secretary of the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments.
The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
, Liddy agreed to serve as interim chairman and chief executive officer of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). His placement in the role was one of numerous government actions to provide stability to U.S. financial firms during the
2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. Liddy requested a salary of just $1 a year.
Early life
Liddy was born in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. After the death of his father in 1959, he moved to
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...
, with his mother and older sister. He was a member of the first graduating class of
Clearwater Central Catholic High School
Clearwater Central Catholic High School is a private college preparatory school for grades 9 through 12 and located in Clearwater, Florida, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1962, the school enrolls approximately 500 ...
in 1964. He earned his bachelor's degree from the
Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...
(1968) and MBA from
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
(1972).
Career
Liddy began his career as a financial analyst with
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...
, in 1979, eventually becoming CFO. Upon the sale of Searle to
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...
, he served from 1986 to 1988 as executive vice president and a member of the board of directors of ADT, Inc.
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Upon the sale of ADT, Liddy joined Sears in April 1988 and served in a variety of financial and senior operating roles before being named chief financial officer in February 1992. In that role, he was the architect and implementer of the successful restructuring of Sears, which involved breaking the company into numerous public companies (
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is an American real estate franchise owned by Anywhere Real Estate, with headquarters in Madison, New Jersey. It was founded in 1906 in San Francisco, and has approximately 3000 offices in 49 countries and terri ...
Residential Broker, Sears Mortgage and Sears Savings Bank). He led the 1993 initial public offerings of Dean Witter/Discover and Allstate, two of the largest ever IPOs at that time. He also led the 1995 spinoff of Allstate from Sears.
The Allstate Corporation
After the IPO of Allstate, Liddy held positions of increasing responsibility with the Allstate Corporation, the largest publicly held personal lines property and casualty insurer in America, from 1994 to 2008. He served as chairman from January 1999 until his retirement in April 2008. He was chief executive officer from January 1999 until December 2006, and president and chief operating officer from August 1994 to December 1998. Under Liddy's leadership, the company was streamlined by exiting non-core businesses and the company expanded its distribution system beyond its traditional agency force to reach customers through the internet and call centers. During Liddy's tenure as president and then CEO, Allstate's market value more than tripled, from $11 billion (December 31, 1994) to over $40 billion (December 31, 2006).
American International Group
In September 2008, at the request of the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments.
The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
, Liddy agreed to serve as interim chairman and chief executive officer of
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. As of 2023, AIG employed 25,200 people. The company operates through three core ...
, Inc. (AIG). His placement in the role was one of numerous government actions to provide stability to U.S. financial firms during the
2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. He requested a salary of just $1 per year.
The restructuring of AIG that Liddy took on was one of the largest in U.S. corporate history. He and the AIG team developed a strategy to stabilize the company and its $1.2 trillion balance sheet; keep the company out of bankruptcy; repay with interest all money invested in the company by various U.S. government entities, which eventually totaled $182 billion; and keep the remaining business that would comprise AIG vital and competitive.
The government bailout of AIG garnered national headlines in May 2009 when AIG, with the concurrence of the U.S. Treasury and
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...
, paid earned bonuses to employees of its Financial Products Business, determining the payments were contractual obligations. Liddy noted that "honoring contractual commitments is at the heart of what we do in the insurance business." At the same time, he urged the employees who received $165 million in bonuses to "do the right thing" and return at least part of their bonus.
Once the company was stabilized, a viable plan in place to repay the government assistance and a management team partially in place to execute the strategy, Liddy announced on May 21, 2009, he would resign as AIG chairman and CEO when replacements were found. He suggested the two roles be split. In August 2009, Robert Benmosche took over as CEO and Harvey Golub as chairman.
By December 2012, AIG had fully repaid the entire $182 billion, plus required interest, invested in the company by the government.
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC
Liddy served as a partner in the private equity investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC from April to September 2008 and from January 2010 to December 2015.
Board of directors roles
Liddy serves on the board of directors of
Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, in the United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate k ...
,AbbVie Inc. and the Forum Club of Southwest Florida. He previously served on the board of directors of 3M Company and
the Boeing Company
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
.
Philanthropy and civic engagement
Liddy has been actively involved in a number of philanthropic and civic endeavors. He serves as a life trustee for
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. He is also life trustee and chairman emeritus of
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located on Northwestern University's Campus of Northwestern University, Chicago campus in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship campus for Nort ...
in Chicago, a life trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and a life trustee and former national chairman of the
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, has i ...
. He served as chairman of the Civic Committee of the
Commercial Club of Chicago
The Commercial Club of Chicago is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 1877 with a mission to promote the social and economic vitality of the metropolitan area of Chicago.
History
The Commercial Club was founded in 187 ...
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...