Martin J. Sullivan,
OBE, (born 1955 in
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
), is the former deputy chairman of
Willis Group Holdings plc (NYSE: WSH) and chairman and CEO of its, Willis Global Solutions, which oversees brokerage and risk management advisory services for Willis's multinational and global accounts. He also previously served as president and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
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.
Work at AIG
In 1971 Sullivan joined AIU's finance department, the non-life UK company of AIG. In 1974, he joined the property department and held a succession of underwriting and management assignments in the UK and Ireland. In 1983, Sullivan was appointed property manager for the UK and later regional property manager for the UK/Ireland. In 1988 Sullivan became UK/Ireland marketing manager of AIU. Sullivan was appointed assistant managing director of AIG Europe (UK) Ltd. in 1989 and chief operating officer in 1991. In 1993 he was named president of AIU's UK/Ireland Division and managing director of AIG Europe (UK) Ltd. Sullivan became senior vice president, foreign general insurance in 1996, and executive vice president, foreign general in 1998.
In 1996 he was appointed chief operating officer of AIU in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and named president in 1997. He was elected to the board of AIG in May 2002 and was groomed as a potential CEO. Sullivan succeeded
Maurice R. Greenberg, who stepped down as AIG's CEO amidst an accounting scandal. His career and accomplishments at AIG prior to his appointment as CEO were viewed positively. Frank Zarb, chairman of the executive committee at the time of Sullivan's CEO appointment, said, "AIG has a very strong and deep management team, and Martin Sullivan is a proven leader who will be an outstanding CEO. Martin has a distinguished record of accomplishment at AIG. He has achieved significant results in several key positions, and he has a deep understanding of AIG's major businesses throughout its domestic and international operations."
Soon after his appointment as CEO on March 14, 2005, Sullivan began work on settling certain of AIG's regulatory issues that he inherited from Greenberg. This led to a settlement with then New York Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...
that was announced on February 9, 2006, and was viewed as an important first cleanup step for AIG. Sullivan also successfully helped lead AIG through a required financial statement as a result of these various regulatory and accounting issues. Sullivan was replaced as CEO by
Robert B. Willumstad on June 15, 2008.
On October 7, 2008, Sullivan testified before the
on
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
regarding the causes and effects of the bailout of
AIG
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 ...
.
Controversy Over pay
Sullivan's
severance package
A severance package is pay and benefits that employees may be entitled to receive when they leave employment at a company unwilfully. In addition to their remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:
* Any additional payment based ...
payments were withheld by AIG after the then Attorney General of New York, Andrew Cuomo, raised issues. According to USA Today, "AIG CEO Martin Sullivan received $25.4 million in non severance related compensation between 2005 and 2007, including $322,000 for private use of corporate aircraft, $153,000 for car and parking, $160,000 for home security and $41,000 for financial planning."
AIG is currently undergoing investigation by the New York State attorney general's office for what State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called "unwarranted and outrageous" executive expenditures in the wake of the U.S. government's initial $85 billion support package extended to the failing bank. Mr. Cuomo criticized in particular the multimillion-dollar payments to Martin Sullivan, AIG’s former chief executive, and Joseph J. Cassano, who ran the unit blamed for the losses that pushed the company to the brink of collapse. AIG agreed to help recover that money.
Philanthropy, awards, and associations
He is reported to have donated, in January 2007, £50,000 to the
Sydney Russell School in Dagenham, Essex. He was quoted as saying: ''"I would not be where I am today if it were not for the education and high standards I received there."'' Sullivan attended a predecessor school that was amalgamated to form the Sydney Russell School.
Sullivan is an associate member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management, a Member of the Chartered Management Institute, a director of the International Insurance Society and former chairman of The Geneva Association. He also serves on the Business Advisory Committees of the St. George's Society and The British Memorial Garden Trust, on the board of directors for Episcopal Charities of New York, and on the board of trustees of the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust. He is a past president of British American Business Inc. and is a director of Young Audiences Inc. and Friends of London Youth Inc.
He was awarded
The American Ireland Fund Leadership Award in May 2007. Sullivan is the recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence and was made an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in the
2007 Birthday Honours for "services to British business interests".
References
External links
The American Ireland Fund Leadership Award speech -video
* ttp://ir.aigcorporate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=76115&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=685377&highlight= AIG press release re appointment as CEO/Presidentbr>FAT CAT$ of Wall Street Chief Executive Magazine Interview 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Martin J.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
1955 births
Living people
American chief executives of financial services companies
Date of birth missing (living people)
American International Group people