Robert B. "Bob" Willumstad is a former
Chairman and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
of the
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. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
(AIG).
He was born on August 22, 1945 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
and grew up in
Elmont Elmont may refer to:
Places
In the United States
*Elmont, Missouri
* Elmont, New York
**Elmont station, a Long Island Rail Road station in Elmont, New York
*Elmont, Virginia
Fictional people
*Elmont (Doonesbury), a character in the Doonesbury comi ...
on
Long Island. His
alma mater is
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...
. He and his wife Carol reside in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, and have two adult daughters and three grandchildren.
Under
Sanford I. Weill
Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill (; born March 16, 1933) is an American banker, financier and philanthropist. He is a former chief executive and chairman of Citigroup. He served in those positions from 1998 until October 1, 2003, and April 18, 2006, resp ...
, Willumstad helped to steer the 1998 merger of
Travelers Group
The Travelers Companies, Inc., commonly known as Travelers, is an American insurance company. It is the second-largest writer of U.S. commercial property casualty insurance, and the sixth-largest writer of U.S. personal insurance through indepen ...
and
Citicorp
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate ...
. From 2000 to 2003, he was the chairman and CEO of Citigroup's Global Consumer Group. He was named President of
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
in 2002, and assumed the post of Chief Operating Officer in 2003, while continuing to serve as CEO and President of Citibank North America. Some suggested that he had been passed over for CEO in favour of Charles Prince, despite being in charge of Citi's largest business.
Willumstad left Citigroup in July 2005, saying that he wanted to run a major company, after CEO
Charles Prince
Charles Owen "Chuck" Prince III (born January 13, 1950) is an American corporate executive and lawyer. He is a former chairman and chief executive of Citigroup. He succeeded Sandy Weill as the chief executive of the firm in 2003, and as the chair ...
decided to take back control of operations.
Willumstad founded
Brysam Global Partners
Brysam Global Partners is a private equity firm that specializes in consumer financial services in emerging markets. It was founded in January 2007 by Marjorie Magner and Robert Willumstad.
On September 7, 2007, Brysam completed a $228m (US) ...
, a specialized private equity firm that invests in financial services, in 2007 with partner
Marjorie Magner
Marjorie Magner (born c. 1950) is an American business executive. She is the co-founder of Brysam Global Partners, a private equity firm, and she serves as the chairman of the Gannett Corporation.
Education
Marjorie Magner was born c. 1950. She ...
.
Willumstad served as the chairman of the board of directors of AIG from 2006 until 2008, after
Maurice R. Greenberg
Maurice Raymond “Hank” Greenberg (born May 4, 1925) is an American business executive and former chairman and chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG).
Early life
Greenberg was born into a Jewish family in Greenwich Vil ...
was forced to resign.
Willumstad became CEO on June 15, 2008, after
Martin J. Sullivan
Martin J. Sullivan, OBE, (born 1955 in Essex, England), 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 ...
was ousted.
One of Willumstad's initiatives was to repair the rift with Greenberg. In September 2008,
Edward M. Liddy succeeded Willumstad to oversee the company's government-financed asset sale. Willumstad refused a $22 million severance payment for his three months' work at AIG since he was never able to enact his strategy. AIG's stock price declined 97% during his short tenure due to preexisting company conditions.
On October 7, 2008, Willumstad testified before the
on
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
regarding the causes and effects of the bailout of AIG.
Testimony of Robert Willumstad
(PDF) Retrieved 2008-10-07
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willumstad, Robert B.
American chief executives of financial services companies
Citigroup people
Adelphi University alumni
People from Brooklyn
Private equity and venture capital investors
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from Elmont, New York