What's next at AIG?

Wishful Thinking……

In a world full of odd occurrences, nothing should be unexpected.

That AIG top man Martin Sullivan was forced out after several quarters of exceptional losses is not surprising given the magnitude of the losses coupled with Wall Street’s impatience and lack of deep understanding. To me, this demonstrates former U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s famous statement, “The buck stops here”, is alive and well – Martin Sullivan took the fall. In fairness, there is simply no way that Marty Sullivan could possibly know everything there was to know about AIG. Only one man knows.

That former Citigroup President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Willumstad and current AIG board member (since 2006) was selected to take over the reins of the far-flung AIG empire was not unforeseen. On July 15, 2005, Mr. Willumstad announced his intention to leave Citigroup after being passed over for the top job saying that he wanted to run a public company.

Well, now here’s his opportunity to show what real leadership looks like. If Mr. Willumstad has the backbone a real leader is supposed to have, he will ask Hank Greenberg to return to AIG and help him sift through its various businesses and relationships that the insurer (i.e., MRG) forged over the past decades.

Please, Mr. Willumstad, beg if you must – it’s without doubt the smart thing to do.