AIG 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

6 AIG 2009 Annual Report
Treasury and the FRBNY to reduce the
debt that AIG owes the U.S. government,
improve AIG’s capital structure, and
enhance the value of our businesses. These
speci c steps, which are discussed in
detail in AIG’s 2009 Form 10-K, helped
give us the breathing room we needed to
implement our strategies.
All of us at AIG consider repaying the
U.S. government our top priority. While
this may not occur in the very near term,
it is our goal and we believe it will happen.
But we are not going to sell our assets at
 re-sale prices. When I  rst came on board
as AIG’s CEO in August, I held a series
of meetings with our management and
employees throughout the company. I told
them that I was a builder, not a liquidator.
I also noted that I believed AIG was too
big, too diverse, and not transparent
enough, and that we were going to have to
create more discrete businesses. This is the
only way we can create fair value for what
are indisputably outstanding businesses,
with strong, often unique franchises, dis-
tribution networks, product offerings, and
experienced staff built up over many years.
I am pleased to report to you that AIG’s
employees have taken up the challenge
of making a better company with gusto.
I am so impressed with their attitude and
their willingness to roll up their sleeves
and make things happen. We have a clear
strategy for the corporation overall and for
our principal businesses. Now we just have
to execute with precision and a sharp focus
on results. The last year and a half have
been very dif cult for AIG. But we have to
look forward, not backward. I am con dent
that, with our outstanding team of employ-
ees, we will succeed.
Robert H. Benmosche
March 10, 2010
a plan to repay the government. He faced a
variety of external forces that made it very
hard to accomplish those goals. None-
theless, by the time I joined, things were
beginning to look better. It is my task to
accelerate this momentum and restore the
reputation of this world-class organization.
In taking on these responsibilities, I
regard my  rst priority to be empowering
our people. One thing I’ve learned in my
career is that people count. Too often we
underestimate the power of people and
take them for granted. Our 96,000 em-
ployees worldwide, approximately 35,000
of whom work in the U.S., are absolutely
outstanding individuals. They represent an
asset of immense value to AIG, and, absent
their resilience and dedication, we would
surely not be where we are today. We
are developing and implementing com-
pensation and reward programs that will
recognize their
contributions.
Compensation at
AIG will re ect
on-the-job perfor-
mance, and we will
implement strong
performance man-
agement systems
that will differentiate performance. This
will include the ability to set goals and
measure results against them. Nothing
is more important to AIG’s success going
forward.
Over the last several quarters, we
have been able to report stabilization and
improved operating results in a number of
our key businesses. While these are wel-
come events, we expect continued volatility
in coming quarters, partly due to ongoing
restructuring activities. We are working
hard to execute our asset disposition
plan as we remain sharply focused on
business results. During 2009, we sold or
entered into agreements to sell assets that
are expected to generate approximately
$5.6 billion of aggregate net cash proceeds.
In March, we restructured our relation-
ships with the U.S. Department of the
Our 96,000 employees worldwide,
approximately 35,000 of whom work
in the U.S., are absolutely outstanding
individuals. They represent an asset of
immense value to AIG, and, absent their
resilience and dedication, we would
surely not be where we are today.