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International beginnings The leading U.S. based international insurance organization, American International Group (AIG) was started by a former U.S. Army veteran in Shanghai in 1919. Founded by Cornelius Vander Starr as C.V. Starr & Co., the insurance giant opened a New York office in 1926, specializing in insuring risks incurred outside the U.S. by American companies. World War II forced C.V. Starr & Co. to move headquarters to the U.S. and focus on the North and South American life insurance markets. The company began offering disability, health, and life insurance and portable pension plans for employees moving from country to country in the 1950s. International expansion In 1967, Maurice Greenberg took control of the newly formed holding company for Starr's collection of insurance companies, the American International Group (AIG). AIG went public in 1969. Greenberg's policy on underwriting profits is credited for much of the company's success, preventing AIG from suffering during the insurance industry price wars in the early 1980s. Greenberg's son Evan, was recently named president and COO of AIG, is expected to take the chairman's place. Capitalizing the Asian market Now that the U.S. has granted normal trade relations to China, and since China is expected to join the World Trade Organization by the end of 2000, many insurance agencies anticipate huge growth in the Asian market. Right now, 1.2 billion people are buying considerably less life insurance compared to the rest of the world. AIG, however, already has a huge headtstart. Not only did the company originate in Shanghai, but it keeps coming back to its roots while maintaining favorable relations with key Chinese officials. AIG was the first foreign business allowed to resume operations in Shanghai after World War II, and although the company was forced to leave after the Communist takeover, it was the first overseas insururer to be granted a license to sell insurance in China in 1992. Mr. Greenburg has been going to China at least once a year since he was granted permission to visit in 1975. Currently, about half of AIG's revenue comes from outside the U.S., mainly Asia, and that percentage is only expected to grow. A global presence Company sales have been essentially split between the commercial property/casualty coverage offered in the U.S., and life insurance offered overseas. The company operates in about 130 different countries. AIG has established a firm foothold in such foreign markets as Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. The global presence during the '90's included being the first established insurance agency in Hanoi, the first foreign company in Pakistan in two decades, and the first major foreign investment in the Russian insurance industry. For the future, AIG looks to expand business in India and Israel. AIG's stock is traded not only on the New York Stock Exchange, but the stock exchanges in London, Paris, Switzerland, and Tokyo, as well. Sunshiny days ahead In 1998, the company bought California-based financial services company SunAmerica for $18.3 billion. Though less publicized than the giant Citicorp/Traveler's Group merger, the AIG/SunAmerica deal may ultimately prove to be a greater success. Industry analysts applauded the move, noting that AIG gains SunAmerica's booming business in variable annuities, a hybrid product that is part insurance and part mutual fund. SunAmerica, in turn, gains AIG's international presence; the company had been contemplating expanding globally by itself. For AIG, the deal is largely about demographics: variable annuities are products sold to an older consumer market. SunAmerica will be run as an autonomous unit under its former CEO, Eli Broad. In another move designed to stay competitive in the global IT market, April 1999 saw the company announced a plan to commit $1 billion over the next five years to Internet investment firm General Atlantic Partners. As part of the deal, AIG acquires a 5 percent stake in General Atlantic's general partner, and will use the proceeds to accelerate global expansion. The move gives AIG a larger presence in IT and internet venture capital investment around the world. Internet savvy Entering the world of eBusiness, AIG has launched a series of web sites, offering the services of AIG's various member companies. They are all accessible through the AIG Internet gateway page at www.aig.com, providing a central location for users to reach AIG companies and learn about eBusiness iniatives available. Accessible sites include aigdirect.com for consumers and small businesses, aigcorporate.com, and aigonline.com for risk managers and other business professionals, among others. In Financial NetNews' 1999 Financial Web Site of the Year awards, aigdirect.com was named the top insurance web site for the breadth of products offered and its expanding transactional capabilities.
To learn about job opportunities, visit "the Company" section of AIG's web site, which offers links to AIG group pages with "career opportunities" sections. Send or e-mail resumes to addresses listed in the "career opportunities" sections. Qualifications and requirements for applicants vary by department. For more information, applicants can call AIG's job hotline. International MBAs and college students should find AIG a very welcoming place, insiders report. "There are many special programs in place for college grads, and especially for MBAs, to groom them to be part of the international management team," explains one insider. "These new hires tend to be foreigners; the company hires them with the intention of assigning them to their home countries. Most of the foreign management are 'natives.'"
Decentralized company With numerous offices throughout the U.S. and 130 countries, employees find it difficult to make general statements about AIG. Explains one insider: "AIG is very decentralized, almost to a fault. Decision-making is pushed out to the lowest levels feasible. The management of the branch offices is held accountable for their results, and as long as they produce good results, are left alone to run 'their businesses' as they see fit." Says another: "I have never seen an organizational chart of AIG, and there's actually a question of whether one actually exists. The reporting structure is confusing, but it works." Entrepreneurial environment In part through the decentralized organized structure, insiders say, AIG engenders an entrepreneurial environment. "AIG encourages entrepreneurship, and rewards it," reports one contact. Continues that contact, "if you made a wrong decision, and if you had AIG's best interest in mind, there will be no adverse consequences. But don't make the same mistake twice." Says another insider: "As a very strong company, AIG can permit you to create something by yourself if you play the game." The loose environment unfortunately doesn't extend to AIG's dress code, which "is corporate - men in suits, women in suits and dresses." Hard working Be prepared to smell a lot of grindstone if you take a job with AIG. "AIG is not a 9 to 5 company," says one insider. "If you want to be really successful, you must be willing to go the extra mile." Says another insider, who works in operations, "they work hard, and will often buy lunch for employees if under deadline." Reports yet another: "Since AIG's headquarters are in New York, the environment is a little more tense and intense than it might be otherwise." Just rewards AIG employees are willing to work hard, because, well, they can get rich doing so. "They do pay well, and there's a lot of room for growth," says one insider. Says another: "There are a lot of very rich people working for AIG. I'm not talking about the get-rich-quick thing you hear about silicon Valley. You may not see instant gratification for your efforts, but in the long run, the rewards can be great." And for those in New York in the summer, these rewards include a "blast" of a company picnic.
Axel I. Freudmann Human Resources (800) 892-9779
General Insurance;Life Insurance;Financial Services
MetLife;Travelers Group More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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