Peter Eastwood, the chief executive officer of American International Group Inc.’s Americas property/casualty operation, has left the insurer with three other managers.
John Doyle, head of AIG’s global commercial business, will assume Eastwood’s responsibilities until a permanent replacement is named, said Matt Gallagher, a spokesman for New York-based AIG. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. hired Eastwood and three other executives, Insurance Insider reported.
The departures add to vacancies that Peter Hancock, CEO of AIG’s property-casualty unit, needs to fill as he seeks to scale back from some capital-intensive lines of coverage and target increased sales of consumer insurance. Jeffrey Hayman, who led global consumer coverage at AIG’s property-casualty unit, left in January for Starr International Co.
“AIG has a seasoned and very deep bench of talented property-and-casualty executives ready to assume broader responsibilities,” Gallagher said in an e-mailed statement. “Our executives have the hard-earned experience of leading our business through unprecedented times and circumstances.”
The insurer dropped $1.41, or 3.3 percent, to $40.87 at 4 p.m. in New York and has gained 16 percent this year. Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire slipped 0.3 percent, and is up 20 percent since Dec. 31.
Eastwood joined AIG in 1991 and was named in 2008 as CEO of its Lexington Insurance unit, a provider of so-called surplus lines coverage to industries including construction and energy. Insurance Insider said Berkshire is seeking to establish an excess-and-surplus carrier, which provides coverage that isn’t available from businesses licensed in a state. Buffett didn’t return a call seeking comment with an assistant.
The executives leaving with Eastwood include President of Lexington Insurance David J. Bresnahan, President for Latin America and the Caribbean for AIG's property/casualty operations Sanjay Godhwani and fellow P&C executive David Fields.
