Edward Liddy to Step Down from AIG Appointment

by Tina Kells | May 21, 2009 at 05:29 pm

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Insurance executive Edward Liddy will step down from his government appointed position at the helm of AIG. Appointed by Bush-era Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson when the financial crisis began in September 2008, Edward Liddy has been charged with managing the troubled insurance agency dubbed "too big to fail."

Edward Liddy's vacancy will make room for an Obama administration appointee to step up and run AIG. Liddy had been acting as both Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer but it is unlikely one person will fill the two roles. Edward Liddy will officially vacate his role at AIG when the two positions have been filled.

Mr Liddy – a veteran insurance executive who was chosen by Hank Paulson, the Treasury secretary in the Bush administration last September – said on Thursday he would leave as soon as replacements for the two jobs were found.

His successors will have to complete a radical restructuring plan aimed at repaying the billions of dollars in taxpayers’ funds that are propping the company up.

They will also have to endure public scrutiny from a hostile Congress and near-constant oversight from Treasury and the Federal Reserve, which have taken a hands-on approach to managing their 80 per cent stake in AIG.