Rumours have been spreading across the global insurance and reinsurance industry that AIG is in the final stages of securing Brian Duperreault, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hamilton Insurance, as its new CEO.
Analysts at Credit Suisse have commented on reports from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that insurance industry veteran and Hamilton Insurance founder and current CEO, Duperreault, is close to being confirmed as the new CEO of large insurer AIG.
Should the rumours be true, it’s unclear what this would mean for reinsurer Hamilton Re and the Hamilton group, with Duperreault being the founder. Credit Suisse analysts explain that many people in the industry had assumed Duperreault would only become AIG CEO if the firm acquired Hamilton Insurance, but the WSJ article failed to mention anything of this nature.
Credit Suisse sees this as positive, saying; “An acquisition would likely cost AIG several billion of excess capital that could otherwise be returned to shareholders via buybacks. In addition, there would be additional integration efforts that could distract from the turnaround plan currently underway at AIG.”
Duperreault spent 20 years with AIG before leaving to lead ACE in 1994, and his appointment at AIG as CEO would likely be welcomed by investors who understand and appreciate his extensive knowledge and industry experience.
However, for Hamilton Re and the group it remains unclear what the resignation of Duperreault would mean, although perhaps this will become clearer once the rumours are confirmed as either true or false.
