NU Online News Service, March 31, 11:17 a.m. EST

Chartis, the property and casualty unit of American International Group Inc. (AIG), says it has reorganized the structure of its management team, with Peter D. Hancock replacing Kristian P. Moor as chief executive officer.

The new appointments, along with a new business structure, will “generate top-line growth, providing clarity to sales” by streamlining the company's global operations, Robert H. Benmosche, AIG president and chief executive officer, tells NU Online News Service.

“There is no reason for clients with global needs to be stopped at borders” because of the roles within the prior structure, he adds.

Slideshow: Who's Who: Your Guide to the Chartis Restructuring

Hancock joined AIG 14 months ago and was the designer of the bailed-out company's recapitalization plan. He also oversaw a reorganization of AIG's enterprise risk management functions as well as the unwinding of AIG's Financial Products unit, which dealt in the credit default swaps that were at the center of the company's near collapse.

“The most important thing is to get our leadership to execute our vision at a high level,” Hancock says in an interview. Chartis will embark on “multiple levels of execution without losing focus on clients,” he adds. “They cannot feel any disruption.”

“We need to wake up one or two years from now and know we have more effectively leveraged our global scale,” Hancock says.

Benmosche adds: “I think you'll see that the trends in 2010 will improve in 2011.”

Moor, an AIG employee since 1981, stays on as vice chairman of Chartis. He will work on business development strategies, Chartis says.

Chartis will now have two groups—commercial and consumer—with John Q. Doyle as the chief executive of global commercial business and Jeffrey L. Hayman as the head of global consumer business.

“We believe this model—which aligns accountability for the business we write today with the long-term performance of that business—will drive the creation of even better products and services for our clients while delivering the performance that our clients and the investment community expect of us,” Benmosche says in a statement.

The reorganization announcement comes about two months after AIG announced that it would take a $4.1 billion charge in the fourth quarter to bolster Chartis' loss reserves, and that the P&C unit reported a $5.2 billion underwriting loss in the last quarter of 2010.

Chartis says the reorganization among management and operations “clarifies and strengthens accountability for underwriting, distribution, product development, risk management, and claims.”

Nicholas C. Walsh was named chief distribution officer and vice chairman at Chartis. He was formerly president and CEO of Chartis International.

Chartis is now divided into four regions, with Peter J. Eastwood as CEO of Chartis U.S.; Alexander R. Baugh as the head of operations in Europe; Jose A. Hernandez as chief executive in the Far East; and Julio A. Portalatin heading Growth Economies (formerly Emerging Markets).

Dividing client segments in geographic terms will provide Chartis with “very clear manufacturing capability,” Benmosche says.

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