AIG Gives Greenberg Options Worth Millions
NU Online News Service, April 6, 2:40 p.m. EDT?Insurance giant American International Group Inc. posted a record $9.27 billion profit in 2003, up 68 percent from $5.52 billion for the previous year, and compensation for company chairman Maurice Greenberg jumped as well.[@@]
In the AIG proxy statement filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Greenberg's annual salary stayed level at $1 million for 2003, but his bonus and stock options soared.
Mr. Greenberg's bonus for full-year 2003 rose to $6.5 million from $5 million reported during the previous year, and he was also given 750,000 stock options last year, compared with 375,000 in 2002. These options, if cashed in over their term, could be worth as much as $66.3 million if AIG shares rise at a 10-percent clip.
Mr. Greenberg, 78, has lately been the subject of increasing speculation over who his successor might be. The company disclosed this week that Donald Kanak, 51, has been nominated to become a board director, which some saw as enhancing his chance of eventually succeeding Mr. Greenberg as chief executive officer.
In December 2003, Mr. Kanak, who was formerly in charge of AIG's operations in South Korea and Japan, saw his prospect get a boost when he was chosen to become vice chairman and co-chief operating officer alongside Martin Sullivan, 49. And although Mr. Greenberg maintains his silence about when he might eventually retire from AIG, he has reportedly said his choice will be revealed from a sealed letter after he leaves the company.
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