The Hartford Picks Banker Liam McGee To Replace Ramani Ayer

NU Online News Service, Sept. 30, 10:15 a.m. EDT

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced today that longtime banking executive Liam E. McGee, 55, has been appointed the company's chairman and chief executive officer to succeed a retiring Ramani Ayer.

Mr. McGee, whose appointment is effective tomorrow, until recently was president of the Consumer and Small Business Bank for Bank of America Corporation operating the nation's largest retail bank.

The company said he headed an operation that serves more than 50 million consumer households and small businesses with over 6,100 domestic banking centers, nearly 100,000 employees and the nation's largest online and mobile bank.

Reacting to the appointment, Standard & Poor's Equity Research noted a statement by Mr. McGee that he intends to complete an "intense review" of The Hartford Financial by early 2010 and said it views "positively what appears to be McGee's ambitious plan to turn around HIG, which we believe took too many risks over the last decade."

However, S&P remarked that, "we somewhat question" the choice of Mr. McGee, "since he lacks any experience in the insurance industry."

S&P said it is maintaining a "Hold" opinion of Hartford shares and, "Since peer multiples have expanded and the financial markets have improved, we raise our target price by $10 to $28."

Michael G. Morris, The Hartford's presiding director, said the new CEO has a strong track record of success in leading large, complex financial services organizations, making him "the ideal person to build on The Hartford's strong foundation."

He praised Mr. McGee's "outstanding combination of leadership skills, financial acumen, and operational and technology experience, along with a demonstrated ability to evolve and profitably grow businesses in response to changing business environments and customer needs."

Mr. McGee remarked in a statement that The Hartford has a strong brand, talented employees and enduring relationships with distribution partners.

"In an environment of intense competition, technological innovation, and changing consumer and business behavior, there are clear opportunities to create competitive advantages. By leveraging and building on The Hartford's strengths, we will enter our third century as an industry leader, well positioned to achieve the expectations of our customers, shareholders, partners and employees," he said.

Mr. McGee and his family currently reside in Charlotte, N.C., and will relocate to the greater Hartford area, The Hartford said.

Mr. Ayer, who served as chairman and CEO of The Hartford since February 1997, announced his intention to retire in June. The company said he will resign as chairman and CEO tomorrow and will retire on Nov. 1, following a brief transition period.

Mr. Ayer said Mr. McGee is "a proven leader in the financial services industry with an outstanding set of skills, a deep appreciation of balancing risk and return, and broad experience in a variety of financial businesses."

"He also shares The Hartford's values, including product and customer service excellence, integrity, and a commitment to giving back to the communities in which we operate. I look forward to working with Liam to ensure a smooth transition."

Mr. Morris thanked Mr. Ayer for his service and said, "Ramani's deep industry experience, integrity and strong leadership skills have been instrumental to the success of The Hartford over the course of his 36-year career with the company.

The conclusion of Mr. Ayer's tenure with the firm has seen it in financial difficulties. The insurer had a second-quarter net loss of $15 million and in May the company qualified for $3.4 billion in U.S. bailout cash from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program after its life operations were hammered by investment losses and the need to deliver on guaranteed returns for variable annuities. The Hartford reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.2 billion.

During Mr. McGee's time with Bank America, The Hartford said he was responsible for products and services including deposits, debit and integrated solutions for small business and mass affluent customers.

He also oversaw the corporation's global technology and delivery in more than 30 countries and was instrumental in leading the integration of a number of companies acquired by Bank of America over the years, including FleetBoston, MBNA and La Salle.

Mr. McGee supervised teams focused on a number of product innovations like Keep the Change and No-Fee Mortgage Plus(TM).

Prior to joining Bank of America in 1990 he held senior positions at Wells Fargo. A native of County Donegal, Ireland, Mr. McGee grew up in Southern California and graduated the University of San Diego, with a master's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University and a law degree from Loyola Law School.