New Hartford CEO Says He Left Bank To Be Top Boss

NU Online News Service, Oct. 1, 11:14 a.m. EDT

The new chief executive of The Hartford said yesterday he left his post at Bank of America because he wanted to be the top boss of a public company, and he thought the bank's CEO wouldn't be leaving soon.

Liam McGee, who took over as The Hartford's CEO and chair today, turned out to be wrong about his former's boss's longevity. Even as he spoke yesterday, in a surprise announcement, Ken Lewis, the Bank of America's CEO, announced his resignation.

When he left Bank of America on Aug. 3, Mr. McGee said he did so because he thought it was "appropriate. I did have a desire to run a public company, and it was apparent to me that Ken [Lewis] was going to be CEO for a couple of more years."

Mr. McGee, who was president of the Consumer and Small Business Bank for Bank of America Corp. operating the nation's largest retail bank, made no mention of the swirl of changes and turmoil at that bank that have accompanied the 2008 acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide and the 2009 purchase of Merrill Lynch that has drawn the scrutiny of Congress and the New York Attorney General's Office.

His departure from Bank of America was disclosed in an announcement where Mr. Lewis said he had reviewed the management team and "decided to make some changes, bringing new talent into the team and adding new perspectives. These changes also position a number of senior executives to compete to succeed me at the appropriate time."

Mr. McGee, who said he officially retired from the company, was quoted in that statement as saying: "This is an ideal time for me to begin the next chapter of my career and to pursue my goal of running a company."

Mr. Lewis said that under Mr. McGee's leadership, "Bank of America greatly enhanced its position as the leading consumer bank in the world."

Asked how The Hartford came to choose a banker as its CEO, Mr. McGee pointed to a statement from Michael G. Morris, The Hartford's presiding director, mentioning his track record of success in leading large, complex financial services organizations, while citing his "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."

Regarding questions voiced by Standard & Poor's analysts concerning his lack of insurance experience, Mr. McGee mentioned that as a banker, "insurance businesses have been in my organization. I do have insurance experience."

In addition, he said he has learned about the industry in the course of doing "my own due diligence with The Hartford." Later, he remarked, "I know what I don't know. I have humility and I think I'm a reasonably quick study."

Questioned about any personal interaction with insurance companies in terms of claims, he said it was a topic that was "a personal matter" that he did not want to discuss.

Mr. McGee said in his first couple of months on the job, he plans to "intensively review" the company, looking at components including allocation of capital, management, business strategies, priorities and direction.

He said he wants to examine the capital structure and a plan for any economic scenario. The new CEO said he plans to spend time visiting with agents and brokers, as well as with employees and analysts.