Evan Greenberg of Ace Ltd. like his dad Hank Greenberg

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Partial Web of the Greenberg's
http://www.muckety.com/Maurice-R-Greenberg/2380.muckety

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Evan Greenberg Issues Statement to ACE Employees on Spitzer Investigation

October 18, 2004

ACE Limited President and CEO Evan Greenberg has issued a statement to the Group's employees concerning the "events of the last few days," which he said, along with the news reports, had been "deeply concerning for all of us."

Evan Greenberg, the younger brother of Marsh CEO Jeffrey Greenberg and younger son of AIG's Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, pointed out that although ACE had been mentioned in the lawsuit by New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (See related articles), it had not been named as a defendant.

He did mention, however that "an ACE employee" - identified through other sources as Patricia Abrams an ACE assistant VP - had pled guilty to criminal misdemeanor charges related to Spitzer's investigation. "This employee has been suspended and placed on paid leave," Greenberg indicated.

"We have been cooperating with the New York Attorney General's office since its investigation began several months ago," his statement continued. "We will continue to cooperate fully. At the time the Attorney General began his investigation, we hired an outside law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton, with a team headed by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, to conduct an independent internal investigation. Debevoise has been reporting its findings to management and will now report directly to both management and the Audit Committee of the ACE Board of Directors. That investigation will continue, and it will examine every relevant area of the organization to determine whether there has been or remains any improper behavior. The investigation will be thorough and we will complete it as rapidly as possible."

In something of an understatement Greenberg noted that Spitzer's lawsuit "has raised the question of the continuing appropriateness of placement service agreements (PSAs)," and stressed that, effective immediately, ACE will "discontinue all PSAs throughout our organization."

He told the employees that the company considered the charges to be "extremely serious matters," and said management would do its best "to keep you informed," but he also noted that the company could not "comment on the investigation until it has been completed." He also indicated ACE's management intended "to work as closely as we can with the Attorney General's office to achieve an appropriate resolution to these matters. We are not going to speculate about what the outcome might be, or on how long it might take to get there," he added.

"One thing, however, is without doubt," Greenberg continued: "ACE was built on a strong ethical foundation. It's one of the reasons you and I come to work here every day. It's one of the reasons our clients rely on us. The ACE Code of Conduct policy reinforces our belief in proper behavior at all times. I believe all of you strive to be true to that policy. But we are also a disciplined organization that neither tolerates nor condones unethical behavior. Where the investigation shows that there have been lapses, they will be fixed - quickly and permanently."

He told the employees that the company has appointed "a working group of senior managers and outside advisors to deal with the investigation and all related matters." He urged them to continue doing their job in the best interest of the company and its clients, unless they were part of that group.

He also cautioned them to refer any media inquiries about the situation to ACE's Chief Communications Officer Pat McGovern. Greenberg clearly intended his statement to be disseminated, however. It appears in full on the company's Web site (http://www.acelimted.com), and Greenberg urged employees to "feel free to share this letter" with any of the group's clients. He also stated: "If they have more complex questions, refer them up the chain of command, and we'll do our best to get them responses. But mostly our clients will be looking to us to continue handling their business in our usual professional and helpful manner. I know I can count on you to do just that."

He concluded by reminding ACE's employees that "we are a strong company with many talented and dedicated people. Our company has a very bright future. I can assure you that we will do the right thing. We will get this situation behind us so that we can continue the good work we do on behalf of our clients, our shareholders and each other."

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/na ... /46971.htm

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Hank Greenberg At War
One year after Hank Greenberg was forced out of the insurance empire he built, the wounds are still raw.
Then again, his battle against AIG has only just begun
2006

Hush-Hush
AIG's stance is to act as if Greenberg simply doesn't matter. He's yesterday's man, a leader who hung around too long and operated too close to the edge; he's euphemistically known as one of "certain former members of senior management" in AIG documents. There's palpable frustration in some quarters that he won't just apologize, pay a fine, and go away. He's not welcome as a subject of open discussion. A call to one executive at AIG's Manhattan headquarters prompts an audible sense of unease. "I really can't talk about that guy in the office," comes the hushed response. With all the lawsuits swirling around, people are even reluctant to laud his past accomplishments. Sullivan offers up only guarded praise when pressed to comment on his old boss. "I learned a lot from Mr. Greenberg, but I learned a lot from other people here as well," says the pleasant-faced Briton. "I'm focused on moving forward."

As long as Greenberg continues to wage war, though, he can't. Greenberg won't give up a penny of the $21 billion in AIG shares he controls through Starr International (SICO), the private company that for decades had served as a compensation vehicle for AIG employees -- and that he bragged was so critical to the company's success. "It differentiated AIG from all other companies and created a culture that was unique in Corporate America," Greenberg notes. AIG has sued for the bulk of those shares, arguing that they were committed solely to being used as future compensation for top AIG employees. But Greenberg no longer cares. He runs SICO and he's keeping it -- and even some AIG executives quietly admit they're unlikely to get anything back. Greenberg will pay out what's legally owed, including Sullivan's pot, but that's it.

Then there's the drama over the fate of C.V. Starr, which is now competing with AIG for business. As a managing general agent, it was a middleman for about $2 billion in premiums on policies underwritten solely by AIG. The agencies were often staffed with people who had similar roles and job titles inside AIG, leading some critics to call C.V. Starr a fictional intermediary snaring fees that should have flowed to the insurer. Greenberg dismisses those claims, noting that C.V. Starr provided the expertise and relationships with clients.

Greenberg has walked off with the bulk of that talent, taking back four specialized agencies: American International Marine Agency; American International Aviation Agency; Starr Tech, which focuses largely on the energy and chemical industries; and C.V. Starr, which handles excess casualty insurance in such areas as construction and trucking. He was willing to sell it all to AIG, but the offer was about $600 million short. On Mar. 15 he launched a national ad campaign to build a separate identity for the Starr agencies.

After the tense bidding came to an impasse, AIG severed all ties. Starr Tech began offering insurance on Feb. 28 underwritten by two AIG rivals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A ) and Ace Ltd. (ACE ), whose CEO is Greenberg's son Evan. Berkshire, oddly enough, provided the backing for a suspect reinsurance policy through its Gen Re Corp. (BRK ) unit that first caught Spitzer's eye by allegedly boosting AIG's reserves by $500 million.

Until AIG's messy divorce from Greenberg, many customers weren't even aware that C.V. Starr was a private company. Many thought that they were essentially dealing with an arm of AIG. As one broker puts it: "That's who you were understood to be dealing with, and that was the paper backing you wanted." Some did know that it had morphed into an odd fraternity that awarded stakes to executives like Sullivan, who was bought out for an estimated $6 million last year. But no one anticipated a split.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... 977081.htm

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

The ACE Group is one of the world's largest providers of commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Rated A+ for financial strength by Standard & Poor's and A.M. Best, and with more than $72 billion in assets and $19 billion of gross written premiums in 2008, the ACE Group is distinguished by its underwriting expertise, superior claims handling and global franchise, which includes offices in more than 50 countries and clients in over 140 countries