AIG Board Leadership Change Takes Effect as John Rice Becomes Chair

American International Group’s board leadership change took effect September 15, with John Rice becoming Chair of the Board and Peter Zaffino stepping down as Executive Chair and leaving the board. Zaffino moved into a Senior Advisor role supporting President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Andersen.

The handoff puts Rice in AIG’s top board role after more than three years as Lead Independent Director. He has served as an AIG director since March 2022 and as Lead Independent Director since January 2023. The change also ends the short Executive Chair phase that began when Andersen took over as CEO on June 1.

AIG announced the planned board change on September 2, saying Rice would become Chair and Zaffino would continue to support the company’s executive leadership transition as a Senior Advisor. The effective date was set for September 15.

Zaffino leaves the board but remains an adviser to AIG

Zaffino’s move changes his formal relationship with the insurer without ending it. He is no longer Executive Chair or a member of the board, but AIG said he will continue working with Andersen and the board as a Senior Advisor. The company framed the arrangement as part of the broader leadership handoff that began earlier this year.

An AIG Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission provides additional detail. Zaffino notified the board on September 1 that he would step down effective September 15. The filing says his resignation was not the result of any disagreement with AIG, its management or the board over the company’s operations, policies or practices.

The filing also says AIG and Zaffino amended his employment agreement on September 1. Under that amendment, the move to Senior Advisor and Rice’s appointment as Chair do not change Zaffino’s compensation under the existing agreement and do not constitute a termination without cause or for good reason under the relevant provisions of that agreement.

That makes the September change different from a full departure. Zaffino is giving up the board seat and chair role while remaining available to the chief executive during the succession period. The SEC filing lists him as Senior Advisor to the CEO from September 15 and identifies Rice as Chair from the same effective date.

The board change follows AIG’s June CEO succession

The latest move is the second major step in AIG’s leadership succession during 2026. In January, the company announced that Zaffino intended to retire as CEO by mid-year and that Eric Andersen would join AIG as President and CEO-Elect. Andersen, a former Aon executive, joined on February 16 while Zaffino continued as Chairman and CEO during the initial handoff period.

On April 27, AIG’s board appointed Andersen President and CEO and a director effective June 1. Zaffino then moved from Chairman and CEO to Executive Chair. Andersen has remained responsible for AIG’s executive leadership since that date, while Zaffino’s Executive Chair position provided continuity at the board level during the first months of the CEO change.

September 15 marks the next stage. Andersen remains President and CEO and a member of the board, but the chairmanship now sits with Rice rather than Zaffino. The structure therefore separates the company’s current chief executive role from the board chair position after Zaffino’s period as Executive Chair.

Zaffino joined AIG in 2017 as Global Chief Operating Officer, became CEO in 2021 and had served as Chairman of the Board since 2022. AIG’s January succession announcement said the company had used a multi-year planning process to identify Andersen as his successor, with Zaffino initially remaining in the chair role to support continuity.

Rice moves from lead independent director to Chair

Rice brings a long corporate leadership background to the position. Before joining AIG’s board, he spent much of his career at General Electric. He served as Non-Executive Chairman of GE Gas Power from 2018 to 2020 and previously spent seven years as President and CEO of GE Global Growth Organization. Earlier assignments included senior leadership roles in Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada, and he retired from GE as Vice Chairman in 2018.

His work at AIG already included responsibilities that put him close to the board’s leadership process. AIG’s 2026 proxy statement described the Lead Independent Director as sharing responsibility for setting board agendas and schedules, reviewing the quality and timeliness of information provided to directors, and coordinating on director recruitment and board evaluations. The role also included chairing executive sessions of the independent directors and acting as a liaison between the Chairman and independent directors.

Rice also serves on the board of Baker Hughes and is a trustee of Emory University and Hamilton College. In announcing his election as Chair, AIG said he would work with Andersen, the rest of the board and the company’s leadership team on strategic priorities and governance.

As of September 15, AIG’s leadership structure has Andersen as President and CEO and a director, Rice as Chair of the Board, and Zaffino as Senior Advisor rather than a director. That is the structure set out in the company’s September announcement and SEC filing, which both made the board change effective on the same date.