Robert Benmosche is stepping down as chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG) after five years at the helm and told Bloomberg TV in an interview Thursday that he speeded up his decision after learning that a cancer prognosis gave him less than a year to live.

"I knew that the cancer had begun massive mutations," he said. "I knew there was no drug yet on the market" to treat it. "So they reset the clock--nine months to one year."

Mr. Benmosche told Bloomberg he met with the AIG board in April and told them they needed to change the organization dramatically.

"They were thinking of the first quarter of next year," he said, but "I said I'm not going to play the odds. The changes have to made now not later ... let's accelerate my retirement," which paved the way for the naming in June of Peter Hancock as incoming CEO.

Full story at www.bloomberg.com

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