Dive Brief:

• Shane Fitzsimons, who stepped down in June from his role as CFO of American International Group, roughly six months after taking a medical leave of absence from the company, passed away Friday.
• “It is with great sadness that I share the passing of Shane Fitzsimons, a dear friend, a cherished AIG colleague, and a highly respected member of the global business community,” AIG Chairman and CEO Peter Zaffino wrote Monday in a post on social networking site LinkedIn. “Shane leaves behind a legacy of extraordinary leadership, resolute commitment, and a passion for striving towards excellence in everything that he did.”
• Fitzsimons, 55 at the time of his death, first joined the New York-based global insurer in 2019 as its global head of shared services, and was appointed CFO in October 2021, Zaffino said.

Dive Insight:

Fitzsimons played an instrumental role with the initial public offering of Corebridge Financial, previously AIG’s life and retirement business, according to Zaffino’s post. Prior to joining AIG, he logged a 20-year stint at General Electric in various roles.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to Shane's family and friends,” AIG said on its LinkedIn page in a reshare of Zaffino’s post. AIG declined to comment further beyond its LinkedIn post.

Fitzsimons’ decision to take temporary medical leave led to a series of changes in the insurer’s financial leadership. In January, AIG appointed Mark Lyons, its EVP and global chief actuary and head of portfolio management, to serve interim CFO, according to the company filing.

Lyons, who previously served a stint as CFO for the insurance group between December 2018 and December 2021 when Fitzsimons was appointed to the position, was terminated from his role as interim CFO a scant few weeks later due to violating his confidentiality agreements with the company, CFO Dive previously reported. The company agreed to a settlement with Lyons upon his dismissal, with the executive slated to receive $7.5 million in installments.

AIG appointed Sabra Purtill to serve as interim CFO following Lyons’ termination. Purtill, who prior to taking the role served as CFO for Corebridge Financial, officially became the company’s permanent CFO in June when Fitzsimons officially stepped down as CFO, according to a company filing.

The company’s executive leadership reshufflings have extended outside of its top finance seat, with the insurance group announcing multiple executive appointments and hirings over the past year. In September, AIG appointed Lucy Faro, formerly their EVP, general counsel and global head of communications and government affairs to Vice Chair, as well as appointing a new chief marketing and communications officer and new general counsel.

Earlier this month, AIG announced several additional leadership appointments to help lead its next phase of “profitable growth,” announcing a new chairman of general insurance as well as new CEOs for both its North America Insurance and International Insurance segments.

For its second quarter ended June 30, AIG reported revenues of $13.2 billion, an 8.4% dip year over year. It is expected to report its third quarter results Wednesday.