Martin Sullivan's journey

Not many of the CEOs who have lost or will lose their job this year will leave behind so many of their colleagues feeling bereft as does Martin Sullivan of AIG. After 35 years with the company he has made his mark as a very capable and humane leader. It was always a risk to take the reins of an organisation which had been so closely identified with its two previous leaders, but I cannot imagine that he regrets having had his hand on the tiller. For someone to work from the age of 17 for 35 years with the same company is not as common as it used to be. For that person to make it to the top of the world's largest insurer is a very great journey indeed.

For us in the UK there was especial pride in Martin's leading one of the Global 100 companies. When I introduced him at an AIRMIC breakfast forum in London two years ago I pointed out that only Lindsay Owen-Jones at L'Oreal, Howard Stringer at Sony and Martin had done that with a non UK company.

We wish him well for whatever he wants the future to hold.