Evan G. Greenberg Explained

Evan G. Greenberg
Occupation:Chairman and CEO of Chubb Limited
Relatives:Jeffrey W. Greenberg (brother)
Spouse:Mariana Campero
Father:Maurice R. Greenberg
Education:New York University, College of Insurance (did not graduate from either)

Evan G. Greenberg (born 1955) is an American business executive. He is the chairman and CEO of the Zürich-based insurance company Chubb Limited (formerly ACE Limited).

Early life and education

Greenberg is the son of Corinne Phyllis Zuckerman and Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chairman and CEO of American International Group (AIG).[1] He is also the younger brother of Jeffrey W. Greenberg, the former CEO of Marsh & McLennan.

After graduating high school at 17, Greenberg traveled the country working odd jobs, including cooking at a nursing home and bartending.[2] [3] He later attended New York University and the College of Insurance but did not graduate from either.[4]

Career

Early career and AIG

In 1975, Greenberg started working in insurance, initially working for New Hampshire Insurance Co. in its automobile policies department.[5] He began working for AIG later that year as an underwriter.[5] During the 25 years he worked for AIG, Greenberg held a number of senior management positions. He ran AIG's Japan and Korea operations from 1991 to 1994.[3] He then oversaw all international property-casualty operations from AIG's New York offices.[3] Greenberg was named president and COO in 1997 and was considered the heir apparent to take over as CEO of AIG.[4] [1]

Despite Greenberg being in line to take over the company, he left his position as president in September 2000. He spent a year away from work to spend time with his family. After seeing the impact of the September 11 attacks on the insurance industry, with insurers affected by large claims, Greenberg decided to take the opportunity to accept then-ACE CEO Brian Duperreault's offer to join ACE.

ACE/Chubb

Greenberg joined ACE in November 2001 to lead the company's overseas unit.[6] In June 2003, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer, and in May 2004, was named CEO.[6] In May 2007, he was elected Chairman of ACE.[7]

Following his promotion to CEO, Greenberg grew the company both through expansion of existing operations and through a strategy of acquisitions, acquiring 15 companies by 2015.[8] In July 2015, Greenberg led a deal for ACE to acquire the insurance company Chubb for $28.3 billion,[9] which was the largest merger deal in property and casualty insurance history.[10] Shortly prior to the deal, he broke his ankle in a horse riding accident, and he worked on the merger while recovering.[11] When the deal became official in January 2016, ACE adopted the Chubb name globally and Greenberg became chairman and CEO of Chubb.[12] By 2021, Greenberg was credited in the media for having grown Chubb to the second-largest publicly listed insurance company in the U.S.[13] and the largest non-injury insurer in the U.S. based on market value.[14] As part of the acquisition plan to continue growing Chubb, he led an attempted acquisition bid for The Hartford in 2021. After making three offers that were each declined, he stated that Chubb would not continue to pursue the acquisition.[13]

Following the merger, Greenberg has sought to grow Chubb's presence in Asia.[15] He led the company's push to increase its holdings in Huatai Insurance, a China-based insurance company, by pursuing a regulatory change in China that would allow Chubb to become Huatai's majority owner. Officials passed the change in 2019[14] and Chubb gained majority ownership of Huatai in 2022.[16]

In 2021, he led the company's acquisition of Cigna Group's Asian businesses that focused on health and accident insurance. In May 2024, Berkshire Hathaway confirmed that the firm had purchased 26 million shares of Chubb stock, worth $6.7 billion.[17]

Political and financial positions, board roles

In the 2008 financial crisis, Greenberg opposed taxpayer-funded bailouts for the insurance industry.[18] He gave a statement on behalf of the American Insurance Association as its then-chairman, noting that most of the association's members were not in favor of including property and casualty insurers in the list of companies able to make use of available federal bailout funds.[19]

In February 2011, Greenberg was named to the board of directors at The Coca-Cola Company.[20] He stepped down from the board position to focus on his role at Chubb in January 2016.[21]

Greenberg has criticized protectionist trade policies[22] and spoken in favor of policies that promote global trade and U.S. interests, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.[23]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenberg called for a public-private partnership for pandemic risk, saying such a program would lessen the financial blow of a future pandemic.[24] He testified at a July 2021 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, to advocate for such a program.[25]

He has also advocated for better business and political relationships between the U.S. and China.[26] [27] He is a member and former chairman of the US-China Business Council.[16] [28]

In March 2024, Greenberg defended Chubb's decision to provide former President Donald Trump a $91.6 million appeal bond for the civil case E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump in a letter to Chubb investors claiming the company doesn't "take sides."[29] Greenberg was appointed by Trump to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2018, serving on the committee from then into the Joe Biden presidency, stepping down in March 2023.[29]

Greenberg is on the board of the National Committee on United States-China Relations and the US-China Business Council.[30]

Notes and References

  1. News: Starkman . Dean . July 5, 2005 . Hoping to Avoid The Third Out . 2024-02-14 . The Washington Post.
  2. News: Basak . Sonali . July 1, 2015 . Evan Greenberg, Long in Father’s Shadow, Comes Into His Own . 2024-02-12 . Bloomberg.com.
  3. News: Scism . Leslie . December 16, 2015 . Evan Greenberg Dropped Out, Then Built Insurance Behemoth . February 12, 2024 . .
  4. News: Joseph B. . Treaster . March 12, 2004 . A Greenberg, 3rd in Family, to Be Chief of an Insurer . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140309035039/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/12/business/12insure.html?ex=1079672400&en=d71049c31e5d1875&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE . March 9, 2014 . February 23, 2022 . The New York Times.
  5. News: Kandell. Jonathan. Evan Greenberg’s Ace in Chubb Clothing. Institutional Investor. February 15, 2024. January 12, 2016.
  6. News: Hoping to Avoid The Third Out. Starkman. Dean. July 5, 2005. The Washington Post. February 14, 2024.
  7. News: ACE Limited appoints Evan Greenberg Chairman of Board of Directors. Reuters. February 22, 2024. August 9, 2007.
  8. News: Kandell. Jonathan. Evan Greenberg’s Ace in Chubb Clothing. Institutional Investor. February 15, 2024. January 12, 2016.
  9. News: Bray. Chad. de la Merced. Michael J.. Ace to Buy Chubb for $28.3 Billion. The New York Times. February 14, 2024. July 1, 2015.
  10. News: Gray. Alistair. Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg on a winning M&A formula. Financial Times. February 19, 2024. August 6, 2017.
  11. News: Scism . Leslie . December 16, 2015 . Evan Greenberg Dropped Out, Then Built Insurance Behemoth . February 12, 2024 . .
  12. Web site: Simpson. Andrew G.. ACE and Chubb Are Now One; New Chubb Brand Logo Unveiled. Insurance Journal. February 14, 2024. January 15, 2016.
  13. Web site: Chiglinsky. Katherine. Like Father, Like Son: Evan Greenberg Seeks Insurance Empire . Bloomberg News . February 14, 2024. March 19, 2021.
  14. Web site: Smith. Ian. Insurance veteran Evan Greenberg eyes his next prize . Financial Times . February 26, 2024. March 26, 2021.
  15. Web site: Bary . Andrew . Insurance Doesn’t Have to Be Boring. Why Chubb Stock Is a Buy. . Barron's. February 29, 2024. March 3, 2023.
  16. News: One American CEO Argues for Mending Fences With China . Wei . Lingling . Hutzler . Charles. The Wall Street Journal. June 13, 2022 . February 14, 2024.
  17. News: Bary . Andrew . 2024-05-15 . Chubb Is Surging After Berkshire Hathaway Reveals its Mystery Stock Purchase Barron’s . 2024-05-21 . Barron’s.
  18. News: DiStefano. Joseph. PhillyDeals: Insurance leader says 'no' to bailout. Philadelphia Inquirer. February 13, 2024. October 30, 2008.
  19. News: Hofman. Mark A.. P/C insurer groups unite in opposing federal capital aid . Business Insurance. February 13, 2024. November 2, 2008.
  20. Web site: Coca-Cola Company elects Evan G Greenberg as director. February 18, 2011. FoodBev. February 12, 2024.
  21. News: 1539-7459. Coca-Cola board director to step down after his own job gets bigger. Grantham. Russell. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 27, 2016 . February 12, 2024.
  22. News: Greenberg Calls Out ‘Wannabes’ for Wagers on Political Risk . Philip . Agnel . Bloomberg. July 27, 2016 . March 4, 2024.
  23. News: Chubb CEO Greenberg Sounds Off on NAFTA, China and ‘America First’ . Hollmer . Mark . Carrier Management . April 8, 2024 . March 4, 2024.
  24. News: Chubb CEO on insuring in a pandemic: It’s unlike any other catastrophe . Sundaram . Anjali . CNBC. July 30, 2020 . March 4, 2024.
  25. News: Chubb CEO makes case for pandemic insurance program . Moorcraft . Bethan . Insurance Business Magazine . August 2, 2021 . March 4, 2024.
  26. News: After AIG, Greenbergs Build $6 Billion Fortune and Push Into China . Schmidt . Blake . Bloomberg. December 22, 2022 . February 14, 2024.
  27. News: One American CEO Argues for Mending Fences With China . Wei . Lingling . Hutzler . Charles. The Wall Street Journal. June 13, 2022 . February 14, 2024.
  28. Web site: Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg elected Chair of the US-China Business Council US-China Business Council. The US-China Business Council. February 14, 2024. June 9, 2017.
  29. News: Mangan. Dan. Brewer. Contessa. Chubb CEO defends backing Trump appeal bond in E. Jean Carroll case. CNBC. March 18, 2024. March 13, 2024.
  30. Web site: Crane . Brent . September 4, 2022 . Insuring Engagement . September 5, 2022 . .