Former Allianz Life chief blasts Hartford's hiring of Liam McGee as new CEO

Bob MacDonald, the former chief executive of Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, has upbraided The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. for selecting Liam McGee as its new chief executive, calling the decision “outsourcing taken to a new and more dangerous level.” After an internal search to replace outgoing CEO Ramani Ayer was unsuccessful, the company was forced to undertake an industrywide search turned up few “willing and able” contenders, Mr. McDonald said on his blog, BobMacOnBusiness.com The selection of Mr. McGee, who most recently was president of the consumer and small-business bank at Bank of America Corp. and has no insurance background, is questionable, Mr. McDonald wrote. “Mr. McGee may be a great guy, but a number of people see the selection as odd, at best. He is a lifelong banker who was forced out of a company — Bank of America — that has just about as many challenges in the banking industry as Hartford has in the insurance industry,” Mr. McDonald wrote. “It seems as though the board of directors is banking on this approach as the only way to have any chance to save the company,” Mr. McDonald wrote. “That says a lot about them — how they have performed their duties in the past — and about The Hartford.” Others have also expressed surprise at the insurer's choice. “I was a little surprised to see that they went outside of the insurance industry for the new CEO,” said Drew Woodbury, an equity analyst for Morningstar Inc. A spokesman for The Hartford staunchly defended Mr. McGee's hiring. “Liam's strong track record of success in leading large complex financial services organizations makes him the ideal person to build on The Hartford's strong foundation,” said Hartford spokesman David Potter. “He has an outstanding combination of leadership skills, financial acumen and operational and technological experience, along with a demonstrated ability to evolve and profitably grow business in response to changing business environments and customer needs.” “Liam is a proven leader in the financial services industry with an outstanding set of skills, a deep appreciation of balancing risk and return, and broad experience in a variety of financial business,” Mr. Potter added. “He also shares The Hartford's values including product and customer service, excellence, integrity and a commitment to giving back to the communities in which we operate.”