Two Execs Ousted by Insurer Marsh
Two top executives of scandal-tarred insurance firm Marsh Inc. were ousted Monday, the company said, the latest casualties of an industry probe by New York’s attorney general.
Roger Egan, president and chief operating officer of Marsh, and Christopher Treanor, chairman and chief executive of the firm’s global placement business, were “asked to step down from their positions,” the company said.
“These management decisions were difficult and were not based on any suggestion of culpability,” Michael Cherkasky, president and CEO of the firm’s parent company, Marsh & McLennan Cos., said in a written release.
“However, at the end of the day, Mr. Egan and Mr. Treanor were accountable for the areas of the business that have been the focus of investigations ... and, therefore, we thought it was appropriate to make these changes.”
The dismissal of Egan and Treanor comes two weeks after the probe led to the resignation of Jeffrey W. Greenberg, Marsh & McLennan’s former chairman and CEO.
The investigation of bid rigging launched by New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer’s office has spurred companies to change business practices and has led to resignations and dismissals.
Spitzer has said he intends to seek compensation from Marsh, the nation’s largest insurance broker, that could far exceed $500 million. He has accused the firm of accepting fees from insurance companies in exchange for steering customers to the companies. A broker is supposed to represent only the interests of the customer.
Spitzer’s civil suit claims that the company was paid $800 million in 2003 alone through the incentive fees, also known as contingent commissions.
Marsh & McLennan said Monday that the parent company’s senior vice president and general counsel, William Rosoff, had also stepped down.
A spokeswoman for the company, Andrea Calise, would not comment on whether the executives had been offered a monetary settlement as part of their dismissals, and would not discuss the nature or reasons for Rosoff’s resignation.
