The company did not disclose the type of cancer but said the 66-year old Benmosche is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy to treat the condition.
"The good news is that I feel fine, and I continue to work according to my normal schedule,” Benmosche said in a statement. “As for my long-term prognosis—I will have a better idea over the next couple of months of what that will look like as I continue to undergo treatment and my doctors refine their diagnosis.”
Benmosche has piloted a marked turnaround at AIG since came on board in Aug. 2009. The company has divested units and simplified operations as it looks to repay the government for the $182 billion in assistance it received during the financial crisis. In September, the company announced a plan designed to repay all its obligations to taxpayers by 2012.
Benmosche, who came out of retirement to take the helm at AIG, had previously indicated that he planned to step away from the post after a few years. Despite his condition, the former Metlife CEO says he remains committed to his job and expressed confidence in AIG’s ability to execute its turnaround.
"AIG is executing on an established, clear roadmap to repay taxpayers,” he says. “Just in the last week we have made extraordinary progress on a key asset divestiture. I am confident in our momentum, and, with our employees, fully committed to delivering on AIG's core priorities: repaying taxpayers, meeting all of the company's obligations to its various stakeholders, and restructuring the company so that it emerges as a smaller, more focused enterprise worthy of investor confidence."
Robert Miller, Chairman of the AIG Board of Directors, noted that Benmosche has a strong executive management team around him. “In the last year, Bob has made a profound impact on AIG, and under his leadership, AIG has built a very strong management team that is working hard to repay taxpayers,” Miller said. “Speaking for the Board, we have every confidence that we will all continue to work together smoothly and without interruption as AIG executes its repayment roadmap. At the same time, we will make sure that we engage in appropriate contingency planning to ensure management continuity.”
