Insurer American International Group Inc. named a former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission to its board and voted to change rules for directors' service as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen corporate governance.
Michael Sutton, 65, will join the board and serve on AIG's audit committee. Sutton retired from the SEC in 1998, after three years as chief accountant, and also serves on the boards of Allegheny Energy Inc. and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.
AIG's board also announced that director nominees in uncontested elections must receive a greater number of votes "for" than "withheld" or else they will be forced to resign. The board also adopted a mandatory retirement age of 73 for its members, although it will be able to waive that rule, as necessary, for one year "if deemed to be in the best interests of AIG." Because of the new rule, board member M. Bernard Aidinoff, 76, will not stand for re-election.
The company ousted its longtime chief, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, in March following state and federal investigations into its accounting practices, which led to restatements of its financial results for the past five years.
