American International Group said Friday that former Lloyd’s of London CEO John Neal will not join the insurer Dec. 1 as planned “due to personal circumstances.”
Jon Hancock, currently CEO, international commercial insurance and global personal insurance, will be named CEO general insurance and take over Mr. Neal’s prospective responsibilities, according to an internal AIG memo.
The announcement comes five months after AIG announced it had hired Mr. Neal away from another prospective employer, Aon, which he had been slated to join as global chairman of climate solutions and global CEO of reinsurance in January 2026.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AIG said it had “reached a mutual agreement” with Mr. Neal and that AIG Chairman and CEO Peter Zaffino will work with the board “on the future organizational structure of the company.”
Mr. Neal, a former head of Australian insurer QBE Insurance, joined Lloyd’s in 2018 and left in May this year.
Aon had announced in January that he would be joining the brokerage, but in July AIG announced he would join the insurer instead, with a $14 million pay package.
According to a report in the New York Times, published Friday, the announcement about Mr. Neal followed the publication’s inquiry earlier in the week about whether AIG was aware of the circumstances surrounding his departure from QBE in 2017.
QBE reduced Mr. Neal’s annual bonus in February 2017 due to “personal decisions,” which were widely reported to involve a relationship with an assistant. He left the company a few months later.
AIG declined to comment on the report. Business Insurance did not immediately have contact information for Mr. Neal.
The New York Times noted Mr. Neal’s withdrawal came about a year after another AIG executive, David McElroy, retired early and it was later revealed he faced criminal charges of sexual assault and other charges.
According to a Vermont police affidavit, Mr. McElroy sexually assaulted a woman at an AIG client conference in Stowe. She alleged that after an evening of drinking and socializing with Mr. McElroy, she awoke on the floor of her hotel room to find Mr. McElroy assaulting her.
Mr. McElroy said he believed they were two consenting adults, according to the affidavit.
He was released on $500,000 bond. Further proceedings in the case are scheduled for January.