CEO of AIG for a dollar

CEO of AIG for a dollar ‘Hank Paulson hustled down the stairs and out the side exit of the Treasury building, briskly heading for the White house. He and Ben Bernanke had scheduled a meeting with President Bush to brief him on the extraordinary steps they were about to take… were escorted to the Oval Office where Paulson delicately walked the president through the terms. As Paulson explained the deal, however detailing the points in the Wall Street jargon. Bush clearly looked perplexed. Bernanke jumped in and said “Mr President, lets step back for a minute” Donning his professional hat he explained how deeply entwined AIG had become in the banking system. More important, he tried to appeal to the Everyman in bush, emphasizing how many citizens and small businesses depended on the firm …. The President then posed a question that in it’s own way went to the heart of the problem: “an insurance company does all this?” This one did. At around 4.00 pm that afternoon the Fed’s offered clattered through an AIG fax machine –which should have been replaced and shipped to the Smithsonian a decade earlier) An army of lawyers on AIG’s eighteenth floor were anxiously waiting it. After the tree page document finally appeared a lawyer grabbed it and made copies. “Well you finally get your chance to work for the Federal government” “What do mean?” Asked Willumstad. “They own you now” the lawyer said with a grin. And they did. The Federal Reserve was providing AIG a credit line of 85billion- which the hoped would be enough to avert catastrophe and keep it afloat. But in exchange for the loan, the government was taking a large ownership stake- 80%.... (From an earlier page) Ken Wilson his special advisor raised an issue they had yet to consider; “Hank (Paulson) how the hell can we put 85 billion into this entity without new management?” – a euphemism for asking how the government could fund this amount of money without firing the current CEO and installing its own. Without a new CEO, it would seem that the government was backing the same inept management that had created the mess. “you are right. You’ve got to find me a CEO. Drop everything- Get me a CEO” Wilson back at his office began scrolling through his computer address book. After years as a financial consultant at Goldman Sachs, he knew the top people in the industry. But even before getting to the B’s a named popped into his head. Ed Libby, the former CEO of Allstate and a Goldman board member. He was the perfect candidate, currently on the beach… But Wilson didn’t have his phone number. So he called Chris Cole at Goldman Sachs who had been at AIG all weekend… there was no time for small talk Wilson reached Libby …. “Do you have time to take a call from Hank?” Wilson asked and Libby assented enthusiastically. “You have to hang up” Wilson told Paulson who was on the phone; “I’ve got your CEO”… Willumstrad had no illusions that a government rescue would mean anything other than his ouster, but he was stunned by the speed of events. The government had just made it’s offer moments ago- and it already had completed an executive search to find his successor?... “Is it okay if I ask who it is” “Its Ed Libby” Paulson said… After the call Willumstrad slumped in his chair, and then he looked over at Beattie- the lawyer and laughed “Well you are wrong I won’t be working for the Federal government after all” (And Ed Libby soon took over AIG working for a salary of one dollar) p 400-401, 396-397, 403 Too Big to Fail A.R. Sorkin 2009. And for those Charismatics and Pentecostals in the audience here the key words in these pages is ; ‘But even before getting to the B’s an name popped into his head’ – Each one of us has a unique combination of experience and talents not to mention the various things that God has called us to. As a teenager I was perplexed as I began to see the size of the calling God had given me- and the at least 10 different talents which never could in any human way fit into any job description- And yes I have spent most of my life cleaning toilets sweeping floors and so on… But … Well when we have given up. When in the case of Libby we are ‘on the beach’ or in the case of Moses looking after sheep right beside that mountain in Midian- Then and only then when it is impossible well God knows your number and we are on the way to doing something taking a lifetime of training, multigenerations of breeding and there we are- Your Calling which you need by faith to secure- Because the call up to duty will come. Ready when he calls!