Maurice R. Greenberg

Chairman & CEO, Starr Companies

Maurice R. Greenberg is chairman and CEO of Starr Companies, a global insurance and investment organization. Starr was founded by Cornelius Vander Starr in 1919 in Shanghai, China.

Greenberg retired as chairman and CEO of American International Group (AIG) in March 2005. He formed AIG as a Starr subsidiary and served as that company's chairman and CEO until March 2005. Under his nearly 40 years of leadership, AIG grew from an initial market value of $300 million to $180 billion, becoming the largest insurance company in the world.

He serves on the President's Council on International Activities of Yale University, as honorary vice chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, as vice chairman of the National Committee on United States–China Relations, and as a member of the Board of the US-China Business Council. He is the past chairman and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is active on the boards of many other civic and charitable organizations around the world.

Greenberg has been especially active and committed to development in Asia, taking his first trip to China in 1975. In 1990, he was appointed as Shanghai’s first chairman of the International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council by the former mayor, Zhu Rongii. In 1994, Greenberg was appointed senior economic advisor to the Beijing municipal government. He was awarded “Honorary Citizen of Shanghai” in 1997. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Tsinghua School of Economics and Management and a member of the International Advisory Council of the China Development Research Foundation and China Development Bank, as well as numerous other distinguished boards and academies.

A decorated United States veteran, Greenberg served in both World War II and the Korean Conflict, rising to the rank of captain and awarded the Bronze Star. Greenberg was awarded the French Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur for his service on D-Day on Omaha Beach in World War II. Later, his award was raised to that of Commandeur de l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur, recognizing his leadership and contributions as chairman of AIG.

Greenberg is also the chairman of the Starr Foundation, a philanthropic organization initially funded by Cornelius Vander Starr’s estate. Under his leadership, the Starr Foundation has grown to become one of the largest private foundations in the United States. The foundation has made more than $3 billion in grants worldwide to many academic, medical, cultural, and public policy organizations around the world.

Greenberg received his pre-law certificate from the University of Miami and an LLB from New York Law School. He has been granted honorary degrees from a number of institutions, including New York Law School, Brown University, Middlebury College, Bryant University, and Rockefeller University.

Greenberg is married and has four children.