NEW YORK: Former Citigroup executive Jon Diat has joined AIG as VP of external communications.
Diat started in the role October 29. He is responsible for global external communications efforts at the insurance company, including media relations, financial communications, and social media.
Diat is also serving as AIG's primary spokesperson, developing a corporate media and financial relations strategy, and providing media counsel for senior management. He oversees the company's corporate, business, and regional media teams and reports to SVP of corporate communications Christina Pretto.
“It was time for a change and new challenges,” Diat said. “AIG has an incredible turnaround story.”
Prior to this, Diat was MD and head of financial communications at Citigroup, where he led financial communications and acted as a corporate spokesperson for the financial services company. He first joined Citigroup in 2005 and also served as head of media relations and director of corporate affairs and marketing for the Citi Alternative Investments unit.
Diat previously worked with Pretto at Citigroup, replacing her in the role of MD when she left for AIG in 2008.
Earlier in his career, Diat held senior financial communications roles at ACE Limited and JP Morgan Chase, as well as corporate communications positions at Morgan Stanley and Standard & Poor's.
“This is an extraordinary time as we move forward to reestablish the AIG brand and powerfully tell the AIG story to stakeholders around the world,” Pretto said in an internal memo to staff.
Earlier this month, AIG reported a third quarter profit of $1.86 billion, exceeding analyst expectations. The US Treasury Department sold its majority stake in the insurance company in September. AIG was once the largest insurance company in the US before its collapse in 2008. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York bailed out AIG for $182 billion, the largest government bailout in US history.
Last week, AIG unveiled a new logo and tagline, “Bring on tomorrow.” The company's global property casualty franchise will begin using the AIG name, while brands such as VALIC, Lexington Insurance, American General, SunAmerica, and Western National will remain unchanged.
“The AIG name has worldwide brand recognition,” Diat said. “It's a whole new challenge of getting the story out about AIG and illustrating to shareholders and clients what we've done and will continue to do.”
