Cv starr hank greenberg autograph

So much for Levitts insights. GF: How has the recent wave of shareholder activism affected corporate governance and control? Greenberg: Theres a price you pay for greater shareholder activism: Generally, companies dont do as well afterward. GF: Is it a trend that is likely to continue? Greenberg: The pendulum swings in both directions. After Enron, it swung too far.

Obviously there were things that were wrong at some companies, but was it necessary to destroy an entire company [referring to the demise of accounting firm Arthur Andersen]? Thousands of people lost their jobs. Youre not going to cure dishonesty by making everyone suffer. GF: What is your opinion on proposed changes in insurance regulation?

Greenberg: The regulatory environment has become hostile to many industries, and insurance is no exception. Solvency II [EU directive harmonizing insurance regulations, particularly on capital adequacy] will have to be changed. There are some indications that regulators might be considering relaxing the rules under Solvency II. Companies are spending more time than it is worth to operate there.

Greenberg: The insurance model has changed. Different structure. Totally different. One is private, and the other is public, or government-owned I should say. It was founded in Shanghai in Starr in the United States goes back to about And the international side … we operate in Europe, in London, Asia through Hong Kong and some business opportunities in China.

Q: Is there a particular field or industry that would bring more growth to your companies? A: No. It could be crisis management, it could be political risk, it could be construction.

Cv starr hank greenberg autograph

The total range of commercial insurance. We do not underwrite personal lines at this moment. A: Yes, we are in health insurance in a very focused way. A company will provide benefits and many times we will underwrite excess of those. Excess insurance covers the damages or loss that is greater than the amount specified in a separate policy.

A: Well, I have trouble understanding how you can add 40 million people and have reduced costs. Either you are going to cut benefits or restrict benefits or limit benefits. It helps families to buy certain things that they otherwise would not be able to buy. You mentioned the need for our education system to be maintained at a high standard. Many talk about the challenges facing the U.

Are we on the right track? Our universities are probably top in the world; our problem is the primary schools. We must conquer that problem. Is there a role for the private sector in this? In fact, our foundation has been active in this area. My wife, for example, is very active in bringing arts to schools, which helps kids with learning.

Starr was one of the first U. Although the potential of China is often noted, many people talk about the challenges of actually making money there. What has contributed to your success there? You can make money in China; it just depends on the business. You have to understand the culture of the country. Opportunities are almost universal. When we invest, our job is to be innovative and produce new products that meet the new needs of a growing society.

There are new things happening all the time that you can address. For example, we were the first to go into Iraq, where we provided coverage for contractors. You have to understand risk, and you have to price it and manage it properly. So no matter where in the world they are, if new sources of energy are going to be developed, there will be new insurance opportunities.

So the world is constantly developing new opportunities. Do you ever worry that the reliance on technology we see today will detract from the people side of the business? They had none. Their life company employees would get a salary whether they sold something or not. With the agency system of course you get paid a commission if you sell something.

Once that agency system was installed, it went on to create more than a million jobs. He asked me to start that to attract foreign companies to invest in Shanghai. Shanghai and China in general were just coming out of the doldrums then; there was a lack of foreign investment. I served as chairman of that group for a couple of terms. I am still a part of that board, and it will be celebrating its 30th anniversary along with our th anniversary.

On August 29, Mr. Greenberg published an opinion piece in the WSJ reminding Chinese leaders of the productive history of U. Hank Greenberg: As to the current environment, when you are in negotiations, every leader negotiates differently. President Trump is negotiating based on his well-known approach. All the past presidents in China before the revolution had two terms.

Hank Greenberg: So, clearly a lot of change is going on in China. Some of it is good. But as I said in the op-ed, China needs to be treated like the second largest economy in the world, which it is. And it will be the number one economy in the world in not too many years. They want to have access to our market and other markets. Fine, but you have to have reciprocity, and they have not been very good at that.

Hank Greenberg: I think there are several substantial challenges. One, their structure makes it very difficult. They have a senior official, a regulator, who runs a division within the government for insurance. He keeps that job as long as he does what leadership wants him to do. He may not be sure what they want him to do. For example, the president made a speech many months ago saying they are going to open up banking, insurance and a couple of additional sectors to foreign investment; nothing happened.

The reason was that the head of that division got changed. A new administrator came in who was not sure what the president wanted so he did nothing. So the structure is such that it is very difficult. That will change, but it is going to take time. Hank Greenberg: It turns out that it is harder to change, because they have one leader.

For American companies coming to China, what are some of the current challenges? Hank Greenberg: Well, they very much want to do business in China. As I said previously, that has to be resolved.