Peter Zaffino

Peter Zaffino
Peter Zaffino
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Birthplace	Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Insurance executive
Known for	Chairman and CEO of American International Group (AIG)
Education	New York University Stern School of Business (MBA) Boston College (BA)

Peter Zaffino (born 1967) is an American insurance industry executive who has served as chairman and chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG), one of the largest insurance organizations in the world. Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, Zaffino built his career over more than three decades in the global insurance and reinsurance industries, holding senior leadership positions at Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) for sixteen years before joining AIG in 2017. At MMC, he led Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance brokerage subsidiary, and later served as CEO of Marsh Inc., the world's largest insurance brokerage. After joining AIG as executive vice president and global chief operating officer, Zaffino rose through a series of promotions—becoming president in 2020, CEO in 2021, and chairman of the board of directors effective January 1, 2022. In January 2026, AIG announced that Zaffino intended to retire as CEO by mid-2026 and transition to the role of executive chairman of the board.

Early Life

Peter Zaffino was born in 1967 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He grew up in the Fairfield County area, a region of southwestern Connecticut with longstanding connections to the financial services and insurance industries due to its proximity to New York City. Details regarding his family background and upbringing have not been extensively documented in public sources. As an adult, Zaffino resided in Darien, Connecticut, another Fairfield County community.

Education

Zaffino earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the New York University Stern School of Business, one of the leading business schools in the United States, known particularly for its programs in finance and management.

Career

Marsh & McLennan Companies (2001–2017)

Prior to joining AIG, Zaffino spent sixteen years at Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm and the parent company of several major insurance brokerage and risk management subsidiaries. His tenure at MMC encompassed progressively senior leadership roles across the organization's principal operating units.

Guy Carpenter

In February 2008, Zaffino was appointed president and chief executive officer of Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance brokerage subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Guy Carpenter is one of the world's largest reinsurance intermediaries, providing advisory and transaction services to insurance companies seeking to transfer risk to reinsurers. He led Guy Carpenter from 2008 to 2011, a period that encompassed the global financial crisis and its aftermath, which significantly affected the insurance and reinsurance markets worldwide.

Marsh Inc.

In 2011, Zaffino was elevated to the position of chief executive officer of Marsh Inc., the insurance brokerage and risk management subsidiary of MMC and the largest insurance brokerage firm in the world by revenue. In this role, he oversaw the firm's global operations across numerous countries and markets. Under Zaffino's leadership, Marsh pursued a strategy of growth in the middle-market insurance segment. In 2015, the company made a significant acquisition in Texas as part of what Business Insurance described as a "big mid-market push."

During his time leading Marsh, Zaffino also discussed the firm's strategic focus on the middle market in industry media. In an interview with President and CEO Magazine, he outlined Marsh's approach to serving mid-sized businesses, a segment of the insurance market that represented significant growth potential for the brokerage.

Chairman of Risk & Insurance Services

In May 2015, Marsh & McLennan Companies appointed Zaffino as chairman of its Risk & Insurance Services segment, which encompassed both Marsh and Guy Carpenter. In this capacity, he maintained his role as CEO of Marsh while assuming broader oversight responsibilities across MMC's core insurance-related businesses. He served in this dual role until his departure from MMC in 2017. During the period of Zaffino's leadership, Marsh & McLennan was ranked among the Fortune 500 companies in the United States.

Zaffino also contributed to public discourse on the evolving global risk landscape during this period. In 2016, The Wall Street Journal featured his perspectives on the growing global risks facing companies, including geopolitical instability and emerging threats.

American International Group (2017–present)

Joining AIG and Early Roles

In July 2017, AIG announced that Zaffino would join the company as executive vice president and global chief operating officer, effective August 2017. The appointment was made under then-CEO Brian Duperreault, who had joined AIG earlier that year with a mandate to turn around the struggling insurer. The Wall Street Journal described Zaffino as a "key lieutenant" to Duperreault, noting the close working relationship the two had developed during their overlapping years in the insurance industry. The appointment attracted industry attention given Zaffino's stature at Marsh; the Royal Gazette of Bermuda and other trade publications reported on his departure from the brokerage firm to join AIG.

In September 2017, shortly after joining the company, Zaffino was named CEO of AIG's General Insurance business, the company's core property-casualty insurance unit. This appointment came as part of a broader restructuring of AIG into three new operating units—General Insurance, Life & Retirement, and a standalone technology division—which marked one of Duperreault's first major organizational moves as CEO. In this role, Zaffino was tasked with improving the underwriting performance and profitability of AIG's General Insurance operations, which had experienced significant losses and underwriting challenges in the years preceding his arrival.

President and CEO

On January 1, 2020, Zaffino was promoted to president of AIG while continuing as global chief operating officer. He served concurrently as CEO of General Insurance until August 2020. This promotion positioned him as the heir apparent to Duperreault in leading the overall company.

On March 1, 2021, Zaffino succeeded Duperreault as chief executive officer of AIG. Later that year, the AIG board of directors appointed Zaffino as chairman of the board, effective January 1, 2022, giving him the combined title of chairman and CEO.

During his tenure as CEO, Zaffino oversaw a period of significant operational transformation at AIG. In a July 2025 interview with TIME magazine, Zaffino discussed AIG's use of artificial intelligence, the company's approach to navigating risk in an increasingly complex global environment, and his philosophy of leadership. Zaffino's leadership period at AIG encompassed significant challenges for the global insurance industry, including the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating natural catastrophe losses related to climate change, and shifts in global economic conditions.

Transition to Executive Chairman

On January 6, 2026, AIG announced that Zaffino had informed the company's board of directors of his intention to retire as CEO by mid-2026 and transition to the role of executive chairman of the board. The company simultaneously announced that Eric Andersen, then president of Aon, would succeed Zaffino as president and CEO of AIG.

The New York Times reported that the announcement was part of a broader pattern of executive reshuffling in the insurance industry, noting that the news sent AIG's stock price moving. Insurance Journal described Zaffino's tenure as a "five-year run" leading the insurer.

According to a report by Equilar, a provider of corporate governance data, Zaffino realized approximately $174.5 million in total compensation during his tenure as CEO of AIG. In his planned role as executive chairman, Zaffino was expected to support the leadership transition and continue providing strategic oversight to AIG's board.

Personal Life

Zaffino has resided in Darien, Connecticut, a community in Fairfield County. He has been involved in philanthropic activities, including support for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, as documented in the foundation's annual report.

In October 2025, Zaffino authored a personal essay in Fortune reflecting on lessons learned from a close friend and colleague, John Richard Harris. In the essay, Zaffino wrote about Harris's influence on his approach to leadership and personal values, describing him as irreplaceable.

Recognition

Zaffino received the Insurance Leader of the Year award from the St. John's University School of Risk Management in 2013, recognizing his contributions to the insurance industry during his tenure at Marsh.

His leadership of AIG's transformation received coverage in major business publications. TIME magazine profiled his strategy for transforming AIG in a July 2025 feature, focusing on the company's adoption of AI technologies and its approach to global risk management under his stewardship. Fortune also featured Zaffino in its pages, providing a platform for him to discuss leadership and personal mentorship.

During his years at Marsh & McLennan, Zaffino was recognized by Business Insurance among the leaders of the world's top insurance brokers, reflecting Marsh's position as the largest insurance brokerage firm globally.

Legacy

Peter Zaffino's career spans more than three decades in the insurance and reinsurance industries, during which he held the top leadership positions at two of the industry's most significant organizations: Marsh, the world's largest insurance brokerage, and AIG, one of the largest global insurance companies. His trajectory from the leadership of Guy Carpenter's reinsurance operations to the chairmanship of AIG represents a career arc across multiple segments of the insurance value chain—from brokerage and reinsurance intermediation to primary insurance underwriting and corporate leadership.

At AIG, Zaffino's tenure as CEO from 2021 to 2026 encompassed a period of operational restructuring following years of financial and reputational challenges that had affected the company since the 2008 financial crisis. His approach to leadership, as described in his TIME interview, emphasized the integration of technology, including artificial intelligence, into AIG's operations, as well as disciplined risk management practices.

The selection of Aon president Eric Andersen as his successor continued a pattern at AIG of recruiting top talent from other major insurance industry firms, a practice that began with the appointment of Brian Duperreault and Zaffino himself from the brokerage side of the industry. The transition plan, which provided for Zaffino to remain as executive chairman, was designed to ensure continuity at AIG during the leadership change.