Liam McGee, Former CEO Of The Hartford, Dies Of Cancer
McGee was CEO from Oct. 1, 2009, through July 1, leaving as cancer worsened. He remained chairman until Jan. 5.
The illness was publicly disclosed in January 2013, when the company said McGee had a brain tumor removed and that he was receiving low-dose chemotherapy.
He recently moved Southern California, though some executives at The Hartford were in regular contact with him.
The company announced his death Monday morning and posted a tribute page on an internal website for employees to share their memories. The company is working on additional plans to remember McGee.
Liam was a man of commitment, integrity and compassion, and we were fortunate to have him join The Hartford during a challenging time in the company's history," Thomas A. Renyi, presiding director of The Hartford, said in a statement. "Liam made the tough decisions necessary to guide the company through this period, with an unwavering focus on what was best for our company, our customers, our employees, our shareholders and our community."
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said: "Liam set two missions when he came here, saving a great American company and improving the city in which it is headquartered. He accomplished both."
During McGee's tenure at The Hartford, the company invested in Hartford and the Asylum Hill neighborhood, where the 205-year-old company has been headquartered for almost 100 years. Under McGee, the company dedicated $7 million over five years to address blight, rebuild homes and provide other services.
Perhaps most significantly, The Hartford committed $2 million to help the city buy the long-vacant Capitol West building and demolish it in 2012. McGee called the building an eyesore and a barrier between Asylum Hill and downtown Hartford.
"It would be hard to overstate the significance of it for a number of reasons," said Bernie Michel, staff administrator of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association, who was chairman of the association when the Capitol West building was demolished.
"When you came in on I-84 into Hartford … you had to go by that building … and it was just a major eyesore," Michel said, adding later that it told people, "Here is your worst nightmare about Hartford."Mayor Pedro E. Segarra said McGee and his wife, Lori, were both passionate about the city and personally supported several non-profit organizations, including Hartford Public Library, Grace Academy and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
"The Asylum Hill neighborhood was transformed because of their generosity," Segarra said.
McGee was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and grew up in Southern California. His father was a bus driver in Los Angeles and progressed to management at Southern California Rapid Transit District.
McGee graduated from the University of San Diego in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in biology. He played baseball for the university, wrote for the student newspaper and was active in student government. He received a master's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University and a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.During college, McGee worked as a bank teller, foreshadowinghis long career in financial services. He was an executive at Bank of America Corp., where he oversaw more than 5,000 branches as president of consumer and small business banking. Before Bank of America, he worked in senior positions at Wells Fargo.
"Liam was a true visionary," Ken Lewis, former chairman and CEO of Bank of America, said in a statement. "He had ideas about how things should be and would be in the future that were special and unique to him. He had an amazing ability to convey that vision; help others see their role in it and follow his leadership to achieve amazing results.
"We gave him huge challenges at Bank of America and had high expectations for what he would do," Lewis said. "He exceeded those high expectations every time and left an indelible imprint on all with whom he worked. Liam was my good friend; a man I admired. I will miss him greatly."
McGee arrived at The Hartford in the fall of 2009, after the company's stock fell to $3.62 in March from a peak of $106 in May 2007. The Hartford lost huge sums on investments during the economic downturn, was overextended on its variable-annuity business, and suffered downgrades of its financial health ratings.
The company received $3.4 billion in federal stimulus money before McGee arrived, and he repaid the federal government within the first six months he was on the job.
Two years after repaying the government, in March 2012, McGee announced a major transformation that called for an end to new sales of annuities. The company also sold off large business segments: individual life, retirement plans and its Woodbury Financial Services brokerage. At the time, McGee said The Hartford wanted to have superior performance, and the status quo was not going to let the company get there in a "reasonable period of time."
Since spring 2012, the company has focused on property-casualty, group benefits and mutual funds, which are considered more profitable and less volatile than the other segments The Hartford chose to divest or to discontinue.
McGee stepped down as CEO in July amid continuing health problems and was succeeded by Christopher Swift, who was the chief financial officer.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement: "Liam was a community and business leader of hugely impressive integrity, intellect, dedication, and grace — who gave me his views and advice with an incomparable combination of charm and candor. From our first lunch to my last visit to his office at The Hartford, he was unstintingly generous in his friendship, and his clear caring for the people who worked with him."
McGee was active in Junior Achievement, serving as chairman of the board of the JA of Southern California and spending time in the classroom as a Junior Achievement volunteer.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Feb. 24 at Saints Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach, Calif. A private burial will follow.