Inside AIG's business transformation

When World 50 member Claude Wade joined 美亚保险 as executive vice president, chief digital officer, and global head of business operations and claims, he faced the challenge of modernizing and digitizing a 100-year-old company.

When Wade joined AIG, the company had already paid out “a $182.3 billion bailout in the financial crisis ,” and its infrastructure was far behind its competitors. Today, the story at AIG is much different due to significant enterprise transformation and impressive business and financial turnaround in performance—something that was driven by CEO Peter Zaffino and his leadership team, including Wade. According to Barron’s , AIG has turned the corner. “No matter what the metric, AIG stock is worth a look.”

Wade joined World 50 members last month at a Summit to share his perspective on leading a tech transformation.

Begin by tackling the largest barrier to growth

“The biggest mistake businesses make is not aligning their transformation efforts to customer outcomes and growth,” said Wade, who believes the context and the “why” of a transformation are critical. “The hardest part of transformation is getting everyone to understand the problem and co-create the solution.” An important question Wade asks when an exciting project comes to him for evaluation is, “Does this remove a barrier to or enable growth?” If not, then the answer to the resource request is: No.

Don’t just throw tech at the problem

“What does the workflow look like? Get clarity around roles and responsibilities, then figure out the tech that will allow you to do that most effectively,” he said. A big part of the process was making sure the company had developed the proper infrastructure for their tech, including necessary guardrails, and compliance with the data privacy laws of every state and country they operated in. “Once you understand that optimized process, then you are ready to figure out what tech will allow you to do that better,” he said.

Wade’s background in Six Sigma, lean, and agile methodologies helped him and his core team use tools like process mapping and SIPOC-Rs to create a disciplined approach and a common language for change. One of the most important skills he looked for in new hires was strong storytelling capabilities, to communicate their vision to the rest of the organization.

Start small—with a singular focus.

AIG’s top priority for transformation was its lengthy submission process for customer quotes. By focusing on this specific problem, the company was able to use its AI ecosystem, including large language models, to build out a tech solution that reduced the highly complex and heterogeneous process from weeks to minutes.

Wade started quietly, pulling together a group of committed business leaders who saw an opportunity to grow the business. “If you don’t start small and the initiative fails, you have a bull’s-eye on your back,” he said. Those business leaders talked about the success they were seeing, which created FOMO. “It wasn’t branded. It was under the radar, which is how I like to operate. It builds momentum organically.”

Where does AI fit in your “ruthless prioritization” journey?

When deciding how to integrate generative AI into the organization, Wade maintains that “maniacal focus” on answering the question: “If we're going to grow double digits over the next three years, what are the things that are in the way?” He says “no” to any initiative that doesn’t align with this premise.

“I know [many] companies have told all their employees to use ChatGPT for everything. I'm not sure if we had done that, we would've gotten to the same answer of solving this most important business problem." How he reiterates his rationale to business leaders requesting the use of LLMs: “There's a higher priority than what you're trying to solve for functionally. I know it's important to you in the moment and for the outcome you’re seeking as a functional leader, but I ask you to consider how does it support the growth priorities of the entire enterprise?”

Wade is a member of Global 50, World 50's community for senior-most divisional presidents, CEOs, and chief operating officers. Membership in World 50 is by invitation only. Inquire about eligibility at [email protected] .