AIG Exec's Public Exit Won't Be the Last

Updated from Wednesday, March 25

Political grandstanding and a media blitz over bonuses at financial firms receiving government funds has created a flight of talent that is not helping the industry recover, human resources experts say.

Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president in American International Group's (AIG) maligned financial products unit, fought back on Wednesday against what he characterized as misplaced anger, and a lack of support from superiors who pledged to stand behind employees.

DeSantis publicly aired his resignation letter on the op-ed pages of The New York Times, just days after CEO Edward Liddy told Congress that $165 million in bonuses awarded to AIG executives were "distasteful" and the House of Representatives passed a punitive bill that would essentially wipe the payments out through taxes.

In his letter, DeSantis noted that the equity and commodity units he oversaw consistently booked profits, in many cases "well over" $100 million annually. In his 11 years at the firm, DeSantis claims to have never handled any of the credit-default swaps which brought AIG down, and indicated that he had earned the $742,006.40 in post-tax bonus payments he received for the long hours he put in during 2008.

"As most of us have done nothing wrong, guilt is not a motivation to surrender our earnings," DeSantis writes. "We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house."