Hartford CEO to Leave By 2010

Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG Quote) said Chairman and CEO Ramani Ayer will retire from the company by the end of 2009.

Ayer, 62, joined the company in 1973 and has served as chairman and CEO of the company since February 1997. The board will begin an immediate, external search for Ayer's replacement, the company said.

Ayer presided over Hartford during a tumultuous year. The insurer battled intensifying credit crisis-related woes and concerns over its capital levels. Last month, it won preliminary approval for as much as $3.4 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, after the U.S. government granted insurers access to bailout funds.

In October, Hartford moved to bolster its balance sheet by securing a $2.5 billion capital infusion from Allianz (AZ Quote).

Hartford also faced downgrades from all three major ratings agencies -- Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch Ratings -- due to its exposure to volatile credit and investment market conditions. Just last month, Fitch downgraded Hartford one notch to two steps above junk, citing continued challenges at the insurer's primary life-insurance units.

In response, Ayer slashed the company's dividend by 84% and cut jobs. In a statement Thursday, Ayer said those important decisions helped the company set a new strategic course.

"With this clarity in place, it is the right time for me to make my plans for retirement and for the Board to begin the search for my successor," Ayer said in a statement. "In the meantime, I am fully committed to leading this organization during this period and to ensuring a smooth leadership transition as the company enters its third century."