Tidjane Thiam bid for AIA, the Asian wing of the crisis-stricken AIG. A public battle ensued, with some investors complaining about the $35.5 billion price Prudential was offering to pay. The bid eventually failed, after the AIG board rejected a revised lower bid. AIA was later floated on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the value of the company quickly rose above Prudential’s original bid price. Thiam came under strong personal criticism following the failure of the bid, partly as a result of the costs incurred by the company in pursuing the bid. However, he was re-elected as CEO at the May
Higginbotham Insurance & Financial Services Texas. Paul’s nephew, Bill Stroud, purchased the agency in 1962 from his aunt who inherited it when Paul died. Between 1968 and 1983, the firm moved four times to more central locations in Fort Worth to attract an increasingly diverse clientele. In 1986, Bill hired Rusty Reid from American General Fire and Casualty Company to broker commercial insurance at Higginbotham. Three years later, Rusty became president and CEO at age 27. He implemented an employee ownership model to engage and reward employees in the company’s growth and established the firm’s Financial Services division to begin offering employee benefits. Higginbotham’s first