James Cole Jr. Joins AIG Insurance Board of Directors

AIG, the multinational finance and insurance corporation, is proud to announce its Board of Directors has elected James Cole Jr. as a director.

Cole serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Jasco Group, a New York City-based investment management firm.

The University of Illinois alum sports a wealth of experience in government. Cole previously worked for the Department of Education and the Department of Transportation.

He served as the. Delegated Deputy Secretary of Education in the Obama administration where he oversaw Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, which worked to close educational and opportunity gaps faced by young men of color in America.

Cole also spent more than a decade at the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz where he specialized in mergers & acquisitions and corporate governance. Cole was also the first Black partner in the firm’s history.

AIG President and CEO Peter Zaffino said Cole will be a valued member of the team at AIG.

“As we continue to position AIG for growth in an ever-changing world, it is critical that Directors bring deep expertise on complex matters and diverse perspectives to help us navigate a new and better course forward,” said Zaffino. “James has a forward-looking, optimistic point-of-view and he will help us rise to the challenges we face as a global risk management and insurance company seeking to create value for our clients, shareholders and other stakeholders while investing in the futures of our colleagues.”

Cole still works in the education field today, serving on the National Board of Directors of Jumpstart. An organization that provides language literacy and socio-economic programming for pre-school children from underresourced communities.

“It is a privilege to join AIG’s Board of Directors at a pivotal time in the company’s history,” Cole said in a statement. “The steady progress AIG has made in recent years is evident and I look forward to working with the other AIG Directors in supporting the Executive Leadership Team, and the entire organization, as they pursue their vision for the future and accelerate their momentum to become a top-performing insurance franchise.”