Candid advice from seasoned executive

Maurice Greenberg, chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co Inc, in his Manhattan office in New York. [Photo/China Daily]

Patience is key to success in China, says Starr's Greenberg

Maurice "Hank" Greenberg still travels to China about three times a year, and after four decades of countless trips to the country for business, the chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co Inc, a privately held insurance company, knows how to beat jet lag.

Every time he goes to China he tries to time his arrival for between 4 pm and 6 pm. After arriving at his destination, he has an hourlong business meeting, followed by a workout and then sleep.

The next morning, he gets up early, works out again, and just like that, he's officially on China time.

His latest visit to China was a couple of months ago when he flew to Shanghai where Starr has its headquarters, where Greenberg was named an honorary citizen in 1997, and where insurance giant American International Group Inc, which he led until 2005, was founded in 1919.

"It's always been one of the leading cities in China, and we have a lot of history there. History is important to us," he said in an interview with China Daily. Shanghai also is an attractive city to Greenberg because "the weather's a lot better than it is in other places in China", he joked.

Born in 1925, Greenberg followed an unconventional path to become CEO. Raised in New York on a dairy farm, he later joined the US Army during World War II after lying about his age to get in.

He found himself fighting in yet another war in 1952 in Korea, rising to rank of captain and earning a Bronze Star for his service. Days after returning to the US from the war, he joined the insurance industry and has been embedded in the sector since.

Greenberg joined AIG in 1960 and eight years later when AIG's founder Cornelius Vander Starr died, Greenberg was named successor.

Under his tenure until he retired in 2005, AIG saw exceptional growth, and became one of the first companies to provide risk management services for large corporations. It also was one of the first Western insurance companies to establish joint ventures with those in foreign countries, like Poland, Hungary, Romania and China.

For that reason, Greenberg has more experience with China than most. He has seen more of what China has gone through over the past 40 years than any other US businessman, including how the country's relationship with the US has changed.

Greenberg spoke to China Daily at his Park Avenue office in Manhattan about his long and deep connection with China. Following are edited excerpts: