About the Author

Ron Shelp is the author of Fallen Giant: The Amazing Story of Hank Greenberg and the History of AIG. 

For 12 years he held senior positions at AIG, reporting directly to the company’s CEO, Hank Greenberg. He became worldwide head of government relations, led AIG’s corporate communications and advertising, and eventually evolved into a global troubleshooter dealing with issues ranging from AIG’s re-entry into China to nationalization in India.

He served as U.S. industry delegate to the Insurance Committee of the OECD in Paris, and chaired the U.S. Government’s Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Services. Ron’s work on services led to the publication of his first book, “Beyond Industrialization: Ascendancy of the Global Service Economy” (Praeger 1981), the seminal book on this subject.  He also co-authored “Services in Economic Development” (1984), and was a contributor to “Industrial Policy -Business and Politics in the United States and France” (1985), “Revitalizing the U.S. Economy” (1986), and “Managing Services” (1988).

Shelp left AIG to join the Management Committee of Celanese Corporation. Subsequently, he served as President and CEO of the New York City Partnership, which was founded by David Rockefeller, and the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Ron Shelp is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the American Folk Art Museum and Impact Coalition. The art collection that he and his wife, June, have compiled over the years is the subject of the book “Testimony: Vernacular Art of the African American South.”

Ron Shelp continues to offer invaluable solutions to the problems leaders and managers at all levels face today. He has provided insights into AIG before and during the financial crisis in numerous media appearances and before business groups throughout the US and Europe.

Speech topics:

• The Amazing History of AIG
  This riveting overview of AIG takes the audience from 1919, when Cornelius V. Starr hopped a tanker to Shanghai and started what became a worldwide empire, to the story of Hank Greenberg, who rose through the ranks of AIG and built it into a mammoth global business, to Greenberg’s fall from grace in 2005.
  Watch an excerpt of Ron Shelp's Speech to New York's Rotary Club and the University of Georgia.
  
  
• 100 Days: Regulators, Taxpayers, Shareholders, and the Bailout
  The near collapse of the US financial system led to a dizzying array of responses from the Treasury Department. Bear Sterns and Merrill Lynch were saved. Lehman Brothers was allowed to collapse. AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase received huge capital infusions – with widely ranging terms. Ron Shelp walks the audience through these confusing events and discusses the need for a level playing field.
  
  
• The Art of Negotiating with Foreign Governments
  AIG is well known in business circles for its powerful and influential government relations initiatives. During his tenure there Ron Shelp helped negotiate the company’s re-entry into China, minimize the impact of nationalization in India, and manage numerous other encounters with governments around the world. He provides insight into successful practices drawn from first-hand experience.
  
  
• What do CEOs Want?
  CEO temperaments can range from hot and explosive to icy cold. But what they all have in common are significant forces competing for their time and attention – customers, shareholders, the board of directors, new technologies, fluctuations in the economy…the list goes on.  The pressure to perform is real: if the CEO succeeds the company succeeds.  Shelp will discuss strategies for successfully working for and with the CEO, based on his experiences at AIG, Celanese, and CEO organization New York City Partnership.
  
  

Click here to engage Ron as a speaker at business meetings, seminars, and conferences.