AIG chose Vilnius as the ideal place for its service center. According to Vice President for AIG Global Shared Services, Mr. Ross McConnell, deciding factors were the high level of education, broad language skills and demonstrated professionalism within the local employment market, along with the large numbers of foreign nationals studying in Lithuanian universities. He notes that the very positive cooperation with the Ministry of Economics and its agency Invest Lithuania played a very important role in AIG's final decision.
"We decided in 2014 that Vilnius City was the most attractive location for our business service center covering Northern and Eastern Europe. We see AIG's entry into Lithuania of mutual benefit. By joining the service center sector in Lithuania, we will strengthen it even further, while for our business, this center becomes a convenient focal point for customer service to many of our markets. We have solid plans to develop and expand this center, offering job opportunities to hundreds of talented people in the country" – says Mr. McConnell. He also notes that, once established, AIG plans to actively participate in selected local social responsibility initiatives, as it strengthens links with the local community.
The new Managing Director of the AIG Service Centre in Vilnius, Mr. Przemyslaw Siuda, is responsible for management of all service activities as well as further development and expansion. Mr. Siuda comes to Lithuania with extensive experience in shared services and BPO (business process outsourcing) sector. His most recent positions were with the direct selling company Amway, as well as the information technologies and business consulting company CapGemini. The centers in Poland set up under the leadership of Mr Siuda service more than 20 global and European markets.
The new Center's management team headed by Mr. Siuda will be responsible for training professionals who join the AIG team, ensuring high performance standards, service quality assurance and delivering accountability to its customers. AIG Lithuania already has nearly 100 direct employees and is continuing to offer various job positions – from client servicing and claims resolution to administrative duties. The company selects candidates with excellent language and professional skills and all new employees undergo extensive and rigorous training in insurance policy servicing.
Based on the company's expansion plans, the company will be moving to a new modern office building at Konstitucijos g.29 by the end of the year.
AIG began the business model of establishing specialized service centers in strategic locations around the world in 2002. The company currently has more than 11,000 employees in service centers around the world.
