(Robert Benmosche has died at the age of 70 from complications related to lung cancer, according to an announcement by American International Group. The following article was originally published on Aug. 28, 2014, after Benmosche said he would step down as CEO of AIG.)

It was easy to consider American International Group a lost cause when Robert Benmosche took over as the beleaguered insurer’s CEO in August 2009, but under his leadership, AIG made an epic turnaround and took care of U.S. taxpayers.

It’s also easy to bash corporate executives, but there’s no question that Benmosche has done his company, long-suffering investors, AIG employees and the country a great deal of good.

After five years of service, Benmosche will step down as CEO this week, with Peter Hancock, currently the company’s executive vice president for its property and casualty insurance business, taking over as new president and CEO on Sept. 1.

AIG AIG, -2.47% was the poster child for the U.S. government’s bailout of the financial-services industry in 2008, even though the company is not a bank.

The bailout began well before Benmosche was recruited by the U.S. Treasury to join AIG as CEO. His predecessor, Edward Liddy, who was selected by former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for the job, received some rough treatment from members of Congress, who were upset at his approval of large bonuses during a time of crisis. Liddy had agreed to a salary of only $1 a year, and declined equity bonuses, but those “good deeds” weren’t enough to make him a viable CEO during a time of crisis.

Benmosche played no games when taking on the job. He required — and was paid — a big salary, and took a much tougher tone when dealing with regulators and Congress as he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. There was some criticism of his communication style in the media, but the tough image he projected from the beginning helped make him an effective CEO, with unprecedented success in his most important task.

Bailouts and commitments for AIG by the Treasury and the Federal Reserve during 2008 and 2009 totaled $182 billion. After AIG finished repaying the Fed, and after numerous divestitures and conversion of government-held preferred shares to common shares, the government in December 2012 sold its remaining common shares in the company — with a $22.7 billion profit going to U.S. taxpayers.

Benmosche was gracious in a memo to employees on Dec. 11, 2012. “America invested in 62,000 AIG employees, and we kept our promise to rebuild this great company and deliver a profit to those who put their trust in us. You did this. Every single man and woman at AIG did this remarkable thing. There is a saying that in American life, there are no second acts. Well, take a bow, because today marks our second act.”

Benmosche and AIG employees also thanked U.S. taxpayers for the bailout in an advertising campaign.

The company in May completed the long-awaited sale of its aircraft-leasing unit for $7.6 billion to AerCap Holdings NV AER, -6.48% and indicated that would be its last major business unit sale.

Benmosche was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and has undergone experimental treatment that enabled him to continue working as AIG CEO far longer than his doctors had initially expected. But in an interview with Bloomberg this week, he said he had been forced to undergo new treatments and that he was told in May that he had only nine to 12 months to live.

That caused him to move ahead his plans to step down as CEO.