HOUSTON, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- American General Corporation (NYSE: AGC)
today announced that Thomas L. West Jr., president of The Variable Annuity
Life Insurance Company (VALIC), has been named to the additional post of chief
executive officer.  Mr. West succeeds Stephen D. Bickel, 57, who has resigned
to pursue other interests and will serve as a consultant to American General.
West leads VALIC's office of the chairman together with Craig Rodby, who was
named vice chairman of the company in February 1997.
    "Tom has demonstrated the leadership qualities and insight required to
strengthen VALIC's formidable position in the retirement services
marketplace," said Robert M. Devlin, chairman and chief executive officer of
American General.  "We are confident that under the direction of Tom and
Craig, VALIC's national sales force and home office management team will build
on a solid record of growth in sales, profitability, and market share as the
company meets the growing retirement savings needs of an expanding customer
base."
    West, 60, was named president of American General's retirement services
company in 1994.  Prior to joining VALIC, he was senior vice president in
charge of Aetna's annuity operations.  He began his 37-year financial services
industry career as a sales representative with Aetna, where he held a variety
of marketing and senior management positions including regional vice president
for sales and marketing of the company's mid-Atlantic region.  West received
his B.S. degree in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee in
1959 and is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Financial
Consultant (ChFC).
    Rodby, 48, joined VALIC from ReliaStar Financial Corp., where he most
recently served as senior vice president - financial management, with
responsibility for financial reporting and analysis, asset liability
management, and strategic planning.  In 1990, he was elected president and
chief executive officer of Northern Life Insurance Company, ReliaStar's tax-
sheltered annuity operation.  Rodby received his B.S. degree in mathematics
and economics from the University of Minnesota in 1971 and his M.S. degree in
economics from the University of Western Ontario in 1972.  He is a Fellow,
Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.  Rodby
completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1988.
    VALIC, with assets of $33 billion, is a leading provider of retirement
programs and employer-sponsored retirement plans to employees of educational,
health care, public sector, and other not-for-profit organizations.  Today,
VALIC helps more than one million customers plan for retirement.
    American General Corporation is one of the nation's largest diversified
financial services organizations with assets of $77 billion and shareholders'
equity of $6.7 billion.  Headquartered in Houston, it is a leading provider of
retirement services, life insurance, and consumer loans to 12 million
customers.  American General common stock is listed on the New York, Pacific,
London, and Swiss stock exchanges.

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