new york (Bloomberg) American International Group Inc.’s Robert Benmosche, who doubled shareholders’ money in his first 17 months as chief executive officer, may be called on by new investors to show his firm is prepared to pick a successor.Benmosche began treatment for cancer in October. He’ll welcome new shareholders this year as the US Treasury Department, which owns most of the firm, sets its exit strategy. AIG is “strong and worthy of investor confidence,” Benmosche, 66, said yesterday in a statement announcing preparations for the eventual government divestiture.“For investors to feel comfortable, they probably should have some type of succession plan,” said Frank Ingarra, co-portfolio manager at Novato, California-based Hennessy Advisors Inc., which oversees $900 million, including shares of AIG. “Those are long-term issues that you have to worry about.”Benmosche, 66, told employees last year he expects his health will permit him to lead AIG until the US Treasury’s exit. The company, based in New York, reiterated its support for Benmosche after the cancer diagnosis and said it was focused on succession. A “long-term replacement” will be selected over the next two years, the board said in October.The government agreed to convert its preferred equity into common shares that will give it a stake of about 92 percent, AIG said yesterday. Treasury, which helped arrange a $182.3 billion bailout that saved the firm from collapse in 2008, is interviewing bankers this week to select underwriters for its AIG divestments, said a person familiar with the plan.The US has found buyers for its stakes in some of the country’s biggest firms including General Motors Co. and Citigroup Inc. GM, the bailed-out carmaker, replaced its CEO to placate investors before a November initial public offering amid concerns that the chief would leave quickly after a stock sale.“If they were to announce a formal candidate, maybe you could get slightly better execution” on the stock sales, said Jonathan Hatcher, a Jefferies Group Inc. analyst. “But I think the market wants to see Benmosche. People would love to see Benmosche as long as they could.”AIG surged 92 percent last year as Benmosche sold a non-US life insurer to MetLife Inc. for $16.2 billion and raised $20.5 billion divesting a majority stake in Hong Kong-based AIA Group Ltd. in an IPO. AIG fell 97 percent in 2008 and 4.5 percent in 2009 as the company replaced three CEOs. Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, who led AIG for almost four decades until he was ousted in 2005, has praised Benmosche.