Former XL chairman and chief executive officer Brian O'Hara has come out of retirement to take a $2.4 million, three-year consulting deal with his former company.

Details appear in a regulatory filing, dated March 5 this year, which states that Mr. O'Hara would receive a fee of $800,000 per year for advisory services.

The news was highlighted yesterday by the OffshoreAlert website's Inside Bermuda newsletter.

Mr. O'Hara was the first employee of XL and helped to build it up from a start-up into a global giant in 22 years' service to the firm. His 14-year tenure as CEO ended in May last year, when the company was struggling from a disastrous venture into the financial guaranty industry and losses from investments exposed to the crashing credit markets.

As XL's share price plunged, so did the value of Mr. O'Hara's stake in the company.

Last October, Mr. O'Hara and his wife Nancy were sued by UBS Bank, which was seeking repayment of a $1.5 million loan. In February this year the bank applied to voluntarily dismiss the case.