NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former AIG Chief Executive Martin Sullivan is getting another chance.

Sullivan, who was ousted three months before the US government bailed out AIG in 2008, is joining Willis Group Holdings PLC, the insurance broker said yesterday.

At Willis, Sullivan will be a deputy chairman reporting to the chief executive, and he will head up a new unit that oversees brokerage and risk management services for global customers.

Willis is the world's third-largest insurance broker, operating in 120 countries.

That Sullivan will work in risk management has raised some eyebrows among analysts who followed the near-collapse of American International Group Inc.

He was at the helm of the insurance giant from 2005 until 2008, leaving shortly before it received a pledge of up to $182 billion from US taxpayers to address problems at its financial products division.

"Obviously Sullivan's reputation was tainted by the events that occured at AIG," said David Havens, an analyst at Nomura Securities International in New York.

"But for most of his career, he was a client guy, someone who rubbed elbows with brokers, underwriters and customers. He was well known in the property and casualty insurance industry," Havens added.

Advising clients on managing their insurable risks is within Sullivan's area of expertise and is separate from managing financial risks, analysts said.

During testimony in June before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Sullivan said AIG was in crisis before he took the helm in 2005. But he did defend its risk management practices.

"When I look back at my tenure, I believe that AIG's risk management practices were well-designed, well-staffed and well-funded," he said.

After Sullivan's departure, AIG changed CEOs three times in a little over a year.

In December 2007, just weeks before AIG began to unravel, Sullivan and other executives made an investor presentation that prompted some to later question whether the company's top brass knowingly misled investors.

"AIG has significant financial resources and a very healthy balance sheet that will allow us to capitalize on an attractive opportunity," Sullivan said during the presentation.The Financial Times first reported that Sullivan would join Willis.