American International Group (AIG) has appointed Laurette Koellner as executive chairman at its International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC)-subsidiary, following an illicit relationship between the lessor's chief executive Henri Courpron and an employee.

Koellner is now the most senior executive at ILFC and will report to Robert Benmosche, president and CEO of AIG. Courpron will report to her.

Courpron and an employee admit to the consensual personal relationship and say that it has ended, according to ILFC. Allegations that the relationship improperly used company assets and made inappropriate personnel decisions were unsubstantiated by an outside counsel.

"I apologise for my mistake and the time-consuming distractions it created," says Courpron in a statement. "I am committed to keep moving forward with the ILFC team and Laurette."

Courpron was also docked $1 million from his annual salary.

Koellner has been an independent director for AIG since 2009, a position that she will step down from as she assumes her new role. She worked at Boeing from 1997 and 2008, where the most senior role she held was president of Boeing International. She worked at McDonnell Douglas prior to joining Boeing.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news