Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. On June 27, 2012, the Board of Directors (the "Board") of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (the "Company") appointed John M. Matovina as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company, Ted M. Johnson as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Company and Scott A. Samuelson as Vice President - Controller of the Company. In addition, the Board designated Mr. Matovina as the "principal executive officer", Mr. Johnson as "principal financial officer" and Mr. Samuelson as "principal accounting officer" of the Company for purposes of all filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Mr. Matovina, age 58, was previously the Company's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and was serving as the Company's interim Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr. Johnson, age 42, was previously Vice President - Controller of the Company. In satisfaction of the disclosure required pursuant to Items 401(b) and 401(e) of Regulation S-K for these individuals, the section of the Company's 2012 Proxy Statement, filed with the SEC on April 23, 2012, entitled "Executive Officers" is incorporated herein by reference.
Mr. Samuelson, age 39, joined the Company in October 2010 as Assistant Vice President and Assistant Controller. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Samuelson was a senior manager with Ernst & Young LLP where he was employed from 1995 to October 2010 working primarily on audit clients in the insurance and financial services industries. Mr. Samuelson is a certified public accountant and has over 16 years of experience in the life insurance industry.
A copy of the Company's press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Matovina and Mr. Johnson is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d) Exhibits The following exhibits are being furnished with this Form 8-K.

Exhibit Number Description 99.1 Press release dated June 27, 2012.

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