Axa CEO to Retire Sept. 1 as Group Readies Next Strategic Plan
March 21, 2016 by David Pilla, news editor, BestWeek: David.Pilla@ambest.com)
PARIS – Henri de Castries is retiring as chairman and chief executive officer of Axa SA after 27 years with the group and nearly 17 years as CEO.
De Castries will step down as chairman and a member of the board of directors on Sept. 1, the group said in a statement.
Axa said in a statement after “a comprehensive succession planning process led by Axa’s Compensation and Governance Committee under the leadership of Jean-Martin Folz,” the board unanimously decided at a special meeting on March 19 to separate the functions of chairman and CEO when de Castries retires on Sept. 1.
At that time the group will appoint Denis Duverne as non-executive chairman and Thomas Buberl as CEO and as a board member.
Beginning March 21, Buberl joins Axa’s head office in Paris and is appointed deputy CEO. He will work with de Castries and Duverne to finalize a new strategic plan for Axa, which is expected to be released on June 21.
The Axa board said in a statement “the best combination for Axa is to associate Thomas Buberl’s clear strategic vision, his deep knowledge of the insurance sector, as well as his energy and leadership skills, with Denis Duverne’s great experience and knowledge of the group as well as his understanding of corporate governance practices and of the regulatory environment.”
“It is not without emotion that I am reaching out to you to tell you that, after 27 years spent within the group, I will leave Axa on Sept. 1,” said de Castries in a letter to Axa’s employees. “Following a comprehensive process initiated at my request in Q4 2013, the board of directors has unanimously decided” Buberl would succeed him as CEO.
“As you can imagine, leaving Axa was neither an easy nor a hasty decision for me,” said de Castries. “It is a deeply and carefully thought-out choice and, all things considered, I believe it is the best moment to hand over the leadership of the group.
He added his retirement comes as Axa successfully completed “Ambition Axa,” a strategic plan, and puts in place a new team to launch and manage “our new strategic plan to be announced in June 2016.”
In a video presentation on 2015 results, de Castries had said in June, Axa will present a new strategic plan to follow a five-year strategy called “Ambition Axa” that carried the group through completed at the end of 2015 (Best’s News Service, Feb. 25, 2016). Axa’s net income for 2015 rose 12% to €5.62 billion (US$6.19 billion). Revenue rose 7% to €98.53 billion.
At the beginning of 2012, Buberl joined Axa as CEO of Axa Germany and member of the Axa executive committee. In March 2015, he also joined the Axa management committee and was appointed CEO of the global business line for the health business, and in January 2016, of the global business line for life and savings.
Buberl started his career at Boston Consulting Group as a consultant for the banking and insurance sector in Germany and internationally. From 2005 to 2008, he worked for the Winterthur Group (acquired by Axa in 2006) as a member of the management board of Winterthur in Switzerland, first as chief operating officer and then as chief marketing and distribution officer. Then, he joined Zurich Insurance Group, where he was CEO for Switzerland.
Since April 2010, Duverne has been a member of the board and deputy CEO of Axa. He started his career in 1979 at the tax department of the French Ministry of Finance, and, after two years as commercial counselor for the French Consulate General in New York, he was director of the Corporate Taxes Department and then responsible for tax policy within the French Ministry of Finance from 1986 to 1991.
Subsidiaries of Axa SA have current Best’s Financial Strength Ratings ranging from A+ (Superior) to B+ (Good).
