AXA CEO De Castries to Step Down -- 2nd Update
March 21 2016 - 6:37AM
Dow Jones News
By Inti Landauro
PARIS--France's largest insurance company AXA SA said Monday
that Chairman and Chief Executive Henri de Castries will step down
on Sept. 1, in a surprise move after 16 years at the helm of the
company.
The company didn't give any reason for the management change
though Mr. de Castries said in a letter to employees that the
succession process was launched in the fourth quarter 2013 at his
request.
"I carefully thought over this decision and considered we were
at the best moment to pass on the reins," Mr. de Castries, 61, said
in the letter. He was appointed CEO in May 2000.
Mr. de Castries will be replaced by the company's top official
in Germany, Thomas Buberl, 42, who was made deputy CEO on Monday,
the company said. Denis Duverne, AXA's deputy CEO, will become
nonexecutive chairman from Sept. 1.
Mr. de Castries didn't say what he will do after leaving AXA
though a company spokeswoman said he isn't retiring. The Sunday
Times reported that Mr. de Castries is favored to replace Douglas
Flint as chairman of HSBC Holdings.
HSBC hasn't yet made a decision, according to a person familiar
with the matter.
Under Mr. de Castries, AXA has grown into one of the world's
largest insurance companies, expanding quickly in fast-growing
businesses and emerging markets to offset sluggish growth in Europe
and in the U.S. in recent years.
The departure of its outspoken CEO marks a turning point for the
company, which is expected to present a new strategic plan in
June.
Mr. de Castries, who graduated from the prestigious Ecole
Nationale d'Administration in 1980 alongside French President
François Hollande and Foreign Affairs Minister Ségolène Royal,
began his career with the Finance Ministry Inspection Office, where
he audited government agencies from 1980 to 1984.
In 1984, he joined the French Treasury Department, where he
played an active role in several privatizations before being
appointed to oversee foreign exchange markets and balance of
payments for the Treasury.
He joined AXA's corporate finance division in 1989 and was
appointed corporate secretary in 1991. Mr. de Castries was also
responsible for dealing with the legal aspects of the
reorganization and merger of Compagnie du Midi with the AXA.
In 1993, Mr. de Castries was appointed senior executive vice
president for the group's asset management, financial and real
estate businesses. In 1994, he assumed the additional role of
overseeing North American and U.K. operations.
In 1996, he organized the merger of AXA with French rival Union
des Assurances de Paris. He was appointed Chairman of The Equitable
Companies, which later became AXA Financial, in 1997.
Mr. de Castries has been Chairman of the AXA management board
since May of 2000.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 21, 2016 07:22 ET (11:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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