Multinational insurer
AXA announced Monday the exit of chairman and CEO Henri de Castries, effective September 1 of this year.
De Castries, 61, has been with AXA for 27 years, and has served as its CEO since May 2000. Last year, he was appointed to the board of HSBC as a non-executive director and has emerged as one of the top candidates to be HSBC’s new chairman, replacing Douglas Flint.
In his farewell letter to employees, de Castries said, “As you can imagine, leaving AXA was neither an easy nor a hasty decision for me. 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.”
Thomas Buberl will be the next chief executive come September. He joined AXA in 2012 as head of its German operations. Meanwhile, Denis Duverne, deputy chief executive, will take over as chairman. Duverne has worked with AXA since 1995, when he supervised the insurer’s US and UK operations.
