AXA Commercial appoints two new leaders

AXA Commercial has announced two new appointments to its underwriting, pricing, and portfolio management leadership team, following the retirement of one of its officers.

The company has appointed Gurinder Aulakh (pictured, left) as its new pricing director, succeeding Jo Scott who will be retiring on July 31. Meanwhile, Jean-Sébastien Lagacé (pictured, right) has been promoted as AXA Group’s new reinsurance director.

Before joining AXA Commercial, Aulakh worked with Allianz where she led the insurer’s mid-corporate pricing transformation. She also had a stint at Zurich, where she worked in various pricing roles.

With her appointment at AXA, she brings over 20 years of experience across commercial and personal lines in the UK and overseas, including her knowledge of the deployment of rating tools, AXA Commercial stated.

“Gurinder’s breadth of experience will give us a stronger understanding of what’s happening in the pricing space across the market. She is a welcome addition to our team and will provide valuable insight at a time when pricing is in sharp focus,” said David Ovenden, chief underwriting officer at AXA Commercial.

“I’d like to thank Jo Scott for the great work she’s done in the pricing space. She has successfully transformed our pricing capability and overseen the deployment of a new pricing approach. I wish her all the best in her retirement,” he added.

Meanwhile, Aulakh has expressed her eagerness for the position.

“I’m delighted to be joining the AXA Commercial team and leading their pricing function. I’m beginning to see first-hand all the great work that has been undertaken by the team and look forward to working with the business to continue strengthening our pricing capability,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lagacé is expected to leverage the company’s underwriting, pricing, and portfolio management as its new reinsurance director. Lagacé has been working within the AXA Group for the last 25 years and has a wealth of experience in reinsurance, data, actuarial science, and catastrophe and capital modelling.

Lagacé also expressed excitement over his new position.

“I’m pleased to be joining AXA Commercial as reinsurance director. Having followed AXA UK’s business transformation and achievements while in other AXA Group entities, I look forward to working closely with the teams to help drive the strategy forward,” Lagacé said.

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