AXA revamps leadership: new group CUO, AXA XL Re CEO in top level shake up

Re/insurer  AXA has shuffled its leadership ranks with key appointments, including reinsurance CEO and group CUO, and several departures to set the stage for a fresh strategic cycle of growth. Despite challenging conditions, CEO Thomas Buberl highlighted 2023 as a “pivotal year” as AXA gears up to embark on new strategic ambitions and long-term goals.

Effective September 1, 2023, Renaud Guidée (pictured right) has been appointed as chief executive officer, reinsurance, with Nancy Bewlay (pictured left) assuming the group-wide role of group chief underwriting officer.

In this newly created role, Bewlay will join AXA’s management committee reporting to Frédéric De Courtois, group deputy chief executive officer.

Guidée, currently serving as AXA Group’s chief risk officer, will lead AXA XL’s global reinsurance business overseeing a wide range of solutions including property, casualty, and specialty reinsurance.

Françoise Gilles, currently chief strategic development officer for AXA Asia, is appointed new chief risk officer for the group and will join the management committee. Anu Venkataraman is appointed chief strategy officer for the Group in addition to her current role as group head of investor relations.

Changes in key geographies as part of the organisational restructuring will see Patrick Cohen, previously the CEO of AXA France, appointed as the CEO of European Markets and Health. Guillaume Borie, the deputy CEO of AXA France, promoted to the position of CEO of AXA France, joining the Management Committee. Hassan El-Shabrawishi, the CEO of AXA Africa, will now serve as the CEO of International Markets, responsible for AXA's operations in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, India, and South-East Asia.

Additionally, AXA Japan and AXA Greater China will report directly to George Stansfield, group deputy CEO and General Secretary, while Gordon Watson assumes the role of non-executive chairman for Asia.

The strategic appointments aim to strengthen AXA’s global presence and drive growth in key international markets.

Meanwhile, Georges Desvaux, Antimo Perretta, and Gordon Watson, who have played an important role in the transformation of the group, will step down from AXA’s management committee. Antimo Perretta, who has led AXA's European and Latin American operations, will take an advisory role before his retirement in 2024. Georges Desvaux, chief strategy officer, will retire at the end of the year.

Scott Gunter, AXA XL’s CEO said: “Renaud brings with him a wealth of financial and risk experience having joined AXA in 2019 from Goldman Sachs where he was Managing Director. Over the past year we have worked to reposition our Reinsurance portfolio and we are seeing the benefits of this work in our discussions with clients and brokers. I want to take this opportunity to warmly thank Nancy for her leadership of the Reinsurance business and congratulate her on her new role at AXA Group. We have an extremely talented team across reinsurance and there is huge potential for strategic growth in this market.”

Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA said: “2023 is a pivotal year for AXA as it marks the end of our plan Driving Progress and the start of a new strategic cycle for the coming three years.

“We are on track to exceed the objectives of our current plan and I would like to thank all my leadership team for this remarkable performance, despite an often uncertain and difficult environment. This renewed team confirms the strength and diversity of AXA’s internal talent pool. It also gives us the opportunity to evolve the perimeters of some of our markets and central functions, to prepare the Group for the implementation of our new strategic ambition and our long-term priorities.”

Buberl added: “The creation of a Chief Underwriting Officer function for the Group will be key for the implementation of our growth and technical excellence ambition for the next strategic plan. Nancy Bewlay, who has had a decisive contribution in the turnaround of AXA XL and AXA XL Re, has the perfect experience and track record to lead this new function.”

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.