AXA appoints new CEO and chairman

AXA has named Thomas Buberl as CEO replacing Henri de Castries (pictured) who has been in the role for 17 years.Castries has decided to retire and step down from the board of directors as of 1 September.Buberl  is former CEO of AXA Germany and AXA life & savings and health global business lines and a member of the management committee.Buberl started his career as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, making his way up to being COO and then, as chief marketing and distribution officer for Winterthur Group in Switzerland. He then joined Zurich Insurance Group as CEO.Buberl joined the group head office in Paris following his appointment as CEO and he will work closely with Castries and Duverne to finalize AXA’s new strategic plans that is expected to be released in the middle of the year.In a letter to AXA employees, Castries said: “The succession planning process initiated by the Board upon my request in October 2013, confirmed the breadth and the quality of AXA’s teams and helped us identify a new generation of leaders. Denis and I are extremely proud of the team we have been able to build and develop.”“In the wake of our success in achieving our Ambition AXA plan, and before we enter into a new strategic cycle, I considered, with the support of the Board, that it was the best moment to begin the transition to a new management team who I know will very successfully lead AXA through the next stages of its development.”