AXA CEO De Castries to Step Down -- 2nd Update

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 [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2016 07:22 ET (11:22 GMT)

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