AXA Financial President/CEO Kip Condron Announces Retirement

Paris-based AXA announced that Christopher "Kip" Condron, president and CEO of AXA Financial, will retire effective Jan. 1, 2011. Condron has been in charge of the AXA Global Life & Savings and Health business line and member of the Management Committee of the AXA Group.

Jacques de Vaucleroy will assume the responsibility of managing the AXA Global Life & Savings and Health business line. He remains CEO of the Northern, Central and Eastern Europe Region and a member of the AXA Group Management Committee. De Vaucleroy joined the AXA Group in 2010, when he was appointed CEO for the Northern, Central and Eastern Europe business unit. He is also in charge of AXA Bank Europe and is a member of the Management Committee of AXA.

Mark Pearson will be appointed President and CEO of AXA Financial and Chairman and CEO of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company. He will also join the AXA Group Management Committee. He has been CEO of AXA Japan and a member of the AXA Group Executive Committee since 2008. Pearson joined the AXA Group in 1995 with the acquisition of National Mutual (now AXA Asia Pacific Holdings) and was appointed Regional Chief Executive of AXA Asia Life in 2001. In 2008, he became President and CEO of AXA Japan and was appointed a member of the Executive Committee of AXA.

Andrew McMahon, currently Senior EVP of AXA Equitable and President of its financial protection and wealth management business, will be appointed President of AXA Equitable. He joined the AXA Group in March 2005 as SVP of AXA Equitable. He was appointed senior EVP for AXA Equitable and president of its Financial Protection and Wealth Management business in 2010.

Jean-Louis Laurent Josi will be appointed CEO of AXA Japan and will join the AXA Group Executive Committee. He has been CEO of AXA Gulf since 2008. Emmanuel de Talhouet, currently CEO of AXA Belgium, will join the AXA Group Executive Committee.

"On behalf of AXA's Board of Directors and Management Committee, I would like to very warmly thank Kip for his contribution to the Group, most notably in his role at the helm of our U.S. operations," said Henri de Castries, Chairman and CEO of AXA, in a press release. "Among the many challenges he has vigorously embraced over the decade, Kip was notably instrumental to the successful acquisition and integration of MONY, to the development of a culture of innovation across the Group and the set up of our global business lines." In reference to the other executive appointments, he added, "These appointments are a sign of the quality and depth of AXA's management capabilities and of the maturity of our succession planning process."

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio