After 27 years in the Group, and close to 17 years as CEO, Henri de CASTRIES, Chairman and CEO of AXA, has announced his decision to retire and to step down from the Board of Directors on September 1st, 2016. Thomas BUBERL to be appointed Chief Executive Officer. Denis DUVERNE to be appointed Chairman of the Board.

"It has been a privilege to succeed Claude BEbEar and lead AXA over all these years, and I want to express my gratitude to the 166,000 women and men who are the face of AXA for our 103 million clients across the world - their professionalism and engagement have been a driving force and a fantastic motivation for me," said Henri de CASTRIES.

Following a comprehensive succession planning process led by AXA's Compensation and Governance Committee under the leadership of Jean-Martin Folz, AXA's Board of Directors unanimously decided at a special meeting held on March 19th, 2016 to separate the functions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, and approved the following appointments effective upon Henri de CASTRIES' retirement on September 1st:

• Denis DUVERNE as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors,
• Thomas BUBERL as Chief Executive Officer of AXA and a member of AXA's Board of Directors co-opted to replace Henri de CASTRIES.
  

From March 21st, 2016, Thomas BUBERL joins the Group Head Office in Paris and is appointed Deputy CEO ("Directeur gEnEral adjoint"). He will work closely with Henri de CASTRIES and Denis DUVERNE to finalize AXA's new strategic plan, expected to be released on June 21st, 2016, and to ensure an effective leadership transition.

Mr. Denis DUVERNE is a graduate of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC). After graduating from the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA), he started his career in 1984 as commercial counsellor for the French Consulate General in New York before becoming director of the Corporate Taxes Department for the French Ministry of Finance in 1986. In 1988, he became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy for the French Ministry of Finance and, in 1991, he was appointed Corporate Secretary of Compagnie Financiere IBI. In 1992, he became a member of the Executive Committee of Banque Colbert, in charge of operations. In 1995, Mr. Denis DUVERNE joined the AXA Group and assumed responsibility for supervision of AXA's operations in the US and the UK and managed the reorganization of AXA companies in Belgium and the United Kingdom. From February 2003 until December 2009, Mr. DUVERNE was the Management Board member in charge of Finance, Control and Strategy. From January 2010 until April 2010, Mr. DUVERNE assumed broader responsibilities as Management Board member in charge of Finance, Strategy and Operations. Since April 2010, Mr. Denis DUVERNE has been director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AXA, in charge of Finance, Strategy and Operations. Mid-2014, Mr. Denis DUVERNE became a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG), which brings together international leaders of the private sector whose shared goal is to help developing countries improve their corporate governance, co-founded in 1999 by the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Mr. Thomas BUBERL holds a Master of Economics degree from WHU Koblenz (Germany), a MBA from Lancaster University (UK) and a PhD in Economics from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). In 2008 he was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Thomas BUBERL worked at the Boston Consulting Group as a consultant for the banking & insurance sector in Germany and abroad. From 2005 to 2008, he had worked for the Winterthur Group as member of the Management Board of Winterthur in Switzerland, first as Chief Operating Officer and then as Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer. Then, he joined Zurich Financial Services where he had been Chief Executive Officer for Switzerland. Beginning of 2012, he joined AXA as Chief Executive Officer of AXA Germany and Member of the AXA Executive Committee. Since March 2015, he has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Global Business Line for the Health Business in addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer of AXA Germany and joined the AXA Management Committee. Since January 2016, Thomas BUBERL has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the global business line Life & Savings in addition to his current responsibilities.