Ex-Swiss Re chief executive Lippe to join Axa board

The former chief executive of Swiss Re, Stefan Lippe, is to join Axa’s board of directors in a few weeks.

Lippe will replace Jacques de Chateauvieux, who has decided to resign from the board after seven years to focus on the activities of his own holding company, Jaccar Holdings.

De Chateauvieux acted as chairman of Axa’s supervisory board for two years after the group’s founder, Claude Bébéar, stepped down in 2008.

The French insurance giant then modified its governance system, replacing its dual board structure with a single board of directors and appointed Henri de Castries chairman, on top of his duties as chief executive (Insuranceday.com, Apr 30, 2010).

De Castries thanked de Chateauvieux for his contribution, saying in a statement the former chairman’s “entrepreneurial skills, his great experience of the emerging markets and his involvement in the evolution of our governance has been decisive to develop Axa over the past [few] years”.

The appointment of Lippe, who left Swiss Re earlier this year, is to be voted on by shareholders during Axa’s next annual general meeting on April 25.