Board of directors

Scott Wheway – Chairman

Born 1966, he was appointed as Chairman of the Board in December 2017.

Scott has almost 30 years’ UK and international retail experience and over 10 years’ experience as a Non-Executive Director within the financial services industry. He serves as the Senior Independent Director of Santander UK plc and Non-Executive Director of Santander UK Group Holdings plc and is a Non-Executive Director of Centrica plc.

Previously, Scott has held senior roles at Tesco plc, including Chief Executive of Tesco in Japan, and senior roles at The Boots Company plc and Alliance Boots plc. He was also Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy Europe until 2011. Scott served as Non-Executive Director of Aviva plc from 2007 until December 2016 and as Chairman of Aviva Insurance Limited until September 2017.

Membership of AXA UK Committees:

• Remuneration and Nomination Committee (Chairman)
• Investment Committee (Chairman)

Claudio Gienal - Chief Executive Officer

Claudio Gienal is currently Chief Executive of AXA UK and Ireland. He joined the company in July 2017 and was previously Chief Strategy Development Officer, European Markets and served as member of the European Management Committee.

Prior to joining AXA, Claudio spent ten years at Zurich where he held a number of senior positions including Chief Strategy Officer for the Zurich Group, CEO of the Zurich Life Insurance Company and Chief Operating Officer of Zurich Insurance UK.

He is currently a board member for AXA Konzern in Germany and Switzerland-based insurance start-up JAROWA. Claudio previously served on the board of Farmers New World Life in the US and is a council member of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

Claudio began his career as a management consultant working for McKinsey & Company and Accenture. He has a Masters in Environmental Engineering from ETZH Swiss Federal Institute.

Peter Hazell - Non-Executive Director

Born 1948, he was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in May 2013. 

Peter’s background as UK Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers together with roles in its predecessor firms and, more recently as a Non-Executive Director, has led to a wide knowledge of regulated businesses, competition policy, investment appraisal, M&A and strategic planning.

Peter has held several non-executive roles including Chairman of Argent (a property developer), Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committees of Brit Insurance Holdings BV, Smith & Williamson Holdings Ltd, the National Environment Research Council (NERC) and UK Coal plc. He was appointed as Non-Executive Director of Canopius Managing Agents Limited in November 2014. Peter is also a Member of Court at University of Greenwich and was a member of the Competition Commission.  He has particular knowledge and experience of both insurance and asset management, with a financial background.

Membership of AXA UK Committees and principal Operating Boards:

• Audit Committee (Chairman)
• Investment Committee
• Remuneration and Nomination Committee
• AXA Insurance UK plc
• AXA PPP healthcare limited (Chairman)
• AXA Insurance dac (Ireland)
• Architas Multi-Manager Limited

Michael Jackson - Non-Executive Director

Born 1962, he was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in June 2016.

Michael Jackson is a General Partner at Mangrove Capital Partners and was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Skype from 2004 to 2007 with responsibility for operations and revenue generation. Prior to joining Skype, Michael worked for Tele2, the leading alternative telecommunication carrier in Europe.Michael also serves as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of a number of technology companies including Nimbuzz (instant messaging), Blockchain.info. (virtual currency) and Echobox (AI for digital marketing).

Membership of AXA UK Committees and principal Operating Company Boards:

• Audit Committee
• AXA Insurance UK plc
• AXA PPP healthcare limited

Antimo Perretta - Non-Executive Director

Born 1962, he was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Board in March 2018.

Antimo is Chief Executive Officer Europe, AXA Group and a member of the AXA Group Management Committee, with oversight of the AXA UK P&C business. He serves as the Chairman of AXA entities in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Previously, Antimo was Head of Corporate Clients at Swiss Life and a member of the Executive Board. In 2007, he joined AXA Switzerland as Head of Group Life and later Head of Distribution. Antimo was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AXA Switzerland in 2014 until 2017. He was previously Vice President of the Swiss Insurance Association.

Antimo is a certified insurance specialist, pensions expert and has an Executive MBA from the University of Zurich.

Howard Posner - Non-Executive Director

Born 1956, he was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in July 2015.

Howard’s extensive career in the financial services industry began in 1979. He has held several senior positions within NRG Group and most recently with HBOS plc, where he was Chief Executive and Managing Director responsible for the non-life insurance strategy and creation of the HBOS General Insurance Division.

In 2005, Howard became an independent consultant with particular focus on strategic and process orientated projects within the insurance and reinsurance sectors. He co-founded General Insurance Distribution Limited in 2010, a specialist distributor of niche financial and insurance products, of which he remains the Chairman.

Howard has held several non-executive roles including Non-Executive Director of QBE European Operations, UK General Insurance Group and Giles Insurance Brokers Limited. He has extensive knowledge and experience in business strategy, corporate finance, corporate governance and audit and regulatory matters.

Membership of AXA UK Committees and principal Operating Company Boards:

• Audit Committee
• AXA Insurance UK plc
• AXA Insurance dac (Ireland)
• AXA PPP healthcare limited
• Health and Protection Solutions Limited (Chairman)

Bertrand Poupart-Lafarge - Executive Director

Born 1968, he was appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer in September 2013.

Bertrand has been with AXA UK since September 2012 as Deputy CFO (with responsibility for financial controls; planning, budgeting, reporting and tax; business intelligence; and finance projects).  He previously held the role of Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer AXA Equitable Inc. in New York and prior to that, Executive Vice President and CFO of AXA Canada. He has also held various roles in AXA France in Paris since 1997.

Since April 2018, Bertrand has also assumed the responsibilities of interim CEO.

He has recently been appointed as a member of the Prudential, Financial and Taxation Committee of the ABI.

Membership of AXA UK Committees and principal Operating Company Boards:

• Executive Committee
• Investment Committee
• Architas Multi-Manager Limited
• AXA Insurance UK plc
• AXA PPP healthcare Limited

Keith Gibbs - Executive Director

Born 1958, Keith was appointed to the Board in February 2004. Since November 2001 he has been Chief Executive of AXA PPP healthcare. In March 2016, Keith became Non-Executive Chairman of the AXA Global Protect Board, responsible for oversight of AXA’s combined international PMI strategy. Keith is also a Director of AXA Strategic Ventures SA.

Keith is President of the International Federation of Health Plans, the leading organisation representing global health plans with over 70 members spread over six continents.

He formerly held a wide range of senior positions at Sun Life of Canada, Sentinel Life, Citibank and Lloyds TSB.

Membership of AXA UK Committees and principal Operating Company Boards:

• Executive Committee
• AXA Insurance UK plc (Non-Executive)
• AXA PPP healthcare limited