Interview with Henri de Castries

Henri de Castries

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
AXA Group

Biography

Henri de Castries started his career in the French Finance Ministry Inspection Office, auditing government agencies from 1980 to 1984. In 1984, he joined the French Treasury Department, where, in 1986, he played an active role in several privatizations before being appointed to oversee foreign exchange markets and balance of payments for the Treasury.

In 1989, he entered AXA's Corporate Finance Division. In 1991 he was named Corporate Secretary, responsible for dealing with the legal aspects of the reorganization and merger of Compagnie du Midi with and into the AXA Group. Only two years later, he 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 UK operations.

In 1996, Henri de Castries played an active role both in preparing for the UAP merger and in managing the subsequent integration of the two groups. In 1997, he was appointed Chairman of The Equitable Companies (which later became AXA Financial).

Henri de Castries was Chairman of the AXA Management Board from May of 2000 to April of 2010. Since April 2010, following a modification of the corporate governance structure, he has been Chairman and CEO of the Group.

After graduating from High School in Paris, Henri de Castries studied business at HEC and obtained a law degree (1976) before completing preparatory studies for ENA (Ecole nationale d'administration).

Henri de Castries has been a member of Nestle Board of Directors since 2012.

In addition to his professional duties, Henri de Castries sits on the board of the Association pour l’aide aux jeunes infirmes, an organization dedicated to helping disabled youth, and is chairman of AXA Hearts in Action, AXA's volunteer community outreach program.