AXA Appoints Dennis Holt as New U.K. CEO

AXA’s U.K. operations will finally have a new CEO when Dennis Holt, currently the head of retail banking for Lloyds TSB, takes over as Group Chief Executive on September 1st.

Holt’s selection ends a search for a new CEO which began last February, when Mark Wood left to to become the CEO of Prudential U.K. Holt, who previously headed Lloyds TSB’s general insurance operations, will bring some valuable experience and leadership ability to AXA’s U.K. units, which include Sun Life, AXA Insurance, the U.K.’s third largest p/c insurer, AXA PPP Healthcare and AXA Ireland. New business declined last year and operations have stagnated, in contrast with strong growth in the U.S. and France.

AXA CEO Henri de Castries also announced that Holt would become a member of the company’s executive committee, and that one of his first priorities would be to oversee the integration of the U.K. operations into AXA’s global business strategy.