AXA Group to Make Changes in Supervisory Board

France’s Axa Group issued a bulletin noting proposed changes in its supervisory board in advance of the planned shareholders meeting scheduled April 30. The board’s selection committee has recommended that Ezra Suleiman, an American citizen and a University Professor, be named as a new Supervisory Board member.

The committee also acknowledged the intentions of Michel François-Poncet and Edward Miller not to renew their mandates as Board members.

The Committee proposed the re-election of Jacques Calvet, David Dautresme, Jean-René Fourtou, Henri Hottinguer, Gérard Mestrallet and Alfred von Oppenheim, as members of the Supervisory Board. The action would reduce the size of the AXA Supervisory Board to thirteen members, which, the bulletin indicated, would be “consistent with the size reduction initiated since 1999.”

“In compliance with the recommendations relating to the Corporate Governance, the Selection Committee has reviewed in detail the situation of each Board member,” the announcement continued. “Upon its assessment, the Supervisory Board has adopted individual qualification proposed taking into consideration that the main independence criteria of its members is the independence from the Management Board which is nominated, controlled, and evaluated by the Supervisory Board. As a result of this qualification process, the Supervisory Board will have nine independent members out of thirteen members, i.e. Thierry Breton, Jacques Calvet, David Dautresme, Antony Hamilton, Henri Hottinguer, Gérard Mestrallet, Alfred von Oppenheim, Bruno Roger and Ezra Suleiman.

Based on proposed rules under the American regulations, AXA expects that the three members of the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board of AXA, Jacques Calvet, Chairman, David Dautresme and Alfred von Oppenheim, would qualify as independent members.” Ex-CEO Claude Bébéar will continue to head the supervisory board and retains his post as Chairman of the Finance Committee.

Topics AXA XL