AXA Equitable Aligns Management Team to Accelerate Growth
Nick Lane to serve as Head of U.S. Life & Retirement; Sharon Ritchey to be named Chief Operating Officer
NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the primary U.S. subsidiary of the global AXA Group, announced today that Senior Executive Director Nick Lane, previously Head of Retirement Savings, has been named Head of U.S. Life and Retirement, responsible for all aspects of manufacturing and distribution for AXA Equitable's Life and Annuity business lines, including Financial Protection, Wealth Management, Employer Sponsored, and Individual Annuity. He also leads the AXA Equitable Funds Management Group, LLC, an approximately $90.6 billion sub-advised fund complex that supports AXA Equitable's variable life and annuity insurance products.
"Nick's innovative approach to product development, in-force management, and sales has been instrumental to the turnaround and comeback of our Individual Annuity business," said Mark Pearson, President and Chief Executive Officer of AXA Equitable. "I am pleased that his leadership will now be directed toward realizing growth across all of our business lines through creative, sustainable solutions that help Americans achieve financial freedom and flexibility."
In accordance with AXA Equitable's decision to align its management structure to enable business growth and operational excellence, Sharon Ritchey has been named Senior Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, pending Board approval. As a member of the Executive Committee, Ritchey will oversee operations and technology, including customer service centers, with an emphasis on leveraging AXA's global reach and optimizing organizational nimbleness and flexibility in the U.S. market.
"Sharon brings both P&L experience and operational leadership to this newly created position," said Pearson. "She will simplify, standardize, and enhance our operational and digital infrastructure to deliver an improved experience for our new and existing customers."
Ritchey previously served as Executive Vice President of the Retirement Plans Group at The Hartford. She also led global operations and technology for the Life businesses, and served as the chief operating officer of the U.S. Wealth Management, the North American Property and Casualty, and the Affinity Personal Lines businesses, respectively.
Prior to The Hartford, Ritchey spent four years in senior marketing and Six Sigma quality leadership roles at GE Capital and got her start at Citicorp, with roles of increasing responsibility across the company's retail, banking, and customer service divisions. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Kentucky University, and an M.B.A. from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Lane holds a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. He also served as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.
About AXA Equitable
In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation's premier providers of life insurance, annuity, and financial products and services. The company's products and services are distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC.
AXA Equitable, a subsidiary of AXA Financial Inc., is part of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management with 102 million clients in 57 countries as of December 31, 2012. "AXA Group" refers to AXA, a French holding company for an international group of insurance and financial services companies together with its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries. Find AXA Equitable on Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.
SOURCE AXA Equitable
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