Chief executive departs - Hubbard leaves Axa stronger

The rumour mill is currently in overdrive following last month's departure of Axa Insurance chief executive Peter Hubbard, with markets director Mark Cliff hot on his heels. We will probably never know the real reason for Hubbard's move but the reality is that he had been at the helm since 2001 and, as one broker put it, "has probably achieved as much as he could there". Besides, in the contemporary corporate environment, six-and-a-half years at the top is a fairly decent innings.

The latest figures do not really reveal all that much. In the UK in 2007, Axa increased its personal lines income by 8%, mainly as a result of the acquisition of Swiftcover; the firm also reduced its casualty income by 7.9% in extremely soft market conditions. Yet, it would seem that over the longer term, Hubbard's influence could prove to be the more significant.

"There's no doubt that Peter Hubbard has brought a stability and focus to Axa that it didn't have before," said one senior commercial lines broker. "When he was first appointed I thought 'oh no, a banker' and really didn't think it would work at all. Andy Homer had taken over from John Wood, who, when he was at GA, left lots of unusual risk on the books. He did the same at Axa and left under a cloud. So, Andy Homer inherited a poisoned chalice but never really got to grips with it as he left after only a couple of years."

"Peter Hubbard came into a situation where Axa probably thought 'what can we do with the UK?'" the broker comments further. "I think he's done a good job. Axa has been very selective in its dealings with brokers and has gone with the bigger ones while the one-man bands were moved to a call-centre operation in Bolton. Hubbard was ruthless in dealing with that but it needed doing; it was a brave move because it upset a lot of smaller brokers and Axa made a lot of money from them."

Call centres aside, another of Hubbard's initiatives, or reactions, has been to set Axa Insurance on a controversial intermediary acquisition spree (see Editor's Comment, p.14). According to a spokeswoman for Axa Insurance, the company's broker acquisition plans, which began in earnest in January 2007 with the purchase of Stuart Alexander and Layton Blackham, are set to continue despite Hubbard's departure. All of this is intended as part of the insurer's long-term strategy to double the size of its business over the next four years: "The 2012 plan is for all of Axa's business and that will never change," she said. Never say never, though.

Hubbard's key moments at Axa

- December 2001: Peter Hubbard takes over as chief executive officer of Axa Insurance from Andy Homer, who had held the position since 1998.

- May 2002: Axa confirms 700 job losses after a strategic review. The company's Plymouth and Preston commercial lines branches and its Cardiff personal lines claims operation all close.

- January 2004: Axa stops promoting its direct brand with the loss of 220 jobs, claiming the business was not a strength.

- October 2004: Axa is blocked from selling motor and household direct as part of the deal that saw 270,000 Axa Direct policyholders transfer to RAC's insurance arm.

- January 2007: Axa UK acquires both Stuart Alexander and Layton Blackham.

- February 2007: Axa acquires the online insurer, Swiftcover.com, jointly owned by international insurer Primary Group and Swiftcover's management.

- April 2007: Axa buys broker Smart & Cook.

- June 2007: Hubbard declares that, as part of its 2012 plans, the insurer would double the size of general insurance broker operation VPL.

- March 2008: Axa buys SBJ.