AXA Equitable Taps Manish Agarwal to Lead Financial Protection Business

NEW YORK, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the primary U.S. subsidiary of the global AXA Group, announces today that Manish Agarwal has been named Head of Financial Protection. In this role, Agarwal will lead AXA Equitable's life insurance business, including its Business Management & Operations, Product Life Cycle Management, Product Design & Manufacturing and Distribution Management areas, to expand upon its industry-leading product portfolio and distribution platform.

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"Life insurance has been core to our business and part of our growth story for 154 years. Together with business teams and distributor networks, Manish will build a broad, diversified product portfolio that meets and anticipates the needs of our clients and partners," said Andrew McMahon, President of AXA Equitable. "His expertise in building new and existing relationships will help our company reach more customers reflective of the societal trends in the attractive US market, generating meaningful, sustainable growth."

Most recently, Agarwal has led Business Development and Strategy for AXA Equitable, with responsibility for the Strategic Initiatives Group, Field Compensation, Risk Management and Associate Hiring and Contract Administration. He also spent four years in Retail Distribution, overseeing operations, sales support and strategy for AXA Advisors, LLC, the company's retail distribution channel comprised of a nationwide network of over 5,000 financial professionals.  He has spearheaded a number of growth programs for AXA's business, including the effort to enhance the sales platform for the company's career financial professionals through new distribution partnerships, such as those with PlanMember and Crump.

Agarwal joined AXA Equitable in 2005 as vice president of the newly-formed Strategic Initiatives Group. Before joining AXA Equitable, Mr. Agarwal was an engagement manager with McKinsey & Co., where he led client teams in projects across marketing, strategy, corporate finance and operations, primarily within life and property casualty insurance companies.

Agarwal earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and a B.Tech.at the Indian Institute of Technology.

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. Find AXA Equitable on Facebook and Twitter or visit the company's multi-media newsroom The Source @ AXA Equitable.

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, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 101 million clients in 57 countries*. "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. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

*as of December 31, 2011

SOURCE AXA Equitable