AXA Commercial Creates New Director Role and Structure to Enhance Broker Trading Capabilities

LONDON, England, May 8 -- AXA UK, a multinational insurance firm that engages in global insurance, investment management and financial services, issued the following news release:

AXA Commercial has appointed former Arista MD, Nick Watson, as Director of Commercial Distribution and Trading.

* All broker trading contact points brought together

* New role of Director of Commercial Distribution and Trading created

* New Head of Mid-Market appointed

The new role has responsibility for broker marketing, development, the branch network and strategic partnerships. Bringing these broker touch points under a single point of ownership will allow AXA to deliver enhanced cohesion to its broker distribution strategy in the UK commercial market.

Nick joins AXA's Commercial Leadership Team having spent the past 20 years in senior roles in the insurance industry and brings with him a wealth of experience across distribution, product development, operations and relationship management.

In addition, Douglas Barnett, Head of Customer Risk Management, will take on further responsibility as Head of Mid-Market as the business continues to grow and develop its mid-market proposition with dedicated risk management capability at the heart of it. This is an area of the market that Douglas knows well and has worked within across his 16 years with AXA.

"Over the last five years, AXA Commercial has grown and developed relationships to become a key part of most broker's commercial offering. With over GBP1.1bn in GWP, a well-established, UK-wide branch network and propositions that cover the breadth of the commercial market, we need to ensure that we are not only offering brokers the best today, but can continue to do so in the future.

"That's why I have brought Nick in and placed a number of the key trading levers in his control. He has a great track record in broker distribution and I look forward to welcoming him to the team and working with him to build our distribution strategy for the future. I am also delighted to promote Douglas and ensure under his direction we continue to develop our Mid-Market proposition and maintain the growth momentum we have built in this core market segment.