Executive Committee

Irshaad Ahmad
Head of UK and Nordics at AXA IM

• Head of UK and Nordics at AXA IM since June 2011,
• Member of the AXA IM Executive Committee
• Executive Managing Director, UK and Global Retail at Russell Investments from 2010 to 2011,
• President and Managing Director of Russell Investments in Canada from 2004 to 2010,
• Prior to that, held various roles within Mercer with responsibilities across investment consulting, strategic development and operational and financial management of the business in Canada, including  from 1987 to 2004. He ended his tenure as Principal and National Partner,
• Hold a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Toronto.

Francisco Arcilla

Global Head of AXA Funds of Hedge Fund

•  Global Head of AXA Funds of Hedge Funds at AXA IM since October 2011.
• Head of Investments at EIM, responsible for an investment team in multiple locations across portfolio management and manager selection and running assets in excess of $7.5 billion for a variety of institutional investors from 2008 to 2011.
• Managing Director of Santander's European Proprietary Trading business from 2006 to 2008.
• Director of Credit Arbitrage at Alternative Investments from 2003 to 2006.
• Graduated from HEC School of Management in Paris and holds an MSc in Finance from the London Business School.

Jon Bailie
Global Head of Distribution of AXA IM

• Global Head of Distribution of AXA IM since January 2010,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Held a number of positions at Russell Investments between 1993 and 2008,
• Most recently headed Russell's alternative investments group, managing the firm's Hedge Fund of Funds, Real Estate Fund of Fund and Real Estate Multi Manager businesses as well as leading Pantheon Ventures, a private equity Fund of Funds business acquired by Russel,
• Member of the Global Executive Committee at Russell from 2006 to 2008,
• Managing Director, Partnerships and Distribution Alliances for the EMEA region at Russell in 2005. Was responsible for developing relationships with Russel's distribution partners in the region,
• Managing Director, Institutional Investment Services for the EMEA region from 1999 to 2005. Led the institutional sales effort across EMEA and developed the institutional multi-manager investment business, the investment consulting business and the brokerage business across the region. Joined Russell's Global Management Committee,
• Director of Sales & Client Services for the UK and the Netherlands at Russell from 1997 to 1999,
• Director of Research at Russell from 1996 to 1997,
• Research Analyst at Russell 1992 to 1996,
• Began his career in 1985 at Whittingdale Limited, a specialist fixed income firm,
• Graduate in Physics from Imperial College, London and holds an MBA from the University of Kansas.

 
Jeremy Baskin
Chief Executive Officer of AXA Rosenberg

• Chief Executive Officer of AXA Rosenberg since 2011,
• Member of the AXA IM Executive Committee and Management Board
• CFA charter holder and a member of the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago, Chicago Quantitative Alliance and the CFA Institute,
• Held a number of positions at Northern Trust between 1988 and 2010 in Chicago, IL, US,
• Head of Active Equities (both quantitative and fundamental) at Northern Trust, managing a total $24bn 2009 to 2010,
• Global Head of Quantitative Active Strategies, Quantitative Management at Northern Trust from 2002 to 2009,
• Director of Structured Equity, Quantitative Management at Northern Trust from 2000 to 2002,
• Senior Marketer, Equity Derivatives Group at First Union Securities, INC in Charlotte, NC, US from 1998 to 2000,
• Held positions Senior Portfolio Manager, Structured Equity Group and Asset Manager, Family Business Division at Northern Trust between 1988 to 1998,
• Financial Analyst, Corporate Finance, Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in New York, from 1986 to 1988,
• Holds a BA in History. from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, US and an MBA from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL US. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in 1999.

Mark Beveridge
Global Head of AXA Framlington

• Global Head of AXA Framlington at AXA IM since August 2009,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Member of CFA Society, South Florida and President's Council of the University of Miami,
• Partner / Managing Director – Chief Investment Officer Global Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in London for the Global Equities business with an AUM, which at its height, rose up to $20bn during his tenure from 2004 to 2009,
• Held a number of positions including Executive Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Analyst at Franklin Templeton Group from 1985 to 2004,
• Holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Miami and became a CFA Charterholder in 1990.

Dominique Carrel-Billiard
Chief Executive Officer of AXA IM

• Chief Executive Officer of AXA IM, Member of the AXA Group Executive Committee, Board member of AXA Framlington Group Ltd, AXA Real Estate S.A., AXA Investment Managers Private Equity S.A. and AXA Rosenberg Investment Management LLC,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Director of AllianceBernstein L.P,
• Senior Vice President - Business Support and Development of the AXA Group in charge of US Insurance, and of the Group's Asset Management and Reinsurance activities from 2004 to 2006,
• Previously a Partner of McKinsey and Company where he specialised in the financial services industry,
• Led the European Retail Savings and Life Insurance practice at McKinsey and Company,
• Spent 12 years with McKinsey working in a broad array of business areas for international banks, insurance companies, and other financial services groups from 1992 to 2004,
• Started his career as an associate at Crédit Commercial de France in the Mergers and Acquisitions department in 1987,
• Graduated from HEC, Paris and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, USA.

Bénédicte Chretien
Global Head of Human Resources at AXA IM

• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Operational Head of HR from September 2006 to February 2010,
• Joined AXA IM in July 1995 and held a number of positions within HR, Private Client Sales and the office of the CEO to 2006,
• Previously worked at AXA Group in Human Resources from 1992 to 1995,
• Holder of a Masters in Human Resources and a Masters in Economics and Financial History,
• Lecturer in Human Resources at l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

Christophe Coquema
Global Chief Operating Officer at AXA IM

• Global Chief Operating Officer at AXA IM since December 2011,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Global Head of Markets and Investment Strategy at AXA IM from 2010 to 2011.
• Global Head of Shared Operational Functions of AXA IM, namely IT, Change Management, Operational Support and Service Management, Procurement, Product Engineering from 2007 to 2010,
• Joined AXA IM in July 2006 as Head of Strategy and Innovation,
• Before joining AXA IM, Christophe worked for 6 years at McKinsey & Company as a FIG sector specialist, mainly serving large banks in France and the rest of Europe,
• Previously an engagement manager for Société Générale's Inspection Department, dealing with consulting and audit engagements in the different business units of the bank,
• Holds a diploma from the HEC School of Management in Paris (1996), with a major in finance.

Eric Chaney
Chief Economist AXA Group & Head of Research AXA IM

 

• Chief Economist for the AXA Group since November 2008. Responsible for providing:economic research on long term trends and themes, which will be integrated across AXA IM investment strategy, medium term economic scenarios and an assessment of macroeconomic risks to  the AXA Group management.
• Member of the French Economic Council of the Nation, which advises the Minister of economics and finance since 1997.
• Member of the Executive Committee of the French Economic Association.
• Regular columnist for international newspapers such as Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal.
• Chief economist for Europe at Morgan Stanley from 2000 to 2008. European economist from 1995 to 2000.
• Previously, headed the economic forecasting unit of the French statistical office (INSEE) after having been responsible for global economic forecasts at the French Treasury.
• Former Associate professor at the French School of Administration (ENA).
• Former professor of Mathematics.
• Holds a Masters Degree in pure mathematics from the University of Lyon and from the Paris Graduate School of Economics, Statistics and Finance (ENSAE).

Christophe Florin
Head of AXA Private Equity in Asia

• Head of AXA Private Equity in Asia,
• Responsible for starting and developing AXA IM Private Equity activities for Asia in Singapore from 2005 to 2008,
• One of the Managing Directors of AXA Private Equity Fund of funds activity, covering both primary and secondary investments,
• Joined AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) in 1988 to develop the secondary funds activities in private equity,
• Previously co-Managing Director of Développement et Partenariat, an investment fund specialising in turnaround situations,
• Spent 5 years with GAN as an Investment Manager in the Private Equity Investment Department,
• During his earlier career, managed a corporate loans portfolio at Crédit National bank,
• Graduated from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris and holds an MBA in Finance from Laval University in Quebec, Canada.

Tim Gardener
Global Head of Consultant Relations of AXA IM

• Joined AXA IM in 2010 as Global Head of Consultant Relations. He is responsible for the development and strategic direction of consultant relationships globally,
• Held a number of positions at Mercer Investment Consulting between 1986 and 2010,
• Most recently headed strategic and technical direction of Mercer's investment business as Global Chief Investment Officer,
• Global business leader between 1995 and 2008,
• UK and European Practice Leader for Investment Consulting, advised a number of UK funds on a range of investments matters, with particular emphasis on broad investment strategy,
• Prior to that, worked for nine years at Duncan C. Fraser as Head of Investment Consulting,
• Graduated in Mathematics from Birmingham University in 1973 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Laurent Gueunier
Head of Structured Finance at AXA IM

• Head of AXA Structured Finance in 2010. This expertise includes 6 asset management teams (Structured Corporate Credit team, Leveraged Finance Team, Structured Credit Investment team, Asset Backed Securities team, Insurance Linked Securities Team and Multi-management team),
• Joined AXA IM in 2002 as Head of Investment Grade CDO and became Head of Structured Corporate Credit in 2008,
• Previously, spent four years at JP Morgan as Head of Credit derivatives marketing dedicated to France and Belgium,
• Prior to that, worked for ten years at Société Générale: within the credit derivatives team in Paris, as Head of metals derivatives within the Commodities Department in New York, as Head of soft commodities and precious metals derivatives in Paris,
• Started his career at CEA (French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission) within nuclear explosion modelling division
• Graduated from ISEP (Electronic French Institute) in 1988.

Stephan Heitz
Head of AXA IM Northern Europe

• Head of AXA IM Northern Europe since January 2009,
• Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Life Asset Management with functional responsibility for third-party institutional clients, (acquisition, relationship management), portfolio management of third-party client assets (institutional and retail), investment administration (third-party client assets and Swiss Life insurance assets), product development and the Group's overall investment fund business from 2001 to 2008,
• Previously worked in corporate & investment banking at ABN AMRO in Zurich, Amsterdam and London from 1993 to 2001,
• Started his career at Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS) in corporate & investment banking based in Basel, Zurich and New York in 1989,
• Graduated in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and completed the Advanced,
• Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Jean Pierre Leoni
Head of Asia Pacific at AXA IM
 

• Head of Asia Pacific at AXA IM since 2010,
• Global Head of Product Specialists Unit at AXA IM from 2005 to 2009, responsible for for coordinating AXA IM's Business Development for Fixed Income, Investment Solutions, Liability Driven Solutions, Equity Judgmental, and Hedge Funds,
• Head of Credit Products at AXA IM from 1998 to 2005, responsible for running all credit activities,
• Held a number of positions at Credit Commercial de France (CCF) initially as Head of Fixed Income trading and thereafter as Head of the Product and Credit Analysis Department from 1995 to 1997,
• Arbitrage specialist for Compagnie Parisienne de Réescompte (CPR) from 1992 to 1994,
• Fund Manager at BTP Gestion from 1989 to 1992,
• Member of the French Institute of Actuarial Science (IAF) and teaches at the University of Paris Dauphine,
• Graduated with a degree in Mathematics from the University of Paris VI and a degree in statistics from the Institute of Statistics of the Parisian University Pierre and Marie Curie (ISUP).

Jean-Benoît Naudin
Global Head of Shared Operational Functions at AXA IM and COO of AXA IM Paris

• Global Head of Shared Operational Functions at AXA IM since February 2010 and COO of AXA IM Paris,
• Member of the FundsXML France Board of Directors in France,
• COO of AXA IM Paris from 2002 and Global Head of Operational Support & Service Management (OSSM) at AXA IM from 2005 to 2010,
• Member of the European Commision's Expert Advisory Group FEAM in 2006,
• CFO at AXA IM from July 1999 to 2002,
• CFO at Barclays Capital France SA from 1990 to 1998,
• Business Unit Manager in the middle market corporate banking business for Barclays Bank SA from 1987 to 1990,
• Held a number of different sales roles at BRED Banque Populaire from 1980 to 1987,
• Graduated from ESSEC (a French business school) and holds two postgraduate degrees in accounting and banking.

Joseph Pinto
Global Head of Markets and Investment Strategy at AXA IM

• Global Head of Markets and Investment Strategy at AXA IM since December 2011,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Director South Europe and Middle East at AXA IM from 2007 to 2011,
• From 2001 to 2006, Deputy CEO and member of the board of directors of Banque Privée Fideuram Wargny. While there, he created and implemented the bank's sales development strategy,
• Project Manager at McKinsey & Cie in Paris from 1998 to 2001,
• Started his career in New York with Crédit Lyonnais' securitisation business before moving to London to work at Lehman Brothers' Corporate Finance division,
• Graduated from the Ecole Centrale Paris (a French Engineering School) and holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Nathalie Savey
Global Head of Customer Relationship Management at AXA IM

• Global Head of Customer Relationship Management at AXA IM since December 2011,
• Head of Product Management at AXA IM from 2010 to 2011,
• Head of Leveraged Finance team in the Structured Finance Division of AXA IM from 2000 to 2010, where she was responsible for developing the Leveraged Loans Portfolio Management business,
• Held a number of positions at Société Générale (SG) in Structured Finance from 1989 to 2000,
• Holds a Masters of Econometrics from Paris X University and a Masters of Finance from the ESSEC, France.

Pierre Vaquier
Chief Executive Officer of AXA Real Estate

• Chief Executive Officer of AXA Real Estate,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Deputy Director of AXA Rea Estate Investment Managers (AXA REIM) in 1999,
• Chief Executive Officer of Colisée Services (future AXA REIM France) in 1995,
• Director of AXA Real Estate in 1993,
• Before joining AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM), 13 years experience within PARIBAS under the following positions: Head of international operations, Head of merchant banking real estate activities for PARIBAS New York, Chief Executive Officer of PARIBAS Properties Inc,
• Associate Manager of Antin Gérance,
• Graduated from HEC School of Management in Paris in 1980.

Theodora Zemek
Global Head of Fixed Income at AXA IM

• Awarded Outstanding Contributor to the Industry 2010 by Old Broad Street Research Ltd (OBSR), leading qualitative investment research company in the UK retail funds market,
• Member of the AXA Investment Managers Executive Committee and Management Board
• Global Head at Fixed Income of AXA IM since March 2008,
• Head of Fixed Income Fund Management at New Star Asset Management from 2002 until 2008,
• Chief Investment Officer at M&G International Investments from 2001 until 2002,
• Head of Fixed Income at M&G International Investments from 1992 to 2001,
• Senior Global Fixed Income Fund Manager at James Capel Fund Managers from 1989 to 1992,
• Global Fixed Income Fund Manager at the United Bank of Kuwait from 1987 to 1989,
• Fixed Income Fund Manager at the Royal Bank of Canada from 1986 to 1987,
• Head of UK Global Bond Sales at Swiss Bank Corporation International in 1986,
• Fixed Interest Sales at Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb International from 1983 to 1985,
• Graduated with a BA, with honours (Mellon Scholar) and a PhD in history from Clare College, Cambridge (1977-1983) and holds a BA double degree in French literature and philosophy from Yale University (1973-1977), where she was awarded the Mellon Fellowship and Montaigne Prize.

Mikifumi Watanabe
Head of AXA IM Japan

• Chief Executive Officer of AXA Rosenberg Tokyo & AXA IM Tokyo,
• Held a number of positions including Investment Manager, Head of Pension and Institutional Division, Managing Director, Senior Director at Merrill Lynch, Japan from 2000 to 2005,
• Senior Consultant, Director and Head of Client Services and a member of the Board of Directors at Frank Russell, Japan from 1996 to 2000,
• Leader/Consultant at the Ministry of Health and Welfare from 1993 to 1996,
• Asset Management Planning, Investment Research and Development leader, Pension Investment Leader at Yasuda Trust and Banking, Japan from 1987 to 1993,
• Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Japan with a BS in Mechanical Science in 1978.