Overview
- Axa announced the death of its founder at age 90 in a company communiqué.
- The funeral will be held in strict privacy, and the family will soon share how people can send messages or pay tribute in coordination with Axa and the Institut Montaigne.
- Former Axa chief executive Henri de Castries hailed Bébéar as a visionary leader and a demanding, generous mentor.
- Bébéar began at Anciennes Mutuelles in 1958, became director general in 1975, took the presidency in 1982, and rebranded the group as Axa in 1985.
- He drove expansion through acquisitions, notably UAP, handed operational leadership to Henri de Castries in 2000, led the supervisory board until 2013, and later served as honorary president of Axa and the Institut Montaigne.