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PRESS RELEASE
Paris, May 16th, 2001
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AXA GROUP AND AXA FINANCIAL NAMED CHRISTOPHER M. CONDRON
AS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF AXA FINANCIAL
ED MILLER TO JOIN AXA'S SUPERVISORY BOARD
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PARIS, MAY 16, 2001 - AXA Group (NYSE: AXA) and AXA Financial, Inc. today named
Christopher M. "Kip" Condron as President and Chief Executive Officer,
succeeding Edward D. Miller. Miller will remain with AXA Group as a member of
its supervisory board and as a senior advisor to Henri de Castries, AXA's Chief
Executive Officer. Mr. Condron will also become a member of AXA's Management
Board. Mr. Condron is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of Mellon
Financial Corporation and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Dreyfus
Corporation, Mellon's mutual fund subsidiary.
"Kip Condron has all the right qualifications, proven leadership abilities and
extensive financial planning and asset management experience to build upon the
successes that we have enjoyed under Ed Miller's leadership," said Henri de
Castries. "We are delighted to welcome such a seasoned professional to the helm
of our flagship company in the U.S. market, and to see him join the AXA
Management Board where his abilities and experience will help us pursue the
successful implementation of our global strategy."
Mr. Condron has been President and Chief Operating Officer of Mellon Financial
Corporation since 1999 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dreyfus since
1995. Previously, he was Vice Chairman of The Boston Company, an asset
management and trust company, which was acquired by Mellon in 1993. Before
joining The Boston Company in 1989, Mr. Condron was co-president of AYCO
Corporation, which acquired Condron Associates, a financial planning firm of
which Mr. Condron was founder and President.
"With a solid strategy in place, a clearly defined business platform and strong
momentum going forward, AXA Financial's essential mission under Kip's leadership
will remain unchanged: to be a premier provider of financial protection and
wealth management products and services," added de Castries.
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"I am excited about the opportunities for growth at AXA Financial and look
forward to working with the impressive group of people who have built the
company into what it is today," said Mr. Condron. "In particular, I look forward
to working with the management teams at AXA Financial, Alliance Capital and AXA
Client Solutions as we lead this organization forward."
As part of this management transition, Mike Hegarty, AXA Financial's Chief
Operating Officer, will take this time to pursue other leadership opportunities.
During their tenures at AXA Financial, Miller and Hegarty led critical
developments in the company's distribution capabilities, financial planning
initiatives, asset management operations and overall company branding.
"Mike and I have planned and launched the changes necessary to transform AXA
Financial into what it is today, a multi-channel asset gathering company with
$483 billion in assets under management," said Miller. "Of course, none of this
would have been possible without the deep bench of management talent, our
dedicated employees and our expert field force that have supported us every step
of the way."
In addition, Miller led the company through several significant transactions
including the sale of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the acquisition of Sanford
Bernstein, and AXA's acquisition of the minority interest in AXA Financial.
"We would like to thank both Ed and Mike for the valuable contributions they've
made to AXA Financial," concluded de Castries. "I am confident that we've taken
all of the necessary steps to ensure a smooth and successful leadership
transition at AXA Financial, including Ed's new advisory role within AXA Group.
I'm equally confident in Kip's ability to further enhance, deepen and leverage
the company's growth platform in the months and years ahead."
AXA will conduct a one-hour conference call today at 9:45 AM NY time (3:45 PM in
Paris). Henri de Castries, CEO of the AXA Group, along with Ed Miller, outgoing
CEO of AXA Financial, Christopher "Kip" Condron, newly appointed CEO of AXA
Financial, and Stan Tulin, Vice Chairman and CFO of AXA Financial will discuss
the management transition and answer questions.
Investors interested in participating should call at least 10 minutes before the
start of the scheduled conference call:
U.S. -- + 1 303 267 1000
International -- + 44 (0) 20 8240 8248
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About AXA Financial
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AXA Financial, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Group (NYSE: AXA), is a
premier financial services organization through its strong brands: AXA Advisors,
The Equitable Life Assurance Society, Equitable Distributors, Alliance Capital
Management and Sanford C. Bernstein. For more information, visit
www.axa-financial.com
About AXA Group
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AXA Group is a worldwide leader in financial protection and wealth management.
AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Western
Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA had Euro 893 billion in
assets under management as of December 31, 2000 and reported revenues of
approximately Euro 80 billion for the full year 2000.
The AXA ordinary share is listed and trades on the Paris Stock Exchange. The AXA
American Depositary Share (ADS) is listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol
AXA
For more information, visit www.axa.com
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AXA MEDIA RELATIONS: AXA INVESTOR RELATIONS:
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Christophe Dufraux: 331 4075 4674 Greg Wilcox: 331 4075 4885
Emmanuelle Isnard: 331 4075 4622 Matthieu Andre: 331 4075 4685
Barbara Wilkoc: 212 314 3740 Caroline Portel: 212 314 6182
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