Claude Bébéar

Claude Bébéar (Issac, Dordogne, July 29, 1935) is a French businessman.

He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the AXA Group and of the Montaigne Institute.

Biography

In 1958, he earned his diploma from the Paris Institute of Actuaries.

In 1975, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Anciennes Mutuelles, which later became Mutuelles Unies.

In 1982, he was named Chairman of the Drouot Group.

In 1985, he founded AXA, which, through a series of mergers culminating in the absorption of UAP, became France’s leading insurance group.

In 1997, President George H. W. Bush awarded him the Point of Light Award, recognizing companies excelling in humanitarian sponsorship; this was the first time the award was given to a non‑American company.

In May 2000, he stepped down as Chairman of the Board and became Chairman of AXA’s Supervisory Board.

He also established the Montaigne Institute, which he chairs, and serves on the steering committee of the Turgot Institute, a public policy think tank.

Claude Bébéar is also a board member of BNP Paribas and Schneider Electric, and a member of the Supervisory Board of Vivendi Universal.