Thomas Buberl faced what a lot of leaders fear: becoming CEO of a company that’s already successful with a culture that’s already flourishing. So what did he do? He reinvented and transformed the company to make it all even better. In our conversation with Thomas, CEO of global insurance giant AXA, we learn some of the secrets of his successes and how he makes gutsy decisions. One of Thomas’ big pivots? A bold realignment towards sustainability and rallying other big corporations to take action on the climate crisis. Reinvention and constantly learning are consistent themes in this podcast – it’s how Thomas stays fresh, agile, and one of those leaders we can all learn from.  

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BIO:Thomas Buberl has been Chief Executive Officer and Director of AXA since September 1st, 2016.  He started as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group for the banking & insurance sector both in Germany and internationally.  From 2005 to 2008, he worked for the  Winterthur  Group  (acquired  by  AXA  in  2006)  as  member  of  the  Management  Board  of  Winterthur  in  Switzerland,  first  as  Chief  Operating  Officer  and  then  as  Chief  Marketing  and  Distribution  Officer. He  then  joined  Zurich  Insurance  Group  as  Chief  Executive  Officer for Switzerland. 

At the beginning of 2012, Thomas Buberl joined AXA as Chief Executive Officer of AXA Germany and member of the AXA Executive Committee. In March 2015, he also joined the  AXA  Management  Committee  and  was  appointed  Chief  Executive  Officer  of  the  Global  Business  Line  for  the  Health  Business,  and,  in  January  2016,  of  the  Global  Business Line for Life & Savings. From March to September 2016, he was deputy CEO (“Directeur général adjoint”) of AXA. 

Thomas  Buberl  holds  a  Master  of  Economics  degree  from  WHU  Koblenz  (Germany),  a  MBA  from  Lancaster  University  (UK)  and  a  PhD  in  Economics  from  the  University  of  St.Gallen  (Switzerland).  He  has  been  distinguished  as  a  Young  Global  Leader  by  the  World Economic Forum.Thomas  Buberl  sits  on  the  Board  of  Directors  of  IBM,  the Supervisory  Board  of  the  Bertelsmann  Verwaltungs Gesellschaft  (BVG),  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  World  Economic Forum. A German, Swiss and French citizen, Thomas Buberl was born in 1973.