Head of Middle Market, Americas

About the role

As the Head of Middle Market, Americas, you will lead the Middle Market Underwriting unit, developing and executing the Americas strategy for this segment. This role has full P&L responsibility and reports directly to the CEO Americas as part of the Leadership team. You will work with regional underwriting business leaders, partners, and the Global Underwriting Office to deliver profitable growth and underwriting excellence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a strategy for profitable growth in the Middle Market segment, focusing on solutions, client value, data-driven relationships, and operational efficiency.
• Grow the unit organically by building critical market assets such as product portfolio, distribution network, and operating platform, while exploring accelerated growth opportunities.
• Provide strategic direction and data-driven decisions for risk assessment, portfolio management, and underwriting excellence to optimize performance.
• Set and achieve qualitative and quantitative targets (technical and operational) for the underwriting team.
• Foster a culture of innovation to address emerging risks and leverage new technologies.
• Lead and inspire the underwriting team, creating a high-performance culture.
• Align the underwriting proposition with brokers and clients, developing new relationships to increase production and profit for AXA XL.
• Represent AXA XL in industry forums and engage with key stakeholders to enhance relationships and business opportunities.
• Build and promote AXA XL’s brand, underwriting, risk services, claims, and client experience leadership in the external insurance market.
• Lead continuous underwriting operational improvement and maintain a sound governance framework.
• Develop productive relationships with AXA XL and AXA Group leadership to promote shared performance and investment strategies.
• Ensure adherence to underwriting governance, compliance principles, and regulatory standards.
• Drive the identification and prioritization of opportunities, allocating resources to deliver high levels of customer service.
• Optimize expense ratios by monitoring underwriting expenses, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and collaborating with finance and operations teams.
• Set individual objectives, review performance, and provide ongoing feedback to team members.
• As a member of the Americas Leadership team, provide visionary leadership, innovation, and thought partnership to influence and deliver organizational objectives.
• Leverage AXA Group’s international reach and navigate its organizational culture to create business impact through empathy, collaboration, and inclusion.

Requirements

• Deep understanding of the Americas P&C insurance market, pricing, and underwriting techniques.
• Established relationships and credibility with critical distribution partners.
• Ability to influence and inspire colleagues to deliver business objectives in collaboration with other leaders.
• Experience attracting and developing technical and leadership talent at all organizational levels.
• Commitment to corporate values: “start with the client,” “own it,” “solve it together,” and “actually make it better.”
• Enthusiasm for staying abreast of key market and industry trends (e.g., underwriting, competition, technology, data, regulatory).
• Proactive approach to personal development and encouraging others to do the same.
• History of leading diverse teams, fostering engagement, and building high performance.
• Gravitas, self-composure, and comfort in an outward-facing market role.
• Market profile and ability to promote AXA XL alongside the Americas and AXA XL Leadership team.
• Motivation to challenge the status quo and make difficult decisions when required.

Benefits

• Inclusive culture with a strategic commitment to attract, develop, and retain a diverse workforce.
• Five Business Resource Groups focused on gender, LGBTQ+, ethnicity and origins, disability, and inclusion, with 20 Chapters globally.
• Robust support for Flexible Working Arrangements.
• Enhanced family-friendly leave benefits.
• Competitive retirement savings plan and health and wellness programs.
• Wide range of learning opportunities to develop professional skills.
• AXA Hearts in Action programs, including Matching Gifts, Volunteering Leave, and the Global Day of Giving.

Pay

The U.S. base salary range for this position is USD 350,000 – 400,000. Actual pay will be determined based on skills, experience, and location.

About the company

AXA XL, the P&C and specialty risk division of AXA, is known for solving complex risks. The company combines a comprehensive capital platform, data-driven insights, leading technology, and top talent to deliver innovative risk solutions for mid-sized companies, multinationals, and individuals. AXA XL partners with clients to help them navigate risks and unlock a more sustainable and prosperous future.