Head of Technology

AXA XL is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Head of Technology & AI, APAC, Europe and ESS

Locations: France, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland

AXA XL’s Head of Technology & AI, APAC Europe and ESS is a key senior executive, leadership team role in the Technology & AI function, accountable for acting as the strategic technology and AI partner to deliver for Chief Executive Officer, APAC Europe and ESS leadership teams, in cooperation with the Tech & AI organization.

The role ensures business strategy is translated into a coherent technology and AI roadmaps, aligning investment, engineering capacity, operating model change, and measurable outcomes. This leader shapes demand, challenges priorities, drives decision-making, and ensures delivery accountability within the Technology & AI function for APAC Europe and ESS.

Operating as a trusted executive peer, balancing innovation with value, risk, regulatory requirements, and operational resilience, this role reports to AXA XL’s Chief Technology & AI Officer with a dotted line to Chief Executive Officer, APAC & Europe.

What you’ll be doing

Executive Technology & AI Leadership

• Act as the primary technology and AI partner to APAC Europe and ESS shaping business direction through technology-led opportunities.
• Provide insights on AI disruption, competitor landscape, and modern digital and AI business models relevant to insurance.
• Translate complex technology concepts into commercial and operational implications for executive decision-making.

Strategy-to-Execution Translation

• Convert business strategy into a prioritized and funded technology and AI roadmap.
• Define the sequencing of initiatives based on value, feasibility, regulatory constraints, and delivery capacity.
• Ensure roadmaps integrate digital, data, AI, automation, and core platform modernization.
• Drive robust partnerships within the Tech & AI leadership team to ensure common principles, frameworks and guidelines are deployed and executed with effective coordination across all disciplines in the function.

Enterprise Alignment & Investment Governance

• Represent APAC Europe and ESS’ needs into enterprise technology investment forums.
• Own business unit-level investment cases, ensuring clarity of ROI, outcomes, and measurable benefits.
• Challenge the business on value definition and ensure initiatives meet enterprise architecture, security, and AI governance requirements.

Portfolio Ownership & Delivery Oversight

• Own the technology and AI portfolio for the region and ESS, ensuring delivery performance, dependencies, and risks are actively managed.
• Hold delivery teams accountable for execution outcomes while ensuring the business fulfils its accountabilities (SMEs, process change, adoption).
• Provide clear reporting to Global Leadership Team partner(s) on delivery confidence, risks, financial position, and benefits tracking.

Stakeholder Management & Executive Influence

• Challenging and influencing senior stakeholders with poise and composure, facilitating decision-making forums, resolving prioritization conflicts and driving outcomes.
• Build alignment across business functions including underwriting, claims, pricing, finance, customer operations, and distribution.

AI Adoption & Business Transformation

• Drive enterprise AI adoption within the business unit, ensuring:
• high-value use cases are identified
• adoption and operating model impacts are planned
• workforce readiness is supported
• human-in-the-loop and control frameworks are implemented
• Ensure AI is embedded into workflows rather than delivered as standalone tools.

Risk, Resilience & Regulatory Partnership

• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Security to ensure delivery aligns to regulatory and control requirements.
• Ensure AI initiatives comply with Responsible AI, privacy, and model risk expectations.
• Ensure technology resilience and service continuity risks are visible and actively managed.

Commercial and Vendor Leadership

• Partner with Procurement and Technology leadership to shape vendor strategy aligned to business unit priorities.
• Support contract negotiations, supplier performance management, and strategic partnerships.
• Ensure commercial outcomes align to delivery outcomes and service performance.

What you’ll bring

We’re looking for someone who has these abilities and skills:

Commercial Acumen

• Keen understanding of business strategy, financial drivers, and operational performance levers.
• Able to challenge executives constructively and influence investmen