AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets (“AXA IM – Real Assets”), a global leader in real asset investments and the leading1 real estate portfolio and asset manager in Europe, announces the appointment of Florence Dard as Global Head of Business Development. Florence will join on 5th March and will lead a newly-created Business Development department, which will bring relevant internal teams together as a single business unit. Based in Paris, Florence will report to Isabelle Scemama, CEO of AXA IM – Real Assets and join the Management Board.
The newly-created Business Development department, which Florence will lead, has been created to drive the business development and strategic development initiatives of AXA IM – Real Assets in a comprehensive and fully integrated manner globally. It will comprise the Client Capital Group, Research & Strategy, Marketing & Communication and Product Development teams.
Florence has an extensive experience of working within AXA Group, having spent more than 18 years in various positions including 13 years within AXA Investment Managers as Relationship Manager for AXA France, Head of Corporate Sales for pension and savings schemes and Institutional Sales Manager. In her latest role as Head of France within Client Group, Florence led the French sales, marketing and client services teams and contributed to the strategic development of AXA IM across all client segments in France. In her role, she notably contributed to the capital raising efforts from French institutional clients for AXA IM – Real Assets’ real estate and infrastructure equity and debt funds as well as the successful development of unit-linked products.
Florence has also strong international sales experience, consolidated during the five years she spent between 2010 and 2015 at Edmond de Rothschild AM where she held several positions including Head of European Institutional Sales and Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Isabelle Scemama, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, commented: “Florence brings with her a great deal of business development experience in asset management and is very well placed to lead our newly created Business Development department. In her previous role, she has been instrumental in the development of the AXA IM’s alternatives assets business, which remains a key area of growth for the firm. She notably contributed to the successful capital raising efforts in France for some of our flagship institutional and unit-linked funds. She will be a strong addition to the wider AXA IM – Real Assets’ team and to our Management Board, bringing with her further expertise to help drive our business development globally and achieve our ambitious expansion plans.”
1 Source: INREV/ANREV Fund Manager Survey – May 2017 in terms of assets under management