Etienne Bouas-Laurent has been announced as the next chief executive of AXA Hong Kong following the forthcoming retirement of sitting chief executive, Stuart Harrison.

Bouas-Laurent will succeed Harrison as AXA Hong Kong chief executive on 1 September, 2017, subject to regulatory approval, the insurance company announced. Bouas-Laurent will step down from his current role as AXA Asia Life chief executive.

Prior to joining AXA Asia in 2016, Bouas-Laurent was chief financial officer at AXA Germany and was also head of AXA’s Wealth Management business in France.

“Bouas-Laurent has had a long and successful career with AXA since 1997,” said Jean-Louis Laurent Josi, Regional chief executive of AXA Asia.

“With his passion, energy, and vision, Bouas-Laurent will clearly continue to drive our business to flourish in Hong Kong while transforming it to make it even more digital ready, efficient and customer-centric.”

Following his departure at the helm of AXA Hong Kong, Harrison is set to maintain a presence at insurance giant’s Asia-Pacific base, taking on roles as director and senior advisor.

AXA Asia maintains a dominant presence in the Asia-Pacific region, with operational bases in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.