FRANCE – AXA Group’s chief financial officer, Gerard de La Martiniere, may have to step down if he is elected as president of the French insurance industry group, FFSA.

The Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurances (FFSA) is proposing La Martiniere as its president. Denis Kessler, the former president, stepped down in December, and the post has been filled on an interim basis by Jean-Philippe Thierry, president of the Federation Francaise des Societes Anonymes d’Assurance.

The FFSA will meet on May 13 to elect the president.

If La Martiniere is elected, he will no longer be able to continue in his position at AXA. The insurance body states that the president cannot also be in charge of day-to-day operations at a company.

The FFSA has 306 member enterprises in insurance, reinsurance and investment, accounting for 92% of the French insurance and reinsurance market.

AXA is one of the world's largest insurance and asset management companies, with over 555 billion pounds (806 billion euros) of assets under management and total consolidated revenues in 2002 of 48.5 billion pounds (70.5 billion euros).