Marco Morelli was named executive chairman of AXA Investment Managers, effective Sept. 14.
Mr. Morelli replaces Gerald Harlin, who will retire at the end of September but remain a member of the board of directors, the money manager said in a news release Thursday.
Mr. Harlin, who is also AXA group deputy CEO, became executive chairman of the money management unit in December, taking over responsibilities from Andrea Rossi. Mr. Rossi, who had led AXA IM since 2013, stepped down from the CEO role on Dec. 1.
A spokesman for AXA IM said Mr. Harlin was appointed in the interim until a successor was found. A transition period will run between Mr. Morelli's joining and Mr. Harlin's retirement.
Mr. Morelli will be based in Paris and report to Thomas Buberl, CEO of parent company AXA. Mr. Morelli will also join AXA's management committee.
"I would like to warmly thank Gerald for his very significant contributions to AXA's success and his decisive role in making the group a world leader in insurance. I would also like to thank him for postponing his retirement last year to take over the leadership of our asset management entity AXA IM, to which he and his teams have given a new impetus by putting in place a new organization that is better adapted to its future development," Mr. Buberl said in the release.
The firm split its organization into core and alternative units, announced in March. AXA IM had €804 billion ($889 billion) in assets under management as of March 31.
Mr. Morelli was CEO and general manager of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
