In your current role as CEO of AXA – Global Healthcare, what does a typical workday look like?

No two days are ever the same for me. I spend a lot of my time travelling to meet with our teams and partners in the 10 countries where we operate. It’s important to stay connected, especially since we provide healthcare insurance solutions in over 200 countries worldwide. Every region has its own unique needs, and being on the ground helps us stay aligned and deliver the best support possible.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you offer to your younger self, especially regarding leadership and navigating the challenges of this industry?

If I could give advice to my younger self, it would be to focus more on adapting my leadership style to different cultures. Whether you’re in Europe, Latin America, or Asia, the way you interact with people and make decisions can vary greatly. Understanding and embracing these cultural differences earlier in my career would have been incredibly valuable, especially when I moved to Asia and realised how different the work patterns, expectations, and pace of business were.

In terms of leadership, I’ve become even more convinced of the importance of long-term strategy. In a competitive and constantly changing industry like healthcare, it’s easy to focus on short-term goals, especially when dealing with quarterly reports. But to truly succeed, you need to understand the underlying trends and challenges, and adapt your business strategy to them. A long-term perspective is crucial, not just for staying competitive, but for building a sustainable business.

In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges currently facing the healthcare industry?

One of the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry is managing medical cost inflation, which has been significantly increasing for years and shows no signs of slowing down. For providers of global healthcare insurance, this creates a critical tension: how do we keep health insurance affordable while dealing with these rising costs? If premiums increase by, say, 10% annually, many clients could find health insurance out of reach over time. This balancing act is essential to ensuring sustainable access to healthcare.

Another significant challenge lies in access to healthcare and navigating healthcare systems globally. Many public systems are under strain, with limited resources making it increasingly difficult for people to access timely and quality care. This isn’t confined to one country – it’s a global issue. As providers of global healthcare insurance, we must not only help clients access care but also support them in navigating a fragmented and often complex system, ensuring they can make informed decisions with confidence.

One of the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry is managing medical cost inflation

Finally, there’s the question of quality. For internationally mobile individuals, finding reliable, high-quality healthcare can be especially daunting. Unlike other industries – where quality ratings and reviews are readily available – healthcare often lacks transparency in terms of outcomes and efficiency. Helping clients access trustworthy, high-quality care, particularly across borders, is a crucial part of the solution.

In your experience, what are the benefits of prioritising employee wellbeing, and what initiatives have you found most effective?

Over the years we’ve come to recognise that the wellbeing of our employees and clients is central to our success. The world is changing at a rapid pace compared to 20 or 30 years ago, and supporting our people through that change is essential. One area that stands out is mental wellbeing, which has become a critical focus for us. We’ve seen through our annual market research that mental health challenges affect both local and international employees, but international employees, in particular, are twice as likely to face mental health issues. The reasons for this are varied but may be due to the stress of adapting to new cultures, feeling isolated from familiar support systems, and navigating unfamiliar healthcare and work environments in a new country.

To support this community of workers, we’ve launched a global Mind Health Self-check tool, which provides individuals with a personalised report on their wellbeing, with advice on how to better manage their mental wellbeing.

As providers of global healthcare insurance, we must not only help clients access care but also support them in navigating a fragmented and often complex system

We’ve also launched a brand-new app which provides our customers with 24/7 access to a whole range of healthcare services, such as teleconsultations with doctors, second medical opinions, and even mental health counselling. They’ll be able to access this from wherever they are in the world, in their preferred language. 

While we’re helping our customers to prioritise their employees’ wellbeing, we know it’s just as important to support our own people as we do our members. We’re doing this through several wellbeing initiatives, such as our global program ‘We Care’. This includes tailored support with policies for caregivers, parents and health needs, to name a few. As a global team with a huge range of different people from many nationalities, backgrounds and cultures, we offer a wide range of support to our employees and their loved ones, no matter where they are based in the world.  

How do you encourage innovation within the company, and what role does technology play?

At AXA – Global Healthcare, we actively encourage innovation by identifying pain points and using technology to simplify and enhance the customer experience. One key area we focused on was the complexity of accessing healthcare and managing small to medium insurance claims, such as visits to a GP or specialist. 

To address this, we introduced a new virtual healthcare payment card. Our payment card allows clients to simply tap and pay for their outpatient treatments and everyday health costs, eliminating the need to fill in claims forms or follow up for reimbursement. It’s a seamless, tech-driven solution that transforms the customer experience, making it as easy as using any other digital payment method.

This is how technology can help revolutionise an industry that’s often seen as complicated, giving us a competitive edge while providing our clients with a much smoother, more efficient experience.

Do you have any exciting new products or launches coming up that you’d like to share?

In addition to our new app and healthcare payment card, we’ve also recently launched Global Health Adapt – a fully customisable product designed specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with globally based workforces. This new product offers comprehensive, modular healthcare coverage that adapts to the evolving needs of SMEs and their employees, no matter where they are in the world. 

One key area we focused on was the complexity of accessing healthcare and managing small to medium insurance claims

Looking ahead, we’re also excited to launch in several new markets, further expanding our global reach. While we have many new developments in the pipeline, mental health and preventative wellness are something that remains a critical focus for us at AXA – Global Healthcare. We’re dedicated to putting our customers’ needs and wellbeing first and providing tools and solutions which offer dedicated mental health support, ensuring that the experience of working overseas remains successful and rewarding for both individuals and businesses worldwide.