AXA Private Equity COO set to join ADIA

Christophe Florin left AXA Private Equity two months ago, the French alternatives firm has confirmed. He is poised to join the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), according to Bloomberg. ADIA declined to comment on his appointment, with a spokesman simply saying that no announcement had yet been made, and that none was imminent.

Florin was a member of AXA PE’s executive board. He joined the firm in 1998, and led the firm’s Asian operation between 2005 and 2008 before returning to Paris to become COO, a position he held for the past four years. AXA declined to comment on any operational milestones experienced during Florin's tenure. 

His departure comes as the firm looks to negotiate an orderly spinout from its parent, French insurer AXA Group.
Florin is set to become head of ADIA’s emerging markets-focused private equity team, according to reports.

The sovereign fund has been hiring aggressively for its private equity team, as it seeks to further increase its exposure to the asset class. In December, it hired Benjamin Weston as global head of alternative investments. Weston was formerly chief executive of Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments.

ADIA is reportedly looking to hire as many as 40 private equity executives as part of a concerted drive to increase its activity within the asset class.