West Zone Leader

AXA•Los Angeles, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

AXA XL's Middle Market Excess Casualty business unit offers Umbrella and Excess Liability coverage to North American based Insureds. Our ambition is to unlock a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow by helping businesses navigate the world’s risks. In the Americas, we’ll live up to that ambition by delivering value far beyond the insurance policies we provide. We’re confronting our clients’ risk management challenges by finding solutions that further their strategic goals and help them build more sustainable, thriving businesses.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
In-depth underwriting expertise as it relates to solutions for umbrella/excess casualty to contribute to the underwriting of the full range of renewal and new business accounts.
Robust insured and broker interaction in assigned geographic territory with the ability to effectively target current and prospective contacts in order to effectively promote offered products.
The ability to travel a minimum of 15% of the time is anticipated.

Nice To Haves

Exceptional organizational and time management skills with the ability to perform accurate mathematical calculations.
Work self-directed with the ability to be an open-minded team player with a willingness to actively listen to comprehend unique circumstances that require practical and unique solutions to complex issues.
Excellent written and oral communication skills to work with both internal teams and external brokers as you will work in a team environment, assisting underwriters and / or deal administrators as part of their overall responsibility.
Excellent collaborative skills in a fast-paced team-centric environment.
The ability to demonstrate critical thinking, decision making, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a high-performing underwriting team across the West Zone, providing direction, coaching, and performance management aligned to regional and portfolio objectives.
Own production and growth outcomes for the West Zone, including new business generation, retention, and rate execution, ensuring alignment with broader portfolio strategy.
Execute a zone-level broker engagement strategy, strengthening relationships with key retail partners and expanding AXA XL’s presence across priority markets and distribution channels.
Drive proactive marketing efforts across the territory, identifying target segments, coordinating broker outreach, and positioning AXA XL as a lead market for excess casualty risks.
Maintain strong underwriting governance, ensuring adherence to underwriting guidelines, authority frameworks, and referral processes, while appropriately escalating key decisions.
Identify and monitor emerging market trends and risks, staying ahead of marketplace developments (e.g., social inflation, industry-specific exposures, jurisdictional risk).
Drive cross-sell and portfolio optimization opportunities across AXA XL business units to maximize client value and efficient deployment of capital.
Provide technical underwriting oversight and guidance on complex or strategic accounts throughout the zone, ensuring disciplined risk selection, pricing adequacy, attachment strategy, and policy structure.
Lead the execution of the West Zone underwriting and distribution plan, aligning team activity to strategic priorities and measurable performance outcomes.
Support talent development and training, onboarding new hires, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and underwriting excellence.
Partner cross-functionally (Actuarial, Claims, Legal, Risk Engineering) to collaborate in assessing portfolio performance, inform underwriting decisions, and support the execution of profitable growth strategies.
Ensure operational excellence in partnership with Middle Office, delivering timely, accurate, and consistent service to brokers and clients.
Represent the West Zone in regional and enterprise initiatives, contributing to strategic projects and influencing broader Excess Casualty direction.