Les Owen commenced as Group Chief Executive of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited on 1 January 2000.

Prior to that he had worked in various positions in Sun Life, one of the UK's largest and most successful life assurance companies. He was appointed Group Managing Director of Sun Life in 1995. Following the merger between AXA and UAP in 1997, he was appointed Chief Executive of AXA Sun Life, the company formed by the merger in the UK of Sun Life and AXA Equity & Law, another major UK life assurer.

Les is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. His directorships include positions on the Boards of:
• AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd
• AXA China Region Limited (Hong Kong)
• AXA Nichidan Insurance Holding Co Ltd (Japan)
• Alliance Capital Australia and New Zealand
• Members Equity

He is also a member of the Executive Committee of AXA SA and was, prior to his move to Australia, on the Board of the Personal Investment Authority (PIA) the UK's retail financial services regulator.

Les is married with three daughters and has a keen interest in sport, particularly cricket, soccer (Liverpool), football (Collingwood) and golf.