Strategic Partner Spotlight: Bernadette Mitchell, AXA Equitable

When we hear the word “insurance company,” an image that often comes to mind is one of a very large, faceless building. However, Bernadette Mitchell, vice president for AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, can attest to the fact that what is most important to this particular insurance company is maintaining face-to-face contact with their individual clients through AXA Advisors, LLC, the company’s retail distribution channel of more than 6,000 financial professionals nationwide.

After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in economics and history, Bernadette was recruited to participate in a marketing management training program at AXA Equitable. That was 24 years ago, and she never left! Bernadette notes that she moved around within the company over the years, yet has always been in the retirement planning area. Today, she is the chief sales officer responsible for training and development for the Retirement Benefits Group, a division of AXA Advisors comprised of financial professionals who focus on reaching out to a particular group in the workforce: educators.

“We look to help educate educators on their pension and finances,” Bernadette says, explaining that not only can AXA Equitable help with individual retirement planning through AXA Advisors, the company also offers guidance and resources needed for school districts to cope with larger-scale pension planning and the ever-changing federal laws that may affect it, including the recent 403(b) regulations.

AXA Equitable is a part of the global AXA Group*, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management, with 67 million clients in 55 countries and 150,000 employees across the globe. But AXA Equitable has its own rich heritage. This year, the company celebrates 150 years of providing personalized financial strategies to Americans along with products and services to help them build and protect their assets. “AXA Equitable is a very hands-on organization,” Bernadette says. “We’re a large organization, but we believe in an intimate approach. It’s important to meet with people one-on-one to help them figure out their financial strategies for retirement, and that starts with understanding their financial situation today. Those first few discussions will typically happen at our clients’ homes at the kitchen table.”

The company’s dedication to educators is apparent in various ways, from their willingness to help teachers, administrators, and other school personnel take the crucial first steps in retirement planning, to their support of ASBO International’s Eagle Awards program. The company also shows its support in educating our students through the AXA Foundation and AXA Achievement college scholarship program. AXA Achievement provides more than $1.3 million a year in scholarships, and through this program, AXA Equitable is one of the nation’s largest corporate providers of scholarships.

Bernadette lives in Chatham, New Jersey, with her husband, Geoff and their two children, Chloe (16) and William (13). Outside the office, Bernadette is an active volunteer, serving as a legislative ambassador for the American Cancer Society. She also enjoys yoga and golf and is looking forward to competing in a mini-triathlon in September.

For more information on AXA Equitable, please visit their Strategic Partner page.

* “AXA Group” refers to AXA, a French holding company for an international group of insurance and financial services companies together with its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries.

Retirement Benefits Group is a specialized division of AXA Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through AXA Advisors, LLC (NY, NY    212-314-4600), member FINRA, SIPC. Annuity and insurance products of affiliate, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY 10104) and of unaffiliated insurance companies are offered through AXA Network, LLC and its subsidiaries. GE-50016(06/09)