Leadership team

Meet our Executive Committee (ExCom)

Mattieu Rouot

Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of MAXIS GBN, Mattieu Rouot oversees relationships with 330+ multinational companies in over 100 countries around the world. He joined MAXIS in May 2020. Mattieu was instrumental in the creation of the MAXIS GBN joint venture in 2016 and served on the MAXIS supervisory board from its inception. Mattieu has more than 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry. During his time as Senior Vice President of AXA International Employee Benefits (IEB), the business unit enjoyed more than 20% top line growth per year while its three main lines of business activity, MAXIS Global Benefits Network, International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) and Reinsurance underwent significant transformation. Prior to his role in IEB, Mattieu was Head of Investor Relations for the AXA Group.

Paul Lewis

Chief Business Development Officer

Paul Lewis is Chief Business Development Officer at MAXIS Global Benefits Network. He is responsible for the global Business Development teams who work with our strategic partners to develop employee benefits solutions for multinational employers. Paul has nearly two decades of experience working with multinational organisations implementing global employee benefit plans. Prior to his current role, Paul led the MAXIS GBN Americas Business Development team. Before working with MAXIS, he held positions at MetLife Expatriate Benefits and Aetna International. 

Federico Morosi

Chief Technical & Financial Officer

As Chief Technical & Financial Officer at MAXIS GBN, Federico Morosi oversees the Finance, Legal, Portfolio Management and Reinsurance & Reporting teams. Prior to joining MAXIS in May 2022, Federico spent nine years with the Generali group, where he worked as Area Manager for Argentina, Chile and Portugal and as Chief Strategy and Financial Officer at Generali Employee Benefits, among other roles. Federico has more than 15 years’ experience spanning engineering, consulting, and insurance. He holds degrees in Telecommunications Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, and in Information Technology from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. He also has an MBA from INSEAD in France and Singapore.

Dr Leena Johns, MD

Chief Health & Wellness Officer

Dr Leena Johns is Chief Health and Wellness Officer at MAXIS GBN and heads the MAXIS Health & Wellness team. The team is responsible for global healthcare data analytics and workplace wellness solutions, collaborating with our local insurance partners around the world and the global employee benefits leaders at multinational clients. Through the suite of dashboard reports created by Dr Leena’s team, multinationals can better understand the performance of their medical plans around the world, gathering trends and insights that can help them support their people’s health and address their biggest cost drivers. She created MAXIS Global Wellness, a curated marketplace of centralised digital global wellness solutions for multinational employers to address these cost drivers. She joined MAXIS in 2014, is based in New Jersey and is a medical doctor.

Iliyana Mladenova

Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, Iliyana leads MAXIS GBN’s strategic and transformation initiatives and supports all MAXIS business units to deliver them. Iliyana joined MAXIS GBN in 2021 from AXA Global Healthcare (AGH), where she was the Head of its Middle Eastern Business Unit based in UAE. At AGH, she led the sales, customer service, underwriting and change teams in the region. Prior to that, Iliyana held various roles at AXA P&C, AGH and AXA Health in the UK, including risk management, product and pricing, customer service and change. She is originally from Bulgaria and holds a BSc in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics from the University of Warwick and is currently in her final stages of her Actuarial exams with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFOA).

Lesley Berthon

Chief People Officer

As Chief People Officer at MAXIS GBN, Lesley Berthon has the privilege of leading the HR and Office Management functions whose mission it is to make MAXIS a great place to work.  The HR team is responsible for recruiting and onboarding new starters and learning and development. The team also handles policies, culture and employee experience. The Office Management team manages our London headquarters, providing an engaging workplace and overseeing the administrative duties that make everyone’s lives a little easier.  Lesley joined the business in April 2016, as one of the first employees of the MAXIS GBN joint venture. Prior to her role with MAXIS, she held senior HR roles at financial services companies such as Barclays, the New York Stock Exchange and CIT Group. Lesley has a degree in English Literature and French, as well as a Postgraduate qualification in Human Resources Management. She has lived and worked in both France and the UK. 

Nicolas Denys

Chief Underwriting Officer

As Chief Underwriting Officer at MAXIS GBN, Nicolas Denys leads a team of pricing underwriters who work closely with the MAXIS network of local insurers, the MAXIS EU Underwriting Hub and our multinational clients. The team uses their expertise to oversee the pricing and underwriting of business included in global programmes, providing support when needed and strong, technical, underwriter to underwriter relationships.   Nicolas joined MAXIS GBN in 2025 from AXA Group where he worked for nearly 25 years across underwriting, pricing, portfolio monitoring, product management and actuarial accounting. Most recently, he held the role of Head of Health & Employee Benefits (EB) within the AXA Group Underwriting Office. In this role he supported AXA Health and EB businesses in driving sustainable growth and more predictable profit generation, as well as reviewing the product design and underwriting quality of local businesses.

Nicola Fordham

Chief Solutions Officer

As Chief Solutions Officer at MAXIS GBN, Nicola Fordham oversees the evolution and development of our offering including insurance solutions and global programmes. In this role she ensures our solutions continue to address new challenges in the market and fit the needs of our multinational clients. Nicola joined MAXIS GBN in 2017 from MetLife UK where, as Chief Pricing Underwriter, she was responsible for the technical relationship between MetLife UK and MAXIS. She joined MAXIS as Director of Underwriting before stepping into the role of Chief Underwriting Officer in 2021. In this role she worked closely with the MAXIS network of local insurers, the MAXIS EU Underwriting Hub, and our multinational clients. In September 2024 Nicola moved to the role of Chief Solutions Officer, creating a new function within the business. Nicola has a wealth of knowledge to draw upon, with more than 20 years’ experience as a pricing underwriter for MetLife UK, Zurich, Generali and Unum.

Kirsty Knopp

Chief Risk & Compliance Officer

As Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at MAXIS GBN, Kirsty is responsible for all areas of risk and internal control including risk identification and mitigation, fraud risk, third party supplier risk and testing of the controls and control environment. She is also responsible for all compliance matters including due diligence, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption, and sanctions. Kirsty and her team work with colleagues, shareholders, external partners and suppliers to identify, mitigate and control any risks faced by MAXIS GBN. Kirsty has held various operational risk and control positions throughout her career, and joined MAXIS GBN in 2020, widening her scope to include compliance and undertaking an ICA International Diploma in Governance, Risk and Compliance in 2023.

Lorraine Fernandes

Chief Legal Officer

As Chief Legal Officer at MAXIS GBN, Lorraine leads the Core, Commercial and Corporate legal teams. Lorraine is responsible for overseeing all legal issues facing the business – from day-to-day problem solving and contractual negotiations to setting the strategic legal agenda.  Lorraine is an accomplished lawyer and has vast experience working in the (re)insurance market. She obtained a first-class Bachelor's degree in Law, before completing her LPC and is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Lorraine started her career at Ince & Co LLP, where she spent 12 years in private practice focusing on non-marine insurance and reinsurance (with a particular interest in captives, insurance-linked securities and dispute resolution). Lorraine joined MAXIS in 2018.   