Tidjane Thiam was today named by the Evening Standard, one of the 100 most influential Londoners. Born in 1962 in Ivory Coast, Tidjane received degrees from three of the most prestigious engineering and business schools of France: Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole des Mines and INSEAD. He is an ex-minister of planning and Development of Ivory Coast and is today Chief Executive of insurance company Prudential. He's also the first black boss of a FTSE 100 company.
He is a member of the Africa Progress Panel with the likes of Tony Blair and Kofi Annan.
When asked about how it felt to be the first black CEO of a FTSE 100 company, he answered: "I don’t see myself as being particularly different from anybody else. I focus on being successful.
"It’s actually funny that when I was appointed CFO that nobody said first black CFO of a FTSE 100 company. One of my worst jokes has been to say well I’m also right handed and I’m also six-four and these are in the same bucket of things that have nothing to do with what I do."
Read his interview in the Financial Times
No comments:
Post a Comment