Amanda Blanc, businesswoman

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Amanda Blanc is the group CEO of the insurance company Aviva. She is one of a handful of women at the top of FTSE 100 companies and has spoken out against the sexism and misogyny many – including herself - have encountered during their careers. In 2022 she called out disparaging comments made to her by some of the male shareholders at her company’s own AGM. Her published riposte received some 1.6m views in the space of a few days. Amanda was born in Treherbert, a former mining village in the Rhondda Valley. Both her grandfathers worked down the mines and she says the miners’ strike of 1984 left a lasting impression on her and taught her the value of community. After studying modern history at Liverpool University, Amanda joined a graduate training scheme at Commercial Union. By the age of 29 she was the company’s youngest and first female branch manager when she took up the post in Leicester. She joined Aviva in 2020 and the following year she was appointed Women in Finance Charter Champion by HM Treasury. She was named the Sunday Times Business Person of the Year for 2022. Amanda is married to Ken Blanc, who also worked in insurance but gave up his job to support her career. They have two daughters and live in Hampshire. DISC ONE: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush DISC TWO: Town Called Malice - The Jam DISC THREE: Thank You for the Music - Abba DISC FOUR: Tainted Love - Soft Cell DISC FIVE: This is Me - Keala Settle DISC SIX: Dignity - Deacon Blue DISC SEVEN: The Man – Taylor Swift DISC EIGHT: Land of My Fathers - Welsh rugby fans at Six Nations Championship, 2013 BOOK CHOICE: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott LUXURY ITEM: A photo album CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Tainted Love - Soft Cell Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.9	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.6	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them
0:13.9	if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.5	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:21.2	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:30.1	Music Radio Music
0:42.8	My cast away this week is the business woman Amanda Blanc.
0:46.4	She's one of the most influential leaders in the city of London
0:49.9	and is currently group CEO of Aviva, the UK's largest insurer.
0:54.8	She has 30 years experience in her sector, starting out on the shop floor
0:59.2	and working her way up to the top.
1:01.2	She's now one of just eight female CEOs to lead a FTSE 100 company
1:06.1	and is credited with transforming its fortunes after a number of difficult years.
1:10.9	She grew up a world away from the corporate boardroom.
1:13.6	Her self-belief and resilience were instilled during her upbringing in a coal mining family
1:18.4	in the Ronda Valley.
1:19.8	Both qualities were in evidence when she spoke out against the sexist comments
1:23.5	aimed at her at her own company's AGM last year.
1:26.8	The story made headlines and her response to it won many fans.
1:30.8	She says, I'm a person who likes change and likes to fix things.
1:35.3	Want something comes a care and maintenance role?
	...

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