Tidjane Thiam, 43, formerly Aviva’s group strategy and development director, has been appointed managing director of Aviva Life International (ALI), as of 1 January 2006.
Tidjane Thiam, 43, formerly Aviva’s group strategy and development director, has been appointed managing director of Aviva Life International (ALI), as of 1 January 2006. In this new role, he will have operational responsibility for Aviva’s activities in the USA, Southern Europe (Italy and Spain), Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania) and Turkey; these regions represent a considerable portion of Aviva’s worldwide turnover and profits.
Commenting on this appointment, Richard Harvey, group chief executive, said: “Tidjane has successfully managed numerous initiatives over the past three years, contributing decisively to the group’s growth. Continuing the development of our activities at the international level remains an absolutely central element of our strategy. The knowledge that Tidjane has of our sector as well as his vast international experience will be priceless to us in his new role.”
Before joining Aviva at the end of 2002, Tidjane Thiam spent a large part of his career at McKinsey & Company, where he was a Partner.
From 1994 to 1999, he took a break from his career as a consultant to contribute to the development of his native Ivory Coast. There, he held successive posts as Director General of the National Office for Technical Studies and Development (the BNETD), and Minister for Planning, until the 1999 coup d’état.
In recognition of the work he carried out during his time in Africa, in 2004 he was one of the few African leaders appointed to the Commission for Africa by the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. In 1999, Tidjane had already been named a member of the Dream Cabinet which is appointed each year by the Davos World Economic Forum.
Tidjane is a former student of France’s prestigious Ecole Polytechnique and graduated in engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Paris. He also holds an MBA from the INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau.
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Contacts in the UK:
Media
Hayley Stimpson, Director of External Affairs +44 (0)20 7662 7544
Nuno Da Camara, Group Media Relations Manager +44 (0)20 7662 2482
Analysts
Charles Barrows, Investor Relations Director +44 (0)20 7662 8115
Nicole Marques, Investor Relations Manager +44 (0)20 7662 8302
Notes to editors:
- Aviva is one of Europe’s leading providers of life insurance and pensions with strong positions in other markets around the world.
- Aviva is the world’s sixth-largest insurance group based on gross premiums and accumulation (at 31.12.2004).
- Aviva operates in three main areas: life insurance and long-term savings, asset management and non-life insurance. Its annual premium income totals almost Ł40 billion and its managed assets stood at more than Ł280 billion on 31 December 2004.
- Visit www.aviva.com/media to access a database of press releases, information about the Group and its products, and some photos.