E144 - Amanda Blanc: Finding your voice and speaking up

This episode is the start of our CEO Series, in which we will be deep diving into what it takes to be a CEO.

Amanda Blanc is a Welsh businesswoman and the current CEO of Aviva, stepping into the role in July 2020. Amanda grew up in Rhondda valley in Wales, both her grandparents were miners. In this episode she shares how her childhood in Rhondda instilled in her the importance of community, freedom, happiness and fun. 

Amanda discusses what she has learnt from her role as CEO and how she approaches leading a million pound company. Communication is key for Amanda, she approaches every conversation with an open mind, wanting to learn how she can improve her work and in turn, the company. During Covid, Amanda would hold virtual town-halls in which she would invite colleagues to share their thoughts with her directly. A key learning for Amanda is, “be your own customer”. You need to use your own service, see how it functions as a user - the good and the bad parts. 

In this episode Jake, Damian and Amanda also discuss emotional intelligence, why she will always choose the hard option and how she dealt with being told she was not “the man for the job”.

Thank you to PwC for sponsoring this special CEO Series. PwC’s purpose is to build trust and solve important problems, and their global strategy - The New Equation - is bringing this to life for their clients, people and society. By combining technology with human ingenuity, passion and experience, PwC works with organisations to deliver more intelligent, sustained outcomes.