Inga Beale

Presenter0:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4. For rights reasons, the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.

Presenter0:10

For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk slash radio four.

Presenter0:34

My castaway this week is the business leader Inga Beale. She runs Lloyds of London, the first ever woman to hold the post in the insurer's three hundred and twenty eight year history. Measuring risk is her specialist skill, and has taken her to the very top of her profession.

Presenter0:50

But it's tempting to think it's served her pretty well in her personal life too.

Presenter0:54

Eight years ago, having invested a lifetime's hard work in the highly traditional male-dominated world of insurance.

Presenter1:01

She took a chance and came out as bisexual. In years gone by that might well have crippled a career. Instead, her timing and temerity only burnished her reputation. She's been hailed as a refreshing force in a business world striving to become accessible and relevant.

Presenter1:18

She says, inclusion is the foundation of innovation, and having an open, accepting and diverse workforce will enable us to succeed in a changing and challenging world. So welcome, Ingebiel.

Presenter1:31

Highly accomplished, doubtless very, very hard working, and yet you are, I guess, the poster girl for diversity. I wonder how that feels.

Inga Beale1:41

There feels like there's a lot of pressure on me, I have to admit, but it's a wonderful pressure. And I've been working in insurance for 34 years. And never, ever did I imagine when I started out in the 80s that I would reach a position like this, that I could be such a role model. And when I started, I didn't have any female role models. And I just think, gosh, how my life might have been different if I had. And now here I am. I can be one of those. And it actually feels fantastic.

Presenter2:14

And the pressure then comes from being expected not just to perform in your job, not just to be very, very good, but also to have opinions, to give speeches, to talk about your personal life in a public forum. Is that the pressure?

Inga Beale2:28

Yes, the pressure is about being, well, A, being very public about it and continuing to have the courage to talk openly about topics that are quite difficult, and particularly when you're running such a global business. Because, of course, attitudes and views are very different all around the world. So you've always got that pressure on how far can I go, what's appropriate to say in this environment. But I also have a challenging job. Yes. Lloyds is a fantastic place. It's steeped in history. But in order for it to be around for at least another 328 years, we've got to modernise the place. So I've got a really big, tough day job to do, as well as trying to talk about and open up people's minds to a much more inclusive environment. Yeah.

Inga Beale3:15

Yeah.

Presenter3:15

I hope you don't take offence at this, but most people don't get very excited about insurance. What are we missing?

Inga Beale3:21

Well, I started off as a trainee underwriter, and I was in a global environment. So one moment I was looking at something from Chile, the next thing I was looking at something from Australia, then I was moving to Japan.

Inga Beale3:33

And I know we see dreadful scenes of awful catastrophes around the world, and they are, and it's so tragic to see loss of life. But when you think that actually we can help put people's lives back together, because that's our job, when something goes wrong, we're there to support them, fund rebuilding their lives, rebuilding towns, cities, countries, that makes you feel very, very good.

Presenter3:56

Tell me about your first piece of music. What are we going to hear?

Inga Beale3:59

My first piece of music is Respect by Aretha Franklin. And why have you chosen this?

Inga Beale4:04

I think what she did with this song was empower women. And that's a lot about what I like to do and what I'm sort of seeking to do. Very impactful. Sort of took a song a bit about, I suppose, sex and love and turned it into quite a political movement.

Speaker 44:22

Yeah.

Speaker 44:24

Maybe I'll

Speaker 44:26

What do you need to do?

Speaker 44:28

You know I got it through

Speaker 44:30

All I'm asking is for a little respect when you're in the middle of the day. Just a little bit, baby. Just a little bit.

Speaker 44:39

A little bit, yesterday.

Speaker 44:43

I ain't gonna do you wrong!

Speaker 44:45

Why you go?

Speaker 44:47

They ain't gonna do it wrong. Cause I don't wanna

Presenter4:56

That was Aretha Franklin and respect. So, Ingeville, it was three hundred and twenty five years before a woman was appointed to run Lloyds of London. It was nineteen seventy three before a woman was even allowed to be a broker at Lloyds.

Presenter5:11

How would you characterize the culture in the city today for women?

Inga Beale5:16

It's changed dramatically since I've been working. It really has. There's a very, very different feel to it now. But there are still behaviours that go on that mean that if you sometimes you just don't feel you fit in, you can't have the same perhaps laddish conversations. And it doesn't just mean for women and women might feel excluded. It's all types of other behaviours that people perhaps they don't associate themselves with. And so when you've got a lot of people together who will behave in the same way and have the same thoughts, which is what's happened over the sort of centuries, if you like.

Inga Beale5:54

They all sort of club together. That's normal for them. So then when someone comes in who's a little bit different.

Inga Beale5:59

You just you just don't fit in.

Presenter6:01

You've got a workforce yourself of about eight hundred people. When you are recruiting for s senior roles, how much do you yourself consider somebody's ethnicity?

Presenter6:12

Religion or their sexuality or their potential disability, does it come into your mind? Well, what we're trying to do, of course, is block out that unconscious.

Inga Beale6:20

Spias.

Presenter6:21

Ver very, very difficult.

Inga Beale6:22

Yes, but we all fall into the trap. So I was just as guilty. When I was running a team in the city in the nineties, this was a trading environment, and the broker walked in one day

Presenter6:22

Yeah.

Inga Beale6:34

And he said, Oh, I got the short straw today. I got told I had to come and see the Spice girls.

Inga Beale6:41

So I'm looking at him saying, what do you mean? And he says, look. And I realize I've got five women there. And we've done exactly the same. We've fallen into the trap of being a little club because we have some sort of affinity. We feel comfortable with each other. So what I do now is I've learnt the hard way. Say, right, now we've got to try and banish those unconscious biases. Think much more openly and say, right, is this person any good? Are they the right fit and will they do a good job?

Presenter7:07

And so what should it be to do with targets being imposed from the outside? Or do we leave it up to the individual businesses to take that responsibility themselves? And do we punish them if they don't?

Inga Beale7:18

Well, there is a lot of debate around quotas, targets and then punishment. All I can say, and I we're not going out with any particular firm view in the market at the moment, but I was very, very lucky to work for an organization that had

Inga Beale7:35

Target set for its managers to promote women. And I benefited from that. I didn't know it at the time, but when I said no to the very first promotion I was offered, because I didn't think I had the confidence, a very senior woman came and sat with me and said, Inga, why did you not take the job? And I said, I can't do it. I'm not good enough. I had absolutely no confidence. I was part of a specific programme to promote women, and she was determined to get me to take that promotion.

Presenter8:04

Something else you've said that strikes me as very interesting previously is that.

Presenter8:09

You've said there's evidence that productivity is 30% lower among workers who hide their identity. Now where's your proof for that? That's a bold statement.

Inga Beale8:17

Well, there is some analysis that's been done, but I personally suffered with that myself. When I was first with a woman, this was in the days no mobile telephones. So any phone call went through the receptionist. And I worked for quite a small firm at the time. I told my partner, you cannot phone me in the office because I was so fearful that if she kept phoning me, people would be suspicious. Now, how ridiculous is that? That meant there was a whole part of me that was sort of left outside, and I felt I always had to de-genderise everything I was saying. And if you're

Speaker 18:31

Yeah.

Inga Beale8:54

constantly trying to be on the guard,

Inga Beale8:57

Being careful what you say. That affects actually how engaged you can be at work. And the most productive teams and the most successful teams, particularly if you're going into new areas, new markets, are diverse teams. You need the challenge. No CEO knows all the answers for a business.

Inga Beale9:14

More music in Gabil

Presenter9:16

Tell me about the Yeah.

Inga Beale9:17

Yeah.

Inga Beale9:18

My father always played the piano at home. I used to love it and I begged him to give me piano lessons. And at age seven I started learning to play the piano. And one of the songs that he used to sing and play was There Ain't No Body Here But Us Chickens. And it was one of the first songs when I was good enough. I learnt to play and I used to sing it out loud. And it just reminds me fondly of my father.

Speaker 19:43

One night Farmer Brown was taking the air Locked up the barnyard with the greatest of care Down in the hen house something stirred When he shouted, who's there? This is what he heard. There ain't nobody here but us chickens. There ain't nobody here at all. So calm yourself and stop that fuss. There ain't nobody here but us. We chickens trying to sleep and you butt in and hobble, hobble, hobble, hobble with your chin. There ain't nobody here but us chickens. There ain't nobody here at all. You're stomping around and shaking the ground. You're kicking up an awful dust. We chickens trying to sleep and you butt in. And hobble, hobble, hobble, hobble. It's a sin. Tomorrow is a busy day. We got things to do. We got eggs to lay. We got ground to dig and worms to scratch. It takes a lot of setting getting chicks to hatch. Oh, there.

Inga Beale10:12

I'm gonna have to go.

Presenter10:46

That was Louis Jordan and There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens. You chose that in Gabil because you say it was the first song that your father had taught you to play on piano and you sang it for many years. W were you something of a daddy's girl? Were you close to your dad?

Inga Beale10:58

Oh, yes, I was very much daddy's mother. I have uh an older brother and a younger sister, and they both had blonde hair, and I was the middle child, and I had dark hair. So from a very early age, I always felt I was the odd one out.

Presenter10:59

Yeah.

Inga Beale11:16

And my brother and sister, possibly because of the age difference between them, were much closest. And when my sister was born, my brother was a bit older. So my brother and sister, I felt at the time, were very, very close. And they used to actually tell me that I was adopted because of the colour of my hair. So I sort of then attached myself to my father. And I was always accompanying my father to things. He had some vintage cars. I used to be in the garage with him, helping him when he was tinkering away. They were buying my sister a guinea pig for her birthday. Somebody needed to help dad build the hutch. I was that person. I was the one who was with my dad. I would accompany him to the school library. He was the school librarian. I was always doing things with my father.

Presenter12:04

And was it quite a liberal household? I I get that impression from stuff that I've read.

Inga Beale12:08

Yes, my um my father, I suppose, he was a little bit of a rebel, I think, when he was younger.

Inga Beale12:15

He never quite wanted to behave, so he actually went to Oxford University.

Inga Beale12:19

But then the first thing he did for a job was he worked for Marley Tiles and he was a roofer.

Inga Beale12:25

So he he always had this sort of feeling in him, sometimes that he didn't quite want to conform to things. Now, I think I've picked a little bit of that up. I think you might have, Inga.

Presenter12:34

You might have in gun.

Inga Beale12:36

But it made him actually it was he was also very, very, very liberal.

Inga Beale12:40

And he he actually fell in love with Scandinavia during the war because he was posted in in Finland during the war. And he met his first wife in Finland, married her, brought her back to England. That didn't last, and then he was so enthralled by Scandinavians that he was a member of the Scandinavian Society at Oxford. My mother came over as a student from Norway. He met her at one of their events, chased her down and persuaded her to come back and said, Come and marry me and come and move to England.

Inga Beale13:10

Tell me about your next piece of music.

Presenter13:11

Then and did why you've chosen it.

Inga Beale13:14

Yes, my mother coming from Norway meant Norwegian things were very much part of our life at home and every year we went to Norway on holiday to meet all the rest of our family. She died in 2009 and we wanted to reflect that Norwegian ancestry. So this is a piece from Grieg's Peergind and it's called Morning Mood.

Presenter14:37

That was Morning Mood from Grieg's Peergind, played there by the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley. Social mobility remains, well, s stubbornly intransigent here in the UK. Most of the people who get the top jobs, and as a result, most of the people who earn most, have been private school educated.

Presenter14:55

You went to a state school. What what was it you were learning there, Ingabil, that made a difference to your outlook and your ambitions, do you think?

Inga Beale15:04

Well, I went to an all-girls' school, or it was at the time when I started. However, hm, I was rather a rebel, so after about eleven or twelve, I didn't study very hard, and so for me it's quite difficult to actually say that the school itself had a big impact on me.

Presenter15:26

And the rebel would mean what, not doing homework or

Inga Beale15:29

Not turning up at class? I never played truant, but in my first year we had our exams and I was pretty good at French, but I came second in the class and I think I scored something like ninety six percent.

Inga Beale15:45

And my father was a teacher at the sort of parallel school, the boys' grammar school, and he was a language teacher. He spoke many languages. And when we had the results come out, the teacher said, Oh, well, Caroline, I think her name was Caroline, she got ninety eight per cent, she was first. Inger was second with ninety six per cent.

Inga Beale16:03

Unfortunate, isn't it, Inger? Because you should have been first, because of course your dad would have been much prouder. And she said something like that to me.

Inga Beale16:11

And it gave me su I mean, I had such an adverse reaction, and from then on it was quite difficult for me to, um, I don't know, work hard at school. It had a profound impact on me.

Presenter16:23

And the impact was what you you felt angry at her for presuming to make such a statement, or you felt worried that you would have disappointed your dad?

Inga Beale16:30

No, no, not n I wouldn't not have worried about disappointing my dad, because he was th my my mother and father were very, very supportive. I was so angry that I thought I had done really, really, really well, and she'd basically told me I hadn't. Let's go to your next piece of music, Ingebil. We're going to hear your fourth. Tell me about this. So when I was a teenager,

Presenter16:39

Yeah.

Inga Beale16:48

I got in with a group of friends and many of them were not at school, so I might have been 14, 15, 16, but I was with friends who were much older and had already left school. And I got big time into reggae, and I had some friends who played in a reggae band. It was white reggae. In Newbury at that time, there weren't terribly many black faces around, so we were all white, but we played in this reggae band. We loved the music.

Inga Beale17:15

And I used to listen to Bob Marley incessantly in those days. So I've chosen a Bob Marley track, which is Could You Be Loved?

Speaker 417:58

Even try to

Presenter18:04

That was Bob Marley and Could You Be Loved? Ingebil, you didn't go to university, but you did start a job as a very junior underwriter. Just describe to me not the job, but the the office culture.

Inga Beale18:17

Yeah.

Inga Beale18:17

That was in the early 80s, in 82 I started. Now, having not had any money really up until then, and suddenly you're in the city and you're earning. So you suddenly had all this money and it was so exciting. And you were looking at fascinating risks from all over the world. It was a very male culture. And I was at one time I was one female out of 35 underwriters.

Inga Beale18:45

And I started to behave very much like them because I wanted to fit in. Which method do they?

Presenter18:49

Which meant doing what? What sort of things?

Inga Beale18:52

Um

Inga Beale18:53

Going to the pub and and having to drink with them the same drinks that they were drinking, things like that. And I did start to play rugby. It wasn't because of the male behaviour, I just happened to get into rugby, but it did enable you to be thought of as quite strong and tough, and they would often talk about me being a rugby player, you know, you don't you want to mess with her. So, in a way, it sort of helped me feel that I actually belonged to this very male society.

Presenter19:24

Tell me about your next piece of music. We're on your fifth disc of the day.

Inga Beale19:28

Yes. So in the late eighties I was working in this very male chauvinistic environment in the city, and one day a particularly sexist thing happened and I decided to quit. Oh, come on. What was it?

Inga Beale19:42

Well, we were hosting in the office we were hosting a series of cocktail parties for the cricket that was going on in the West Indies, and the manager's wife worked for the Jamaican Tourist Board, and she'd managed to get all these posters.

Inga Beale19:54

for Jamaica. And at that time, you can imagine what they were. There was a woman in a bikini, there was a a woman in a bikini with a wet T-shirt, there was a woman with no bikini but a wet T-shirt. So we had them all around and we were having a series of cocktail parties celebrating the cricket.

Inga Beale20:11

And after about three weeks the posters were still up on the walls and I went into my manager and I said, I really think you should take them down now. I think I've been really, you know, really good sport. And he said, Yes, Inga, we'll do that immediately.

Inga Beale20:24

The next day I came in.

Inga Beale20:28

I walked around the corner and saw my desk, and my desk was wrapped up in the posters.

Inga Beale20:32

And I thought, oh.

Inga Beale20:34

This isn't for me. And I turned around and I walked out. And then I disappeared for three days. And then I finally told my manager I can't do it anymore, I'm leaving. So I left the city.

Inga Beale20:44

Bought a round the world ticket. Didn't know what I was really going to do.

Inga Beale20:48

And before I left, a dear friend of mine, he made a cassette tape and put a lot of music on for me.

Inga Beale20:54

And this partic piece of music I used to play a lot as I was travelling on my own all around the world, and I so sort of imagined that one day I would come home and really be loved by somebody. So this is called A Man Is in Love by The Water Boys.

Speaker 421:09

Man is in love

Speaker 421:13

How did I get

Speaker 421:17

He lived out what hell he was.

Speaker 421:20

Watching your dress

Speaker 421:24

Give you his own

Speaker 421:28

But the grease

Speaker 421:31

Man is in love.

Speaker 421:33

He's me.

Presenter21:42

A man is in love, the Water Boys. You said Ingabil, that was on your cassette tape, remember those? Um so you bought the ticket, as you say, you you didn't have a a travel itinerary and you didn't have any money, so you you had to get jobs on the way.

Inga Beale21:56

Yes, so a really important part of that trip was working for the BBC as it happens in Sydney. Every day in Sydney they used to have a place you could go very early in the morning and they would hand out jobs on a you know first come, first serve basis. And I went there one morning and I got offered ah the BBC need a receptionist. So I sat in the BBC's office in Sydney as a receptionist.

Presenter22:03

Yeah.

Speaker 122:03

Per sixteen.

Inga Beale22:21

And interestingly, at that time the manager of the office was a woman, and of course that was quite alien to me, having come from the city.

Inga Beale22:31

Here in London. And the most important thing was she was respected as the manager. Nobody made a comment that she was a woman. She wore trousers to the office.

Inga Beale22:42

And there she wasn't, she was herself and she was confident and I just thought, Wow, look at this look what you can achieve This is incredible She totally inspired me. Came back and I ended up back

Presenter22:52

And you you progressed through insurance. By the the time of the nineties you were at a company called GE Solutions and you said to me earlier, you know, you at one point you had turned down promotion when it was offered to you. That that was the company you turned down promotion at, I think, am I right about that? That was at GE.

Inga Beale23:07

Yeah.

Presenter23:08

You see, I can't imagine you not being confident enough to accept a promotion. What did you think when you were offered this promotion?

Inga Beale23:16

I was petrified. There was no way I felt that I was equipped or good enough, actually, to do the job. So I did have this mentor who came along and she spoke to me and I said, well, maybe I just need a confidence building course. So I went on a week's course called Assertiveness for Women. One of the exercises we had to do, and I remember it quite vividly, they asked you to take all these magazines and in silence, on your own, cut out pictures from magazines, newspapers, and build a collage of how you viewed yourself.

Inga Beale23:49

And I can remember putting pictures on there, making me out to be some ice queen, untouchable, unapproachable.

Inga Beale23:56

And yet when we then had the feedback from each other as to how they all perceived you,

Inga Beale24:02

Everyone had a completely different perception of me than I did of um of myself. They gave you some ideas about how to dress for success. I mean, it sounds a bit corny.

Inga Beale24:11

But I honestly, it had a profound impact on my life. And I came out of there feeling like a different person. Me too. Yeah, felt like a million dollars. I felt like I could do anything. I went straight into the manager's office and said, I'll take the job, thank you.

Presenter24:24

Yeah.

Inga Beale24:25

Is it?

Presenter24:25

Yeah.

Inga Beale24:25

In

Presenter24:25

Good deal.

Inga Beale24:26

Tell me about this, you're sixth.

Inga Beale24:28

Yes, so I'm someone who who's not terribly good at routines. I'm not very good at going to see a film for the second time, let alone a third time.

Inga Beale24:38

But this musical grabbed my attention like nothing else. It was the Queen musical, We Will Rock You?

Inga Beale24:45

And I saw it three times in London, and then I even saw it a fourth time when I was living in Zurich. We went along to see it. It was actually all in German, and it was the most disappointing experience. But nonetheless, there were some fantastic uplifting songs in there, and the one I've chosen is called Don't Stop Me Now.

Speaker 425:09

It's turning inside out, yeah Folling around in ecstasy So don't stop me now Don't stop me cause I'm having a good time Having a good time

Speaker 425:31

Stars in the sky, like the tiger.

Presenter25:41

From the original London cast recording of the musical We Will Rock You, that was Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. Ingabil, it was two thousand eight then, when you made the decision to come out at work. Wh why, then?

Inga Beale25:52

Yeah.

Inga Beale25:54

I was going for a new job.

Inga Beale25:57

And I decided that I'd had enough of having this dual life, and that actually not only was it not fair on me, but it certainly wasn't fair on my partner.

Inga Beale26:08

And I remember when we moved to Kansas City. That was way before 2008.

Inga Beale26:13

The state there did not allow same-sex they didn't recognize same-sex relationships, so my partner had to come in as a student. So we'd lived a secret for many years, and then I had the opportunity to be interviewed with this new job, and I said, I'm no longer doing this. It's draining, it's exhausting, and it's absolutely not fair on my partner. So I made that decision, and during the very first interview, I told the CEO who was interviewing me, and he didn't bat an eyelid. And I thought, why, why, why did I not say it earlier?

Inga Beale26:47

Yeah.

Presenter26:47

You were a high-achieving, highly intelligent woman. Why didn't you say it earlier?

Inga Beale26:51

You think people will judge you. But I think it was more the fear of the unknown. I mean, y you just didn't know what would happen to you. There wasn't there weren't role models. There wasn't somebody there, already working there, who was out, that I thought, well, look what they're doing. Look how successful they've been. It hasn't harmed them. There was nobody for me to see in that position. So I was so fearful of what the repercussions could be.

Presenter27:16

In October last year you topped a power list of the world's leading one hundred LGBT executives. You are now married to a man.

Presenter27:25

How important is it that people who interact with you know your back story?

Presenter27:32

Because you would prevent you would present as an entirely sort of typical heterosexual couple. There you are with your husband.

Inga Beale27:40

Yes.

Inga Beale27:42

I suppose, being in this position, though, I don't often meet people who don't know about my past. So it is it is quite well known. Would we bring it up in conversation the first time we meet strangers? Probably not actually. It's not something that we sort of constantly talk about between us. My husband I mean he's an artist, he's very different to me, he's not in the business world, but it isn't like a topic that worries us or concerns us or gets in the way. We just get on with life, and I think that's that's what's important.

Presenter28:13

Individually have you found yourself, since you came out and you lived a more honest life in your in your business life, have you found yourself more productive? Are you better at your job?

Inga Beale28:24

Oh, I think I'm much better at my job. Yeah, I really do. It it does impact you if you can bring your whole self to work. And I know there are boundaries and and people

Inga Beale28:34

People have their own levels of what they want to reveal. We all do, we all do with our friends. I mean, it's not just in the workplace. You might tell one thing to one person, you might tell a slightly

Inga Beale28:44

less full story to another. We all do that all the time, to whatever makes us feel comfortable. But I certainly feel that with um with not having ha have having to have any secrets and not having to disguise where I was at the weekend or who I was with, um, it it's just much more fulfilling, it's more satisfying and bringing your whole self to work, nothing more invigorating.

Presenter29:06

Time for some more music, Ingebil. Tell me about your seventh disc. What's this?

Inga Beale29:11

So my husband's from South Africa, and through that I had my very first trip to South Africa. And we went to this amazing restaurant that was right on the beach. The waves were crashing in, the windows were open, we had this fantastic dinner.

Inga Beale29:29

And then the live music started, and we danced and danced and danced. I don't really remember any of the specific songs that were played, but I've chosen one that reminds me and conjures up wonderful memories of that fantastic evening, and it's Pata Patter by Miriam

Speaker 429:45

Saku Puga Sati Bega Da Ti Patapa, Saku Poga Sati Bega, Nati Patapa, Saku Poga Sati Pega, that Tata Pa, Saku Puga Sati Bega, Nati Pata Yama, Mayama, Nati Patapotoi Yama, Mayama, A T Pa, Ayamo, Mayam.

Speaker 430:11

That tips I'm a major.

Presenter30:20

Miriam McGeeba and Patta Pata. Britain's possible exit from the EU is the probably the single biggest factor being debated right now here in the UK. A previous castaway said to me that they were on balance in favour of getting out. Lloyd's position, as I understand it, is firmly in the remain camp. Why is that?

Inga Beale30:40

Lloyds is a very global business and nearly 20% of the business that we have in the market comes from continental Europe and the reason we're able to access that business is because we're part of the EU, so we have automatic passporting rights and insurance is highly regulated, so you have to be regulated to trade in all of those countries.

Inga Beale31:03

If we were not to be in the EU, it would mean we'd have to individually negotiate access to those markets. And we can't guarantee that we would have the same rights to do that business. And it's an important part of actually contributing to the GDP of this country.

Presenter31:21

A little bit more of the personal before we go to your final disc. You said that the, as far as you're concerned, the key to a successful career is, in your words, performance, image and exposure. I wonder if you would also accept that for people like yourself who rise above the crowd, who are highly successful, there is also that key ingredient.

Presenter31:41

of a a very personal inner drive that gets you there.

Inga Beale31:46

Yes, so it's absolutely fascinating though, because where did it come from? I have absolutely no idea. I just know now that I am very determined, very resilient, and I just want to continue to empower people. There's nothing more fulfilling than seeing other people be successful.

Inga Beale32:07

And if there's one thing you can do as a CEO, you can form teams, you can give them goals, objectives and get them to deliver and then they feel that success. And that is the most fulfilling thing that I see in my job.

Inga Beale32:21

Yeah.

Presenter32:21

Cast away to this island, there will be no team to motivate there will just be you all on your lonesome.

Presenter32:27

I imagine you'll be fine. What do you think?

Inga Beale32:29

I'm not very good on my own. I get a bars walking through the streets of London because this it's so full of people. So I imagine I might struggle a little bit. More music, Ingebil. Tell me about your eighth disc. What are we going to hear?

Inga Beale32:43

So I made it through to 50 a few years ago and I was so joyous that I'd made it to 50 and that I was going to have yet another decade, decades more to go. However, I do know that, you know, I'm quite tough, I have to be, I guess, to be in business. And so this song I've chosen because it was typical of how I was feeling at the time. It's called Sweet About Me.

Speaker 433:09

And you're playing with your side

Speaker 433:11

Don't come running to my place when it burns like me.

Speaker 433:17

Nothing's here about me

Speaker 433:22

Sweet about me Nothing sweet about me Yeah, sweet about me

Speaker 433:32

Nothing sweet about me Yeah, sweet about me

Speaker 433:39

Nothing seen about me.

Presenter33:45

Gabriella Chilmi and Sweet About Me. So, Ingabiel, I'm going to give you some books now. You get to take the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare to this island. What else are you going to take?

Inga Beale33:56

My father loved books, and he was always trying to get me to read them, and I really, really didn't read them.

Inga Beale34:05

And yet it was much later in life, and I was in my twenties, I'd left home. I went one day to collect all my books from home, and I started looking through them, and one of them caught my attention. It was The Last of the Mohicans, and it was particularly designed to attract children to it. And I took that on the train one day as I was commuting into the city.

Inga Beale34:28

And I couldn't put it down. And I thought, why did I not read before? And that book has just stayed in my memory, probably also because of the connection with family and what a lovely, happy childhood I did have, even though I was a rebel. We'll give you that then. You're allowed a luxury as well. I do travel a lot with my job. And when I thought about a luxury, I thought, hmm, what's the one thing I miss when I'm travelling? And it happens wherever you go outside of the UK. I miss my lovely, warm, sweet cup of milky tea. So you could have one of those every day?

Presenter35:00

I suppose I think you probably could. Oh, that would be lovely. And if you had to save.

Inga Beale35:01

Could I think you

Inga Beale35:04

Yeah.

Presenter35:06

One of these eight disks from the waves. Which one would it be, I wonder?

Inga Beale35:09

Just one. Patter patter. Because it would make me keep moving. It's the one there that really gets to my feet and would keep me moving.

Presenter35:18

It's yours. Ingebil, thank you very much for letting us hear your desert island discs. Thank you.

Presenter36:03

You've been listening to a download from the BBC.

Presenter36:06

You'll find more information on the Radio 4 website bbc.co.uk/slash radio4