Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Group CEO of Aviva, the UK's largest insurer, and one of only eight female FTSE 100 CEOs, credited with transforming the company's fortunes.
On the island
Eight records
I basically get the absolute joy of seeing the city wake up. So, I look out onto Tower Bridge, onto Canary Wharf, and I basically see the lights come up in the city, the office lights come on, and I'm cycling away, getting myself ready for the day. And you just think how lucky I am to be able to exercise, to be able to listen to this wonderful music, and to do what I do.
When I watched the film Billy Elliot, the bit where he taps his way through all of these houses in deep frustration, right, around the fact that his family didn't understand that he wanted to be a ballet dancer. And in that, obviously the lines of the houses just reminds me of Ronda Valley and just brought back so many memories.
Tainted LoveFavourite
This takes me back to 1981. Me and my best friend, Catherine Savage, on the beach in Aber Avon. You know, you do those things where you record it on your tape recorder. I know you're not meant to do that. So tape it off the radio. Tape off the radio on a Sunday night. And then you'd have your pencil and you'd rind it back and then you'd play it again. And, you know, you'd like to think that it was a little bit like the Algarve in Aborab and it was not. It was probably cold and windy, but we loved this song and we played this song constantly.
That song particularly just really was just a monumental song. ... Be yourself. And I think there's too often that goes on a lot in the city. You know, you're pretending to be something that you're not. And in my whole career, I think I've seen a lot of that. But I just think if you turn up as yourself, you can't go far wrong.
This is the song really for Ken. He's a really bright guy, you know, physics graduate, an MBA, and he gave all of that app to support the family. And of course, that decision is taken in many households in the reverse. So I think it's really important to acknowledge that. And then there's the deal that you have to have around. How you communicate with each other and how you respect each other, and how that communication needs to be really, really strong between the two of you. It doesn't always work, but you know, I think it's key. And of course, Ken is Scottish, and so there's a little bit about that in it as well. But this is a song that he loves. The children will always go, oh, when this song comes on, because we both sing it really loud.
My 16-year-old daughter is a massive Taylor Swift fan, and that's part of the reason for the song. But the other reason for the song is that Taylor Swift, I think, is pretty iconic in terms of the way she has stood up for herself. I think if you listen to the words which you'll hear in the opening, you know, she's basically saying, Do I have to be like this to be able to be successful? An alpha male. And I would say, you do not have to be like that.
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Welsh National Anthem)
But it has to be a very specific version of the Welsh national anthem, which is the version which was sung before Wales beat England in what was then the Millennium Stadium. And, you know, there we are in our stadium, 70,000 people with the yellow daffodil hats and all the anticipation and the players sort of holding on to each other. You know, all these phenomenal players and the emotion on their face as they sing this song and that the music. And let's be honest, it's the best anthem. I mean, it is the best anthem. And you see our sort of, if you like, older brother, the England fans, you know, a slight nod to say, that's a good anthem. You know, that's good. We recognise that that is good and we like to hear you sing it. I'll give you that.
In conversation
Presenter asks
16:16How did you react when you got the job [as branch manager in Leicester]?
I mean, how is this going to pan out? And I say this to all the people I speak to today. You know, if I'm speaking to a 25-year-old and they'll say, you know, when you do the results, how you know, you look so confident. And I'm going, what, you think that I don't feel butterflies? You think that I'm not nervous? Even today.
Presenter asks
19:32Why weren't you sure you should take the CEO post [at Towergate Insurance] when you were offered it in 2006?
Really, my husband said, actually, I think you're going to do really well, and I want to support you in that. And I'm happy to give up my career for you to do that.
Presenter asks
26:26What happened at the Welsh Rugby Union Board that led you to resign, and how did the experience leave you feeling?
Which was undertaken about the way that women were treated very, very differently to men. And I called for the women's review to be made public and I called for the board governance to be modernized. And neither of those two things have happened. And we find ourselves now in the situation where a lot of women have come forward to say that they were badly treated. And so it left me feeling deeply frustrated, very sad, actually. But I'm hopeful that with the review that's now been undertaken, and I hope that, you know, I hope that I'm asked to contribute to that review, that there will be change. But it needs to change.
The keepsakes
The book
Louisa May Alcott
I just read this book maybe a hundred times when I was younger. Four very different women, well, five of you include the mum. And I just love it. It's a great story.
The luxury
photo album of all the photos I've ever taken
I'm going to take the photo album of all the photos I've ever taken. Not of the shoes, to be clear. Not of the shoes, to be clear. To just be totally clear. Because I think that that will help. You know, if you can't be physically with somebody, then at least you can be able to see them. So friends and family would be too.
“I mean, how is this going to pan out? And I say this to all the people I speak to today. You know, if I'm speaking to a 25-year-old and they'll say, you know, when you do the results, how you know, you look so confident. And I'm going, what, you think that I don't feel butterflies? You think that I'm not nervous? Even today.”
“Really, my husband said, actually, I think you're going to do really well, and I want to support you in that. And I'm happy to give up my career for you to do that.”
“Which was undertaken about the way that women were treated very, very differently to men. And I called for the women's review to be made public and I called for the board governance to be modernized. And neither of those two things have happened. And we find ourselves now in the situation where a lot of women have come forward to say that they were badly treated. And so it left me feeling deeply frustrated, very sad, actually. But I'm hopeful that with the review that's now been undertaken, and I hope that, you know, I hope that I'm asked to contribute to that review, that there will be change. But it needs to change.”