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Tidjane Thiam

Kirsty Young talks to castaway Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Prudential.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is businessman Tidjane Thiam.

He's chief executive of the Prudential, but he's about as far from the archetypal "man from the Pru" as you can get.
The seeds of his success were sown amid the complex political terrain of the Ivory Coast with an extended family heavily involved in politics and a father imprisoned for his beliefs. His life quickly took on an international flavour from West Africa to Morocco, Paris to Washington, but in his early 30s a coup in his homeland left him high and dry. He says "I had no job, no career, nothing at all. It taught me a lot about myself. If you've been in a situation where you have nothing there's nothing much you're afraid of."

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 9 Nov 2012 09:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Music Played

  • Bob Marley

    Redemption Song

    • Tuff Gong.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • IsmaΓ«l LΓ΄

      Tadieu Bone

      • Best of Ismael Lo.
      • Sono Disc..

  • Charles Aznavour

    Hier Encore

    • 20 Chansons d’Or.
    • EMI.

  • Stevie Wonder

    Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away

    • Fulfillingness' First Finale.
    • Universal.

  • Emeli SandΓ©

    Read all about it

    • Our Version of Events.
    • Virgin.

  • Ennio Morricone

    Once upon a time in the West

    • Once upon a time in the West.
    • RCA.

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Che faro senza Euridice

    Soloist: Janet Baker Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Raymond Leppard

    • The Legendary Dame Janet Baker.
    • Philips.

  • Frank Sinatra

    Fly Me to the Moon

    Composer: Bart Howard

    • Warner.

  • Book Choice

    • The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

  • Luxury Choice

    • Solar-powered ice-cream maker

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Tidjane Thiam

Broadcasts

  • Sun 4 Nov 2012 11:15
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Fri 9 Nov 2012 09:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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