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.
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Music Played
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Bob Marley
Redemption Song
- Tuff Gong.
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Castaway's Favourite
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Ismaël Lô
Tadieu Bone
- Best of Ismael Lo.
- Sono Disc..
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Charles Aznavour
Hier Encore
- 20 Chansons d’Or.
- EMI.
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Stevie Wonder
Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away
- Fulfillingness' First Finale.
- Universal.
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Emeli Sandé
Read all about it
- Our Version of Events.
- Virgin.
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Ennio Morricone
Once upon a time in the West
- Once upon a time in the West.
- RCA.
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Christoph Willibald Gluck
Che faro senza Euridice
Soloist: Janet Baker Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Raymond Leppard
- The Legendary Dame Janet Baker.
- Philips.
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Frank Sinatra
Fly Me to the Moon
Composer: Bart Howard
- Warner.
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Book Choice
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The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Luxury Choice
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Solar-powered ice-cream maker
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Kirsty Young |
| Interviewed Guest | Tidjane Thiam |
Broadcasts
- Sun 4 Nov 2012 11:15BBC Radio 4
- Fri 9 Nov 2012 09:00BBC Radio 4
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