Since 2000, Tidjane Thiam has been Group Strategy and Development Director, Aviva Plc. Aviva is the world's seventh-largest insurance group and the biggest in the UK.

Tidjane Thiam gained a degree in Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique in 1984, and a degree in Civil Engineering, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, France, in 1986. In 1988 he received a MBA (Hons), INSEAD, France. He was a Consultant, Strategy and Organisation, McKinsey & Company, France, 1986-89 and 1989-94. In 1990 he was a Young Professional at the World Bank in Washington. Between 1994 and 1999 he was Director-General of the Bureau National d'Etudes Techniques et de Développement (BNETD).