Tidjane Thiam an executive director, sitting on the plc board. In January 2007, after Richard Harvey announced he would step down as chief executive of Aviva, Thiam was tipped as a possible future head of the group. Thiam left Aviva in September 2007 to become chief financial officer of Prudential plc. In March 2009, Thiam was named chief executive, effective from October, after Mark Tucker chose to step down. The appointment made him the first African to lead a FTSE 100 listed company. His departure from the role was announced on 10 March 2015. After he became chief executive, Prudential launched a
Awa Thiam first groups of black feminists in France. Having gained multiple degrees overseas, Thiam returned to Senegal, and became Assistant Professor of Research at the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa at Cheihk Anta Diop University of Dakar. In 1987, Thiam petitioned the institution to build a Department of Anthropology of the Sexes, but her idea was ultimately rejected by the administration. In pursuit of improving the lives and status of African women, Thiam was a founding member of the Commission of the Abolition of Sexual Mutilation (also known as CAMS or Commission pour l'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles, in French), which was