Tidjane Thiam 1994 to 1999 he worked in the Ivory Coast first as chief executive of the National Bureau for Technical Studies (BNETD). Following the 1999 Ivorian coup d'état, he resumed a private sector career and rejoined McKinsey in Paris from 2000 to 2002, then worked as a senior executive for Aviva before being recruited by Prudential. Thiam was born in the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) on 29 July 1962. He is a descendant of two prominent families from Senegal and Ivory Coast. On his mother’s side, he is a descendant of Yamousso, after whom the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Yamoussoukro, is
Tidjane Thiam named. Thiam's mother, Marietou, was the niece of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the founder and first President of Côte d'Ivoire. His father, Amadou Thiam, a journalist, was born in Senegal and emigrated to Côte d'Ivoire in 1947. He supported Houphouet-Boigny in his fight for the independence of the country and served more than ten years in the Ivorian cabinet after independence. Tidjane’s uncle, Habib Thiam, was Prime Minister of Senegal for more than 10 years and also served as President of the National Assembly. In 1982 Thiam was the first Ivorian to pass the entrance examination to the École Polytechnique in Paris.