BLANC
Amanda

• 1. Early life
• 2. Career

Amanda Blanc is a Welsh businesswoman who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Aviva since July 2020. She was previously CEO EMEA & Global Banking at Zurich and Group CEO AXA UK, PPP & Ireland at Axa. The first woman to chair the Association of British Insurers and a past president of the Chartered Insurance Institute, she holds a number of non-executive roles, including chair of the Welsh Professional Rugby Board.

Early life

Blanc was born and brought up in Treherbert in the Rhondda valley. She and her sister attended Treorchy Comprehensive School. Both her grandfathers were miners. She studied Modern History at the University of Liverpool and later graduated from the University of Leeds with an MBA.

Career

After graduating, she obtained a graduate role with Commercial Union (which later became part of Aviva) in Luton. Blanc went on to become a fleet and casualty underwriter, then an area development manager and the youngest and first woman to work as a Commercial Union branch manager.[4] She left Commercial Union in 1999 for EY and soon after joined Axa for the first time as Regional Director. In December 2003, she joined Groupama, in the newly-created role of distribution and customer services director.

In 2006 Blanc moved to Towergate Insurance, where she had responsibility for the retail broking division, and in 2010 she was promoted to deputy CEO. 

Blanc joined Axa in February 2011 to lead the commercial division, at a time when it was rumoured that the UK business was to be put up for sale by its French parent company. The business survived and was later held up by Axa Group as a best practice example. At this time, Blanc was received the Insurance Times 'CEOs CEO of the Year' award twice in three years (2013 and 2015). In 2015 she was given responsibility for the entire General Insurance division for Axa in UK & Ireland and then a year later became Group CEO AXA UK, PPP & Ireland.

Blanc was announced as CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Zurich in April 2018. A little over a year later she had resigned. Blanc did not comment on the reasons why but “personality clashes” between her and Group CEO Mario Greco were cited by sources. She was also required to step down as chair of the ABI as protocol dictates that only a sitting insurance CEO can hold the role.

Since leaving Zurich, Blanc has started in seven non-executive roles: three InsurTec startups – Laka, Trov and RightIndem, OSG,Aviva PLC, Chair of specialist Lloyd’s of London motor insurer ERS, and chair of the Welsh Professional Rugby Board, a voluntary position.

Blanc was the first woman to chair the ABI, and was previously chair of the ABI General Insurance committee. She was first woman to chair the Insurance Fraud Bureau and served as president of the Chartered Insurance Institute. In April 2020 Blanc was asked by the Government to lead a review into the 2019 floods. The report was published in November 2020.