Dame Amanda Jayne Blanc DBE (born 8 August 1967)[1] is a Welsh businesswoman who has been the group chief executive officer of Aviva since July 2020.
[8] 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.
[13] Blanc did not comment on the reasons why but “personality clashes”[14][15] between her and Group CEO Mario Greco were cited by sources.
[17] After leaving Zurich, Blanc started in seven non-executive roles: three InsurTec startups – Laka,[18] Trov[19] and RightIndem,[20] OSG,[21] Aviva PLC,[9][22] Chair of specialist Lloyd's of London motor insurer ERS,[23] and chair of the Welsh Professional Rugby Board, a voluntary position.
[27] On 17 March 2021, Blanc was appointed HM Treasury's Women in Finance Champion, succeeding Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia.
[30][31][32] In February 2022, she was appointed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's new Business Council, advising the government on matters such as recovery from COVID-19 and unlocking global investment.
[42][43][44] In December 2024, Elon Musk publicly labelled ‘people like Blanc’ as racist, in response to comments she had made a year prior regarding the recruitment of ‘non-diverse’ candidates at Aviva.
[59] She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to business, gender equality and net-zero.
[4] Blanc was a guest on the long running BBC Radio 4 series Desert Island Discs, hosted by Lauren Laverne in March 2023.