Tidjane Thiam Since November 2002, Tidjane Thiam, an Ivorian national, has been Group Strategy and Development Director, Aviva plc. Aviva is the fifth largest insurance company in the world and is the largest British insurance company. It trades in the UK under the name Norwich Union. With a turnover of more than USD 50 billion it is the 53rd company in the Global Fortune 500 ranking. Tidjane Thiam began his professional career in 1986 in Paris as an international consultant with McKinsey & Company. In 1994, Mr Thiam was called back to his country to become the first Ivorian Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau for Technical Studies and Development (the BNETD), reporting directly to the President and the Prime Minister. In August 1998, Mr Thiam was appointed Chairman of the BNETD and Minister of Planning and Development of Côte d'Ivoire, a position he held until December 1999. He was responsible for strategic planning, for coordination of public investment in infrastructure and for poverty alleviation. In recognition of his work, Mr Thiam was named a member of the Davos World Economic Forum's annual 1999 Dream Cabinet. In October 1999 James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, appointed Tidjane Thiam one of 20 members of the External Advisory Council of the World Bank Institute in Washington, D.C. Tidjane Thiam is also member of the Commission for Africa, where he was responsible (with Nancy Kassebaum Baker) for the peace and security theme). The Commission was established to take a fresh look at Africa's past and present and the international community's role in its development path. Its report was launched in March 2005 and can be downloaded at www.commissionforafrica.org.