Interview: Virgin Money CEO Jayne-Anne Gadhia on glass ceilings and financial disruptors
LONG READ: The Virgin Money CEO on when banking's 'Uber' moment will come, and addressing the woeful lack of women in senior finance roles.
Photography by Jo Hanley
Tall, blonde, beaming and ever so slightly boisterous, Jayne-Anne Gadhia has a knack for chat that disguises a useful dollop of calculation. The last time we met, she finished our interview with a smile and a handshake and a sincere plea: ‘Just don’t make me look like a numpty.’ So imagine my surprise when I saw her in the photograph for the piece, jumping up and down wildly on a double bed. Is that what you want to see from a banking boss?
She laughs about it now. ‘How stupid was I? The photographer came round and we did lots of serious pictures, and I remember him saying "let me take a couple of family photos for you…", so my daughter and I did the jumping on the bed for fun. And guess which photo The Sunday Times used? Haha.’