The Virgin Banker: Gadhia Jayne-Anne - Tapa dura

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the straight-talking CEO of Virgin Money, looks back at the events that have influenced, shaped and inspired her to become one of the most powerful women in banking.

With anecdotes from her life before becoming a banker, including beating the bullies and experiencing racism as part of a mixed race marriage, through to building a business from scratch, working at RBS under Fred Goodwin just before the financial crash, and steering Virgin Money to become a listed business, breaking boundaries along the way, professionally and personally.

Jayne-Anne shines a light on issues surrounding the role of women in banking and the alpha-male dinosaurs that dominate the industry. She draws on the relationships and deals that have shaped her career so far, including her personal experience with mental health issues, which has helped her attitude and approach to both her business and personal life.

This is not a conventional biography, nor a ‘how to do it’ business book. It is a candid, fresh and fascinating insight into being a woman in business, the financial crisis and the way in which business can be conducted as a force for good.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia is the CEO of Virgin Money, and the longest-serving CEO of any European bank.

A Chartered Accountant, she spent six years at Norwich Union (now Aviva) before becoming one of the founders of Virgin Direct in 1995. In 1998 she set up the Virgin One account which was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2001. After five years at RBS as part of the Retail Executive Committee, she returned to Virgin as the CEO of Virgin Money. In 2012 Virgin Money acquired Northern Rock and, in 2014, successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange.

A vocal supporter of businesses responsibility to make a positive contribution to society, Jayne-Anne is a trustee of Business in the Community, the Tate Gallery, and non-exec Director of the Dumfries House Trust. And in 2014 she was awarded a CBE in 2014 for services to banking and voluntary service.

In 2015 Jayne-Anne led a government review focused on the representation of women in the Financial Services industry. Her report led to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter – a commitment by firms to work together for gender equality in financial services.

In 2016 Jayne-Anne was appointed as the government’s Women in Finance Champion; she was recently appointed to the London Mayor’s Business Advisory Board and is leading a Review into Student Support in Scotland.

Jayne-Anne lives in Edinburgh with her husband and their teenage daughter.