The Lens – UK Responsible Business Podcast

This month our host Oli Barrett MBE is joined by CEO of AXA UK and Ireland, Claudio Gienal and Sandiso Sibisi, Founder of COOi Studios and One Young World ambassador.

In this episode our host Oli Barrett MBE gets an understanding of how cutting edge technology connects with tough business problems, how to make any business more innovative and how the future of healthcare will involve new forms of collaboration.

And of course, our host asks both Claudio and Sandiso who they’d most like to meet for coffee and which books they’ll be adding to the famous Lens Reading List.

Claudio Gienal is Chief Executive of AXA UK and Ireland. He joined the company in July 2017 and was previously Chief Strategy Development Officer, European Markets.

Prior to joining AXA, Claudio spent ten years at Zurich where he held a number of senior positions including Chief Strategy Officer for the Zurich Group, CEO of the Zurich Life Insurance Company and Chief Operating Officer of Zurich Insurance UK.

He is currently a board member for AXA Konzern in Germany and Switzerland-based insurance start-up JAROWA. Claudio previously served on the board of Farmers New World Life in the US and is a council member of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce. 

Claudio began his career as a management consultant working for McKinsey & Company and Accenture. He has a Masters in Environmental Engineering from ETZH Swiss Federal Institute.

Sandiso Sibisi the founder of COOi Studios, an Open Innovation advisory and lab for corporates, that bridges the gap between innovative products developed by start-ups and corporations wanting to solve tough business problems, using design thinking. 

Prior to COOi Studios, Sandiso served as the Head of Open Innovation for Africa region at Accenture, a global technology consulting company. In 2013, Sandiso established the Born to Succeed programme, which advocates and educates for young women’s economic participation, to date the programme has helped over 120 women obtain employment. 

Sandiso is a One Young World ambassador, an impactful young leader creating a better world, with more responsible and effective leadership. Her other accolades include being named as a Sustainable Development Goals ambassador; one of Mzansi’s 100 Inspiring and Aspiring Leaders; a Play Your Part Ambassador with Brand South Africa; an Inspiring fifty Women in Tech; and a Mandela Washington Fellow. Sandiso holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Technology from Wits University, a Social Entrepreneurship Certificate from INSEAD and is currently a Master of Management (Innovation Studies) candidate at Wits University

Powered by Fujitsu, supported by McCann and in partnership with One Young World, The Lens represents the breadth, diversity and priorities of the responsible business agenda. From gender equality to zero hours contracts, learning on the factory floor to activist businesses, The Lens covers a range of topics from a host of varying perspectives. 

Each episode brings together a business and future leader to foster disruptive conversations and fresh connections. Innovators and CEOs join Oli Barrett in the studio for a unique conversation covering their journeys, lessons learned, advice, insight and of course, the inspirational person they’d most like to meet for coffee. 

Business in the Community is The Prince's Responsible Business Network. We convene a unique network of purposeful leaders to share insight, expertise and create innovative programmes that deliver impact. Together our ambition is to make the UK the world leader at responsible business. 

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