Profile: Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Published on Monday 6 September 2010 18:23

ONE of the main reasons Virgin Money is basing its operations in Edinburgh is the influence of chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia, who has lived in the city since 2001.

She first came to Scotland as part of a deal between RBS and Virgin, but it was said she did not get along with Fred "the Shred" Goodwin and she left in 2006, returning to Virgin the following year.

Society gossips said Goodwin felt piqued that her multi-million-pound home in the exclusive Grange area of the capital, just one street away from him, was larger than his.

While at RBS, she would have had no qualms about standing her ground with Sir Fred.

One of her top dislikes is "people who aren't straight and open" and she has described her leadership style as "collective but decisive".

Ms Gadhia, who lives in the Grange with her husband and young daughter, may not have liked the culture of RBS, but she fell in love with Edinburgh.

Born in the West Midlands, she studied history in London before training as an accountant at Ernst and Young. She became head of Norwich Union unit trusts division in 1987 and within 12 months, sales had risen 300 per cent.

She said it was the drive and positivity of Richard Branson that made her want to work for him and in 1994 she did just that - being part of the team at the launch of Virgin Direct.

She was passing time on a train journey reading Hello! magazine and came across an interview with Virgin's founder. "He had so much passion and energy that it got me thinking about how great it would be to work for him," she has said.

She pioneered Virgin One mortgages and, when the business was sold off, moved to Edinburgh as part of the deal.

When she returned to Virgin, she masterminded the unsuccessful bid to take over Northern Rock and was also involved in the bid for Williams and Glyn's bank.

Her aim is to make Virgin Money one of the biggest names in banking. But Ms Gadhia is also keen to let people know she is no superwoman and says that maintaining a work-life balance is one of the biggest challenges she faces in life.

She had her only child, Amy, at the age of 40, and she has admitted it has not always been easy.

"It's the emotional tear of wanting to be a great mum and continue to do a first-class job, which I am determined to do. That bit has been really tough."