Interview: Allianz boss Elizabeth Corley who also pens crime novels
The chief of German fund house Allianz Global Investors explains how she made it to the top and says that both men and women can be CEOs
Elizabeth Corley is not your typical chief executive, at least in her choice of hobby. Forget golf, the global chief executive of German fund house Allianz Global Investors has a passion for crime novels - she's written four of them.
The 56-year-old has managed to cram in time to pen the thrillers amid the constant international travel and demands of running one of the world's largest asset management companies.
Her published works - Requiem Mass (1998), Fatal Legacy(2000), Grave Doubts(2006) and Innocent Blood (2008) - will be joined by a fifth, now in the works.
Writers seem to have strong links to German insurance giant Allianz, the parent of the fund company. Michael Diekmann, group chief executive of Allianz, wrote and published travel books - covering the likes of hiking in Malaysia, canoeing in Canada and safaris in Africa - before joining the company.
We need a team with a balance of composition in terms of gender, age [and] minorities
Corley, born into a farming family in West Sussex, started her working career early, when she was 18. She took a junior position at insurer Sun Alliance, forgoing a university offer. That decision upset her parents because she was the first in the family to secure a university place.