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Take a moment to think of an innovative company. What’s the first one that pops into your mind? You might be thinking of one of the massive Silicon Valley tech firms. You might, instead, be thinking of a tiny start-up. Someone changing the world from a bedroom in a semi-detached, perhaps. It’s likely that you’re not thinking about an insurer, though. In this episode of the Aviva Podcast, we talk about innovation with Ben Luckett, our Chief Innovation Officer at Aviva, and Owen Morris, Managing Director of Personal Lines to talk about innovation at Aviva, and how Aviva Zero stands out as a great example. You can find this full feature, a transcript, and watch the interview films with Owen and Ben in full on our website: https://www.aviva.com/newsroom/perspectives/2023/02/from-zero-to-zero-an-innovation-story.html For more information on Aviva Zero you can visit the Aviva Zero site here: https://zero.aviva.co.uk/

In this episode of the Aviva Podcast, David, Jenny and Jason share their stories of what Aviva's Pride community is all about, why it’s so important, and what it means to them. June is Pride Month, and we wanted to take the opportunity to talk to three of our colleagues from around the world who are involved in Aviva Pride in some way. We spoke to David, a graduate apprentice in Aviva UK and a member of Aviva Pride, about why this community is so important to him personally, and why “bringing your whole self to work” is key. We spoke to Jenny, a team leader in Aviva Ireland’s Life contact centre and co-chair of Aviva Pride in Ireland. Jenny shares why she gives so much of her time to help make Pride – and why she “love, love, loves the role”. Finally, we spoke to Jason, CEO of Aviva Canada and one of our executive sponsors of Pride. Find out why Pride means so much to Jason, and why he feels like he needs to lead by example.

Listen in as Martin, Natalie and Kofi share their stories of why Aviva Carers is so important, and why the community means so much to them. It's Carers Week in the UK from 6-12 June. It's the one week of the year where people come together to raise awareness of caring, to highlight the challenges that unpaid carers face, and to recognise the contributions that carers make to their families and to their communities. Given that this year's theme for Carers Week is 'visible, valued and supported', it felt right that we do what we can to give some of that visibility to our own carers community: Aviva Carers. It's why we spent some time talking to Martin, one of our executive sponsors of the community, about why this group of people is so important to him personally, but also to Aviva generally. We spoke to Natalie, one of our Aviva Carers co-chairs, about what kinds of things the community does for our carers at Aviva and why she gives so much of her time outside of her day job to help make that happen. Finally, we spoke to Kofi, one of our carers at Aviva, to hear about his own experiences caring, loss, and why the carers community matters so much to him. You can find a transcript and further information on this episode here: https://www.aviva.com/newsroom/podcasts/our-carers-community-compassionate-caring-and-resilient.html

To mark International Women’s Day 2022, in this episode we're joined by two of our female data science leaders at Aviva. Listen in as they share their life and career experiences - good, bad and ugly - with host Andrew Spinks. Dorothy Comber (VP of Data Science, Aviva Canada) and Siobhan Keleher (Head of Data Analytics, Aviva UKGI) talk about commonly faced issues like imposter syndrome, wonky careers, and being the only woman in the room. They also look at the support provided - and the honest conversations encouraged - by Aviva on these topics.

When machine learning models are used in critical areas like medicine, finance and the criminal justice system, their black-box nature can be a major issue. This is where Cambridge PhD Student Jonathan Crabbe's research comes in. Jonathan's work consists of developing explainability methods that create an interface between complex models and human users. In this Quantum special episode of the Aviva Podcast, Jonathan joins Aviva's UK general insurance Analytics Director Stephen Shaw to delve into his research.

In our third wellbeing special episode, our host Johnny Monkhouse talks about loneliness with Dr. Rob Rosa. Whether you're experiencing it yourself, or you want to help others who may be feeling lonely, Dr. Rob Rosa shares helpful advice on how to tackle loneliness and what resources are out there to help.

In 1919, we settled an apprenticeship hiring choice by flipping a coin… fast forward to 2021 and apprenticeships at Aviva have changed quite significantly! In this latest Quantum special, find out about apprenticeships in general from Sophie Gray, understand how Aviva uses them as a development opportunity, and hear one of our own data scientists, Jamie Southchurch, discuss his journey through two different levels of apprenticeships. More information: See more about careers at Aviva: https://careers.aviva.co.uk/ Learn more about apprenticeships on the UK government's website: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk

Quantum is Aviva's data science community. But what exactly is data science? In this episode of the Aviva Podcast, our host Ben Moss asks that very question of Sarah Applegate, Quantum data science & partnerships lead, and Craig Armstrong, lead data scientist at Aviva. Learn what data science is, what it's used for, and what it takes to become a data scientist yourself.

In the second of our mini-series of wellbeing specials, our host, Jonny Monkhouse, talks to Aviva employees and couple Matthew and Daniel about their experiences living with autism. Hear about their differing experiences of diagnosis, living with Asperger’s through their school, university and working lives – as well as how it affects them as a couple. Both Matthew and Daniel have Asperger syndrome, otherwise known as Asperger’s, which is an autism spectrum disorder. Among other symptoms, it’s characterised by difficulties in social interaction and communication. If you want to know more about autism or discover any potential support available then these resources may help. NHS - Guide to autism: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/ National Autistics Society: https://www.autism.org.uk/ Royal College of Psychiatrists - Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders: for parents, carers and anyone working with young people: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/parentsandyoungpeople/parentscarers/autismandaspergerssyndrome.aspx If you’re outside the UK then please look up what other resources are available to you locally. A transcript of this episode will be made available on aviva.com

When Aviva wanted to create a new brand positioning, it went to one of the biggest names in the business - Adam & Eve DDB. They are responsible for turning Christmas TV adverts into major, must watch events. In this podcast you can hear from Mike Stern, Managing Partner at Adam & Eve DDB and Julie-Ann Douglas, Group Head of Brand at Aviva. For more information on Aviva's brand, visit: https://www.aviva.com/about-us/it-takes-aviva/ And for more information on Adam & Eve DDB, visit: https://adamandeveddb.com/

In the first of a mini-series of wellbeing specials, our host Jonny Monkhouse talks about lockdown anxiety with Heather Buckridge, clinical consultant at Aviva, and Brittani Lee, one of our amazing customer advisors. On Monday, 19 July it was “Freedom Day” in England. It was a day of celebration for some, but for others it was a major cause of anxiety. Recorded at the beginning of July, in this episode Brittani shares her own experience with anxiety and Heather shares some helpful tips and advice on how to deal with it. If you’re experiencing anxiety or otherwise struggling with your own mental health, then there are resources available: NHS mental health services: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/nhs-voluntary-charity-services/nhs-services/ Mind, the mental health charity: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/ The Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ If you’re outside the UK then please look up what other resources are available to you locally. Don’t struggle alone.

Earlier this year Aviva unveiled its new brand positioning, 'It takes Aviva'. As part of this Aviva has done something it's never done before - develop a sonic logo and a bespoke piece of music, both of which will be used to drive brand recognition. The plan is to use it everywhere - from adverts to apps to customer phone lines. In this podcast you can hear from Alex Wodrich from Berlin-based agency 'why do birds' who created the sonic branding and Sally House, Brand Design Lead from Aviva. And you can even find out how 'why do birds' brought to life the sound of yellow!

One year on from when we started hearing about Covid-19, we speak to John Bernard, Aviva's Director of Group Corporate Security. He's led Aviva's response to the pandemic since the very start and was integral in the decision to send home 16,000 Aviva employees in UK. Find out when he first heard about the outbreak, when he realised this was going to be serious and what his hopes are for 2021. You can find a transcript for this episode on our website: https://www.aviva.com/newsroom/podcasts/covid-19-the-man-who-sent-everyone-home/

In this episode, we talk to six of our Aviva Communities co-chairs to find out how they're working towards making Aviva a more inclusive organisation. Recorded late last year, we wanted to find out what their communities have achieved, what made them want to volunteer to be a co-chair, and to give them and their communities a little bit of time in the spotlight. Our Aviva Communities are: AvivAbility – supporting people with visible and invisible disabilities Aviva Balance – for gender parity Aviva Carers – helping carers and parents Aviva Generations – for workers of all ages Aviva Origins – celebrating cultural difference, including Race, Ethnicity, religious belief and Social Mobility Aviva Pride – being yourself at work, LGBT Learn more about our Aviva communities: https://www.aviva.com/about-us/aviva-communities/ Learn more about diversity and inclusion at Aviva: https://www.aviva.com/about-us/diversity-and-inclusion/ A transcript of this podcast is available on aviva.com

Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, and Dr Anna Dixon, CEO of the Centre for Ageing Better, examine the challenges and opportunities associated with longer lives and shifting expectations of retirement. Search for the Mid-Life MOT app on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Anna Dixon: https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/about-us/our-team/anna-dixon Centre for Ageing Better: https://www.ageing-better.org.uk Read our release about mid-life and retirement on aviva.com: https://www.aviva.com/newsroom/news-releases/2020/10/over-half-of-mid-lifers-have-never-calculated-when-they-can-afford-to-retire/

In this episode we talk about dementia and how the concept of "cognitive reserve" has the potential to explain why some people are more resilient to it than others. Jon Simons, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, and Simon Warsop, Life Analytics Director at Aviva, share the plans for a long-term study to measure cognitive reserve and talk about how improved accuracy in measurement is the first step towards understanding and ultimately increasing our resilience to the effects of dementia. https://www.cam.ac.uk/business/aviva If you have been affected by dementia and need some support or information, these are places that can help: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-connect-support-line National Dementia Helpline (UK) - 0300 222 11 22 www.ageuk.org.uk

Join Danny Harmer, Aviva Chief People Officer, in conversation with James Millar, journalist at Working Dads and author of the book Dads Don't Babysit. What can employees expect when it comes to flexible working now that Covid-19 has changed the game?

Covid-19 has seen millions of people swap their offices for homeworking. In this podcast you'll hear from Aviva's Chief People Officer Danny Harmer, who's been speaking to Sam Gilpin, MD for Europe at YSC Consulting. They discus the five key factors to help you lead when everyone is working remotely, and why good leadership is a lot like teaching someone to swim. www.aviva.com/about-us/leader-pr…s/danielle-harmer/ www.ysc.com/team/sam-gilpin/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/ysc https://www.linkedin.com/in/samgilpin/

In this next episode of our data science series, you can hear from Anna Vignoles, Economist and Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, and Orlando Machado, Chief Data Scientist for Quantum, Aviva's Data Science Practice. In this podcast they discuss how different types of data are being used in the fight against Coronavirus, and how predicting what will happen in a global pandemic can never be an exact science.

Algorithms are biased. They don't mean to be, but they are a product of the people who created them. And we all have biases. But we can better understand these biases and make the world would be a much fairer place. So that is the problem Michelle Lee is trying to solve. In this podcast, Ben Moss and Orlando Machado, Chief Data Scientist at Aviva, are back at Cambridge University to find out more about Michelle's work.