20 questions: Anne Lauvergeon, Areva

“Atomic Anne” has been the chief executive of Areva, the French state-owned nuclear group, since 2001 and is regularly voted one of the most powerful businesswomen in Europe. The 50-year-old physicist spent much of her early career working in various French government posts. In 1990, she was picked by President François Mitterrand as his adviser on international economic affairs and foreign trade. In 1999, she became chief executive of Cogema, the uranium mining company, and set about combining it with the reactor-maker Framatome to form Areva.

How do you describe your job?

Fascinating, people-focused, committed, long-term, engaging, exposed, technical, commercial, political, in the spotlight.

How would your PA describe you?

Open, demanding, fast-paced, sometimes stubborn.

What are your three best features?

Tenacious, enthusiastic, strategic thinker.

And your three worst?

Direct, impatient, touchy.

Is it difficult working in a male-dominated sector?

You need to prove yourself more.

When you’re dealing with major strategic challenges, you sometimes get the macho guy who says, “You can’t take a woman’s word for it!” But when it comes to customer relations, it’s an advantage.

Where do you buy your work clothes?

I mix Saint-Laurent with Zara, Chanel with Uniqlo or Kookaï.

Did you ever think you’d end up where you are?

Absolutely not. When I was 23, a consultant told me I had the degrees and the energy but not enough drive.

What do you like most about your job?

Delivering.

And least?

The low blows.

What time do you start and finish work?

I get to the office at 8.30am and leave at 8.30pm. As a result, when I’m in Paris, I get to take my children to school, which is a special moment for us when we can all catch up.

What are you reading?

Biographies, crime novels, essays. I’ve always got a book with me.

What’s on your iPod?

Rock, French songs, Purcell, Schubert. And Lady Gaga, too.

My husband sings in a choir, and we help him rehearse at the top of our voices during family trips.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Sweet chestnut purée and porridge.

What is the smartest business idea you have ever had?

Setting up Areva and creating the “CO2-free” strategy.

When was the last time you lost your temper at work?

It rarely happens. Anger is a weakness. If there’s a problem I tend to become rather cold.

If you hadn’t been in business what would you have done?

I would have been an archaeologist.

What is your most hated business expression?

That’s just the way it is.

How important is money to you?

I earn a lot more than the average person and a lot less than other people in similar positions. What motivates me first and foremost is the work I do.

Has your job made your personal life suffer?

It’s very tricky to strike the right balance between work life and home life.

I’m incredibly lucky to have a very supportive husband and children. So it’s up to me to catch the warning signs and take the right steps.

How do you want to be remembered?

As a builder.