chief executive, Mitchells & Butlers (5)
Tim Clarke is arguably the man with the most potent brands portfolio in the industry; it includes All Bar One, Ember Inns, Sizzling Pub Company, Harvester and Toby Carvery. Since demerger from Six Continents, Clarke seems to have revitalised the sales and profits performance at this former sleeping giant. Innovation at a micro level includes its gastro-pub template Project Orange, although Clarke is not a fan of the "gastro" tag and prefers to refer to Project Orange as "premium country-pub dining".
Overall food volumes increased by 8% over the past year and beer volumes by 4%. This sparkling performance lifts him a place in our list. Regional and family-brewer cask beers saw a 30% rise in sales in the M&B estate. Clarke, a cask-ale drinker himself, believes there will be further sales benefits from this major widening of the cask-ale range. A City analyst said: "Its value proposition, improved retail skills and good-quality assets means it is taking clear market-share strides in a growing eating-out market."
M&B also scooped the inaugural Morning Advertiser Responsible Drinks Retailing award and cut its two-for-one drink offers and happy hours as part of a revamped social-responsibility policy.