8 Tony Hughes

managing director, M&B pub restaurant division (9)

Why he's on the list:

The man many regard as the godfather of the casual-dining market. Food sales currently account for around 35% of M&B's revenue through the sale of around 96 million meals a year. Food is the company's biggest driver of sales with a 7.2% increase on last year.

What the past year has held:

Hughes has been heavily involved in the on-going conversion of 239 former Whitbread Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites to its own brands such as Toby Carvery and Harvester.

As part of the conversion process, M&B has launched a new Miller and Carter brand dubbed the "modern steakhouse", which has been rolled out at 11 sites. The first group of conversions are comfortably achieving the targeted sales uplift of over 25%.

Hughes has also overseen the segmentation of Vintage Inns - one of the most profitable casual-dining brands in Europe. Three new segments concepts have been added. The strategy is to create three more offers that bridge the gap in price, sophistication and operational complexity between Vintage Inns and its premium gastropub offer Project S.

Challenges ahead:

The on-going conversion of the Whitbread outlets. The target is to lift the average weekly take from £16,000 to £22,800. This is expected to be finished by next Easter at the latest. Hughes will be confident that his division will be largely unaffected by the smoke ban thanks to industry-leading food market penetration.