Jim Dickson

Jim Dickson chief executive, Brulines (48)

Why he is on the list:

Dickson oversees the UK's largest operator of beer monitoring and data collection services. It's best known in the pub trade for its beer measuring equipment, which is now installed across 20,000 pubs . On the other side, many licensees have still not come to terms with a device they view primarily as a way to monitor out-of-tie activities.

What the past year has held:

In December Brulines acquired Vianet, a leading provider of telemetry and data-capturing solutions for £4.7m. This added to the previous purchases of AWP machine company Coin Metrics and main beer monitoring equipment rival Nucleus Data in 2007. Brulines installations in pub cellars forged ahead over the 12 months.

Challenges ahead:

While licensees buy out, there will always be a market for Brulines, although pubcos say data on beer quality and sales trends offers real in-pub value. The company is pioneering quality-monitoring equipment, which holds the prospect of better quality beer dispense across the sector. The Bec report's critical comments incensed the company, which is now said to be talking to Trading Standards about getting official approval of its kit.