6. John Lovering, chairman and Adam Fowle, chief executive, M&B
John Lovering, chairman, Mitchells & Butlers (new entry)
Adam Fowle, chief executive, Mitchells & Butlers (9)
Why they are on the list: Activist chairman Lovering and his operational lead Fowle represent the new guard running the UK's biggest managed pub group. Fowle was acting CEO until last August when he was appointed to the post full-time, while Lovering was appointed chairman in January. Both men joined the board following the boardroom upheaval that began 12 months ago when former chief executive Tim Clarke quit in the wake of the company's well-documented hedge swap gamble in 2007.
What the past year has held: It's been a seismic 12 months for M&B and for Fowle in particular. The long-serving staffer has been with M&B since 1984 — with a short break at Sainsbury's — and joined the board in 2007. It's the new company wisdom that M&B had too many brands and as part of a major overhaul 300 wet-led pubs were put up for sale to provide the capital to expand its food-led brands. Lovering, a private equity veteran, has only had a short time to get his feet under the desk, but quickly signalled M&B's future retail strategy, which will focus heavily on branded food-pub development.
Challenges ahead: M&B has identified six "drive" retail brands to provide it with the growth it seeks to claim extra market share. Harvester, Toby Carvery, Crown Carveries, Vintage Inns, Sizzling Pubs, and Premium Country Dining will all be expanded in a long-term plan to grow the current 900 sites to 1,900 in a timescale of five years at the outside. Finding sites, selling sites, evolving concepts — there's plenty to do.
