David Forde, MD, Heineken 51
A veteran of 25 years at Heineken, Forde stepped up to the plate this week. He is taking on a strong business, with good NPD and focused marketing - particularly in the case of Foster’s
Robin Terrell, Group multichannel dir, Tesco 52
Terrell is credited with turning House of Fraser into a cutting-edge leader on the web. Ramping up click & collect and the global roll-out of dotcom deliveries are just two tasks in his inbox
Heston Blumenthal, celebrity Chef 53 (59)
The molecular gastronomist has had a mixed year. He’s continued to woo TV viewers with his wizardry in the kitchen and his relationship with Waitrose has gone from strength to strength with his Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding proving a hit once again and his Easter advert promoting lamb prompting a run on anchovies. But in April he suffered the ignominy of The Fat Duck in Bray slumping 20 places in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (compiled by The Grocer’s sister title Restaurant). Blumenthal maintained the restaurant was “50%-70% better” than in 2008 when it topped the list, but has his popularity reached a tipping point?
Nigel Dunlop, CEO, Moy Park 54
Moy Park defied higher chicken feed costs to post a fivefold increase in profits in 2012. Dunlop was promoted to Moy Park Europe CEO in April, overseeing parent Marfrig’s £1.5bn EU operations
Gavin Darby, CEO, Premier Foods 55
After Michael Clarke steadied the ship, former Coke and Vodafone man Darby has staked a sizeable chunk of his own fortune, and his reputation, on returning troubled Premier to calmer waters
Paul Coby, IT director, JohnLewis 56
Coby’s shiny new £40m website took John Lewis three years to build but it just recorded over £1bn in online sales, and his click & collect strategy has also boosted sales for Waitrose.
Stephen Smith, Chief marketing officer, Asda 57
Smith joined as CMO in May 2012, and set about shaking up its ads - making Mum the star of Christmas ads was less well received than some might have expected. His latest focus is Price Lock
Simon Arora, CEO, B&M Bargains 58 (97)
The Arora Brothers sold 60% of the booming B&M Bargains to Clayton Dubilier & Rice last year, but the brothers are still running the show and plan to expand B&M in the UK and Europe.
Steve Murrells, CEO, The Co-operative Food 59
At the helm for 10 months, Murrells has a new top team to take the Co-op’s food “back to basics”. A Future Food Strategy aims to turn around sales, and pilot stores are already showing progress
Paul Finnerty, CEO, ABP 60
ABP avoided the limelight but, caught up in ‘Horsegate’ Finnerty acted fast: selling Silvercrest, he’s focused on fresh meat, and Dalepak is integral to the government’s cross-contamination studies.
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