51 (36) Younus Sheikh, group MD, Bestway
Under Sheikh, Bestway continues to grow, boosted by its 2010 acquisitions of Martex and Bellevue and symbol numbers. The wholesaler also opened two new depots and a transactional website.

52 (33) Jamie Oliver, chef
Despite the Sainsbury’s split, Jamie returned to TV in January to flog his Young’s range. Now he’s selling chicken for Moy Park. But on the campaign front, it’s all gone a bit quiet.

53 (44) Amanda Sourry, chairman, Unilever UK/Eire
Sourry has had to contend with a reformulated Flora backlash, and defend Unilever’s corner during strike action. But she has also presided over plenty of NPD, including VO5’s dry shampoo.

54 (64) Stefan Orlowski, MD, Heineken UK
The only brewer in our list this year, he’s done a great job turning round the former S&N business. Sales of Foster’s Gold - launched in July - have been sparkling. Next up: the Olympics.

55 (68) Patrick Coveney, CEO, Greencore
After receiving a bloody nose from Ranjit Boparan (qv) Coveney is back on form: the integration of Uniq has gone well, sales are up 50%, and that includes major volume based wins.

56 (New Entry) Nick Bunker, president, UK/Ireland, Kraft Foods
As if integrating Kraft’s UK business with Cadbury wasn’t enough, Bunker must now prepare for a corporate rebrand as Mondelez. But at least Kraft’s restructure makes the UK matter more.

57 (New Entry) George Osborne, Chancellor
Persistence with the beer duty escalator has forced brewers to cut the abv of beer. He’s also put 20% VAT on a pasty and hit tobacco with a 5% above inflation duty hike. Now under pressure to lower VAT.

58 (New Entry) Zongnan Wang, chairman, Bright Food
After failing to secure a deal to buy United Biscuits in 2010, the Bright Food boss has got his hands on Weetabix for £1.1bn. It’s may not be the last acquisition for the ambitious Chinese concern.

59 (91) Heston Blumenthal, chef
With Waitrose struggling to keep up with demand for his puds, mince pies hot cross buns etc., the influence of Waitrose’s madcap brand ambassador now supersedes Delia Smith (qv).

60 (New Entry) HRH Queen Elizabeth II, 60 years on the throne
HRH (pictured) continues to reign supreme. And her influence over grocery this year has been enormous. Who else could inspire so many suppliers to rename their precious brands and plaster their packaging with Union Jacks?

Kingsmill has switched to Queensmill, Marmite has become Ma’amite and even Swiss-owned Kit Kat has been rebadged as Brit Kat. The enthusiasm of last year’s Royal Wedding took everyone by surprise.

But this year grocery is fully prepared to help the nation host a right royal knees-up. You can bet retailers and suppliers alike will be praying for sunshine over the extended bank holiday (especially Sainsbury’s, which is taking over Hyde Park for a festival on the holidays) to not only get shoppers in the patriotic spirit, but to give a much-needed boost to sales. Bless her.

61 (26) Flor Healy, CEO, Kerry Foods
With the acquisition of Headland Foods signed off by the Competition Commission, it’s business as usual for the Irish conglomerate, and its share price continues to grow strongly.

62 (67) Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright, founders, Innocent
Still running the show, a brilliant relaunch into juices has helped turn Innocent from a niche brand into a mainstream player. Sales rose 25.4%.

63 (63) Steve Pappas, MD, Costco Wholesale UK
Costco continues to grow as Pappas opens at least one new C&C a year. Now he’s looking to win more business with a co-branded Amex credit card that allows customers to claim rebates.

64 (71) Warren Buffett, plutocrat
The day Tesco launched the Big Price Drop, he bought 34m shares, increasing his stake to 3.21%. The share price later fell 15%. So Buffett tucked in again, upping his stake to 5.08% of Tesco.

65 (New Entry) Peter Blakemore, MD, AF Blakemore & Son
Blakemore now accounts for about 45% of Spar’s sales, following the acquisition of Capper & Co, and is the dominant force within the country’s third-largest symbol group.

66 (New Entry) Peter Thornton, CEO, Noble Foods
Well versed in creating value from commodities, Thornton’s recent launch of premium egg brand Posh Birds is to The Happy Egg Company what Dairy Crest’s Davidstow was for Cathedral City.

67 (47) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef
In March he ran a social media campaign that led to France and Spain backing down over plans to continue throwing dead fish out of trawlers - a final victory after last year’s heroics.

68 (New Entry) Martin Davey, chairman, Cranswick
After last year’s profits warning, Davey grappled with inflation by churning out more competitively priced products. The share price has recovered strongly, and pork looks like the protein of choice.

69 (74) Chris Etherington, CEO, Palmer & Harvey
P&H has upped its game of late under Etherington. In particular, it rattled C&Cs with a promise to beat their tobacco price for indies who placed a minimum non-tobacco order.

70 (New Entry) Chris Mack, CEO, Fresca Group
Mack took a big risk when he decided to start building Britain biggest greenhouse development in 2007. Last year Thanet Earth turned a profit for the first time, bringing in £267,000 before tax. Fresca has since set its eyes on a fourth greenhouse and submitted a planning application for a £17m development in April. If it gets the green light, the greenhouse should deliver its first crop of tomatoes in 2013.

71 (62) Mark Fairweather, CEO, Allied Bakeries
Rising cost and promotional pressures have taken their toll on Kingsmill’s margins. But a rebrand for Allinson and strong NPD and a performance from Burgen show AB is no one-trick pony.

72 (34) Philip Jansen, group CEO, Brakes
Brakes’ losses rose 13.1% in 2011 to £106m while most sales growth was due to acquisitions and strong French sales. But Jansen didn’t flinch at taking £100m of DBC’s custom when it went bust.

73 (76) Stuart Mitchell, CEO, Wilkinson
Wilko sailed past the six million sq ft of sales space mark last year with the opening of 14 stores, but like-for-likes dipped. Mitchell hopes a roll-out of rebranded stores will help matters.

74 (97) Chris Martin, group CEO, Musgrave Group
Under Martin’s watchful eye, Musgrave has upped its game in the UK, combining its UK and Irish procurement, increasing Londis’ chilled range, and matching Budgens’ prices to Tesco’s.

75 (35) Mark Allen, CEO, Dairy Crest
Dairy Crest’s liquid milk division has had a tough 12 months. Amid falling cream prices, it has had to announce two factory closures, a reduced sales force and farmgate milk price cuts.

Topics

Power List 2012