'Businessman of the Year' Award
A James King: Chief Executive of Fentons Finance
King was nominated for the quality of his leadership, with the judges claiming that the Fentons Finance boss is almost revered by his team.He is credited with reinventing Fentons Finance - revitalising its culture of inflexibility, removing outdated pre-merger barriers and playing a brilliant tactical game.He led everyone to believe he was opposed to large mergers and then jumped on the Westcombe Bank opportunity at just the right moment. History will be the judge, but for now the markets consider King to be a star.
B Keith Nash: Chief Executive of Hamley's Supermarkets
Nash took over as CEO when Hamley's systems and distribution were out of date and the brand badly needed freshening up.He began refocusing the brand at the higher quality end of the food market and launched several own-brand initiatives for the health conscious. As a result, the share price has gone up nearly 80 per cent.This should be extremely satisfying for Nash, who had left the retailer in 1986, disappointed after failing to secure the top job.
C Jorge Marquez: Chairman of the Kenwick Group
Marquez was a popular choice for his achievements at Kenwick.The judges say he has been courageous in pushing through the appointment of controversial or inexperienced chief executives to companies within the group, and then sponsoring them as they transformed their businesses. He operates as a 'virtual' chairman, without a permanent office in any one company. He phones his CEOs regularly, and several of them have acknowledged the vital contribution he makes to their effectiveness.Everyone is impressed at how he also finds the time to be chairman of two other large companies.
D Richard Jenkins: Finance Director of Centron Advertising
Labouring in the shadow of a high-profile boss can sometimes draw attention away from the finance director, and the judges considered it was high time Jenkins got that attention. The CEO may be the public face of Centron, but Jenkins is the one who makes it run smoothly. Behind the scenes,he is constantly demonstrating that budgets and forecasts are what is needed to make a company successful, particularly now that the advertising market has been hit by recession. It is largely thanks to him that Centron is in much better shape than its rivals.