The PrintWeek Power 100 (1-49)

Once again, we have a new number one, with Williams Lea's Tim Griffiths taking over the hot seat from Wyndeham's Paul Utting following a momentous year for the BPO behemoth. PrintWeek would like to thank all readers who took the time to submit their own suggestions and sponsor JPL Group for its valued support. We hope that you enjoy reading the list as much as we enjoyed compiling it.

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1 Tim Griffiths (4)

Williams Lea
Why This was the year that Williams Lea stamped its authority on the UK print market once and for all. With the acquisition of The Stationery Office for an estimated £130m, jetsetting chief executive Griffiths became the head of a £500m-turnover company and at a stroke gave his firm a £70m foothold in the public sector print and publishing market. With major appointments that include a new head of print procurement, Joanne Summers, the BPIF's Cicely Brown as business development director in its client services division, and former Pillans & Waddies managing director Gordon Samson as operations director, the imposing Griffiths has also strengthened his senior UK team. The official opening last October of a new £10m transactional mailing centre in Wymondham, Norfolk – and a hectic morning rush to transport representatives of Williams Lea's German owner Deutsche Post World Net to the site – was the cherry on the cake. Out of the office, it was a busy year for Griffiths too, as he sank "a substantial sum" into the struggling Llanelli Scarlets rugby club. The donation by Griffiths, himself an ex-London Welsh rugby player, secured the short-term future of the Magners League club.

He says The acquisition of TSO gives us a pre-eminent position in public sector BPO.

They say Tim is a hugely dynamic and talented guy, but you can't help feeling that his work is doubled by being part of Deutsche Post.

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2 Brian Edwards (3)
St Ives
Why The past 12 months have been a roller coaster ride for managing director Edwards. It began badly with accountancy errors at St Ives-owned SP Group, to the tune of £2.8m, causing its share price to fall below the 200p mark, and then there was Tangent Communications' audacious, and ultimately ill-fated, £282m bid for the group (the unwelcome offer cost £750,000 to defend). While this may have irked the meticulous Edwards, more recently, he has had plenty of reason to smile. There was the Plc's £18m purchase of Service Graphics (ironically also on Tangent's wishlist), the rallying
of its share price to well over 300p for a four-month period (it has since slipped to around the 280p mark) and the announcement last month that the firm's group sales initiative had generated £28m worth of new business.

He says The market is changing. Customers are looking for something extra and we must change to meet those market needs.

They say He is the most honest individual I have ever worked with. Every decision, easy or hard, is made without personal agenda and in the absolute best interests of the business and the individual. His enthusiasm is as strong today as it has ever been.

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3 Barry Hibbert (2)
Polestar
Why Being chief executive of the firm that every printer loves to hate is no easy task. And unravelling the behemoth's finances to secure last December's £814m landmark refinancing was no walk in the park either. The deal, which cost the group's debt and equity investors almost £700m, was described by the Financial Times as "one of the worst failures of a European leveraged buyout in recent years" and it led to owner Investcorp passing control of the firm to a group of banks. But even in the face of such stinging criticism, there was a positive side. The deal means that Polestar slashed its debt from £814m to £257m and, according some in the city, it will allow Hibbert and his team to focus on running the business again.

He says 2006 was dominated by the refinancing. The success of this process was achieved in a very difficult environment for the industry. Against this backdrop, it should also be remembered that we won new contracts –not an easy task for our sales and management teams in such challenging conditions.

They say He's dead straight, tough but fair, and he'll tell you exactly how it is. He just seems to have fallen off the radar a bit since they sorted the restructure.

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4 Paul Utting (1)
Wyndeham
Why Wyndeham Group just isn't the same animal it was a year ago. This time last year, the firm had only just been bought by Icelandic group Dagsbrún for £80.6m and the deal heralded a bright future for Wyndeham and its chief executive Utting. Sadly, as we all know, a year is a long time in print, and since those heady days of May 2006, serious belt-tightening, rather than a continuation of Wyndeham's pre-sale spending spree, has been the order of the day. Dagsbrún sold a 64% stake in the group in January and this signalled an even more vigorous bout of cost-cutting, leaving the brow-beaten Utting with only 75% of the production staff he had in his charge a year ago.

He says 2006 was a year of change for Wyndeham and a challenging one for the industry in general. But with the support of our new owners and a clear direction, we are looking forward to the rest of 2007 and beyond.

They say He's had a horrible year, but if anyone can turn it around at Wyndeham he can. He has the sharp business brain and drive to bring back the glory days.

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5 Steve Vaughan NEW
Communisis
Why Vaughan, our highest new entry this year, has blasted onto print's power list by plotting a major overhaul of Communisis. The straight-talking IT expert, who replaced David Jones as chief executive of the £250m group last October, is counting on high-margin technologies and data services to up his firm's share price. He has also decided – bravely, say some observers – to slash margins out of Communisis' print management model. Vaughan, a seasoned hill-walker and prize-winning flower grower, is also on the verge of officially opening Communisis's Liverpool transactional mail plant. How, and whether or not, he can fill capacity there will be a measure of his success in the coming year.

He says Having the print capability is what gets us on the radar. What we need to do now is to add extra services on the side to improve the margin.

They say He's a breath of new life into an ailing animal and he's got to grips with the business quickly. Time will tell if he's got it right.

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6 Ian McDonald (9)
News International
Why News International's £600m project to build probably the biggest, brightest and fastest newspaper printing set-ups in the world has been one of the print stories of the decade, and it took a real twist last month when it emerged that The Daily Telegraph would be printed under contract on the presses. The news has rocked West Ferry and, to a lesser extent, Trafford Park; it has also given Ian McDonald, NI's managing director of operations, an extra bit of responsibility. Not that McDonald – who could, by now, be drawing a pension – is fazed by that. His immediate concern is ramping up production over the summer at Glasgow's Eurocentral plant and Knowsley – the first installations at the 12-press Broxbourne site are also well underway.

He says When I stood on the first press base in Scotland, the immensity of it all hit me. I just thought 'Jeez, look at the size'.

They say Ian is a hugely experienced newspaper and print man. He's mature but still innovative. And he's likeable – but doesn't suffer fools lightly.

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7 Mike Taylor (7)
CPI UK
Why BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson describes Taylor as a "sharp, shrewd operator", but that didn't stop PrintWeek once famously questioning his sanity. He has continued to surprise the industry this year. Rather than taking a step back following the sale of his company, Fulmar, Taylor has become chief executive of CPI UK, bought a 90% stake in struggling Suffolk book printer Clowes, and continued his work with the BPIF, where he will become president in the coming year. Regrettably, what has been a busy year for Taylor has not been for CPI subsidiary Bath Press, whose proposed closure was announced around the same time that Taylor was putting in a rescue bid for Clowes. Taylor says: "Although we were unable to save the 250 jobs in Bath and Glasgow, hopefully we can save 200 jobs in Suffolk."

He says Until they find a way to put China somewhere around the English channel, monochrome books have a future in the UK.

They say He's committed to putting back into the industry.

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8 Michael Johnson (6)
BPIF
Why There's rarely a dull moment when chief executive Johnson is around, according to colleagues. A seasoned leader, Johnson is said to have a talent for "watching the horizon" (perhaps honed during his former naval career) and being the first to spot developments that present threats or opportunities for the print industry. When managing the BPIF, he adopts a very strong strategic focus, concentrating on the big issues that can make or break any organisation. He will need to call on those skills to ensure that the recently announced co-operation agreement with the world's biggest printing industry association, Printing Industries of America, goes through without a hitch. Johnson lives near Southampton and he and his wife are keen socialites who enjoy the company of family and friends. According to a colleague, he is also in the process of buying a "leisure sailing craft".

He says You won't see us doing a global Amicus. For us, it's about understanding local markets and delivering services on a local basis.

They say Michael is very persuasive and can move even the most stubborn of individuals to support him and the industry.

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9 Andrew Pindar (15)
Pindar
Why If there is a knighthood going begging for services to the print industry, Pindar chairman Andrew Pindar would surely be a shoo-in. His energy and passion for the print sector is unrivalled, as exhibited by his leading roles within the BPIF and Vision in Print. He's also been busy expanding the historic family firm by not only surprising the industry with his acquisition of struggling magazine printer Cooper Clegg in March, but also expanding the £141m turnover group's international interests with this month's deal to buy New Zealand-based publishing services provider Egan Reid.

He says The past 12 months have been hectic and fun.
They say He has worked tirelessly for the industry for many years, sacrificing much of his personal time to champion initiatives that help all printers, not just those he owns.

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10 Steve Brundle (5)
TPF Group
Why Described in last year's entry as "larger than life", the charismatic Steve Brundle seems intent on gaining the same moniker for TPF Group. This year brought the launch of TPF Digital, coupled with the acquisition of Derby-based printers NPM and Reelform. The pay-off for Brundle though could be the realisation of a long-held ambition to break the £100m turnover mark. Famed for his party spirit, Brundle almost fell foul of the liquor last month, when a full magnum of champagne – dropped from a fifth floor window – narrowly missed his head. Luckily for him, it was only his car windscreen that got smashed. However, as one colleague quips: "I think it's how he'd have wanted to go."

He says Most print businesses have been a little slow off the mark and they've spent far too much time harking back to the good old days rather than shaping up their businesses for what's ahead.
They say This year could very well see TPF Group go through the magic £100m turnover, which has been an ambition since he started about 10 years ago.

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11 Bob Nelson (24)
RR Donnelley Global Document Solutions
Why Well over a year into his role as president, on-message Nelson is now making his mark on the £325m BPO giant. He's steadily building a new executive team around him, with a number of high-profile appointments this year alone. On top of that, he has also cast off the Astron name in favour of the snappy RR Donnelley Global Document Solutions (GDS to its friends). The move, described at the time as "much more than a rebrand", was part of strategy to develop the firm's European business to its UK levels. On the contracts front, aside from last year's £236m BPO deal with ING, there doesn't seem to be much else to sing about right now. But knowing how long these megadeals take to secure, who knows what's going on behind the scenes?

He says The past 12 months for me at RR Donnelley GDS have truly represented an exciting transformational change in how we deliver end-to-end management of the document value chain for our clients.

They say One of the more remarkable men I have come across in the industry. His drive and enthusiasm are infectious. He is a printer at heart and so intuitively understands the realities and has taken a business which was fairly unstructured and entrepreneurial and started to transform it into something altogether more focused.

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12 Robert Whiteside (22)
Adare
Why It's been a momentous year for Glaswegian chief executive Robert Whiteside, who is ringing in the changes after rebranding Adare as a marketing and customer communications company (as opposed to – God forbid – a printer). As well as selling off On Demand Communications, the division which owns Prontaprint and Kall Kwik, he has recently bought an advertising agency to almost double the size of Adare's creative team, and hinted that a much bigger deal in the creative arena is on the way. Whiteside, a keen cyclist and runner, has also taken the bold step of merging the former Lexicon site in Shipley into what was Halcyon, creating a 300-staff direct mail hub by the end of the year.

He says If I produce a campaign that enables you to double your profits, what's that got to do with print? Nothing.

They say Robert has the drive, ambition and credentials to create something different in the market.

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13 Tony Burke (21)
Unite
Why Assistant general secretary Burke's key challenge for the year ahead will be ensuring that now Amicus has merged with Transport and General Workers, his graphical, paper and media members aren't lost in new superunion Unite's 2m throng. Merger aside, it's already been a busy year for Burke; he's been heavily involved in continuing the roll-out of Partnership at Work, securing an ever-growing number of national agreements – nine to date – and increasing the number of European Works Councils and global agreements.

He says My biggest problems this year have been the continuing job losses and restructuring in the industry. I think there will be some interesting challenges ahead.

They say He has been one of the leading lights in changing the face of the old GPMU into a union that wants to work with employers for the greater good of the industry.

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14 Yolanda Noble NEW
Dsi CMM
Why Noble is now chief executive of the newly formed direct mail powerhouse Dsi CMM – a merger between Noble's Corporate Mailing Matters and Direct Solutions International. It's created a DM giant with a combined turnover of £80m, making the company the biggest player in the sector in terms of sales. It's a far cry from when Noble returned to the industry, taking over CMM for a second time. She co-founded the company with her brother Alastair Maclean back in 1989 and sold it 10 years later. In 2003, the opportunity arose to buy back the firm, but it needed turning around. That was achieved by 2005 and now Noble and her team are looking at moving the newly merged company to a London base.

She says We are going to be much more aggressive, because we are now on a scale that secures our future.

They say A good knowledge of the DM sector has helped grow her business.

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15 Laurence Roberts (10)
Agfa
Why Agfa Graphics UK managing director Roberts has had a tough year. With energy and aluminium prices skyrocketing, Roberts has been given the unenviable task of passing some of those costs on to the nation's cash-strapped printers. With the ramp-up of News International's new presses, though, he'll have a hugely busy year ahead – Agfa is supplying all pre-press services to the publisher's sites under an innovative outsourcing deal. Well-known for his business acumen and successful leadership, he's also not averse to speaking his mind, according to one (anonymous) colleague. Outside work, Roberts is a dedicated family man, who recently returned from a white-water rafting expedition with his two sons.

He says The printing community has got to pass its raw material costs on to the publisher – otherwise we'll all be down the plug hole.

They say He goes over to Belgium and tells them how to run the business

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16 Anoush Gordon (14)
Xerox UK
Why Well respected, calm and polite, Gordon has played a key role in developing and bringing to the market many of Xerox's production products. He is considered the UK face behind product ranges including the DocuColor, DocuTech and DocuPrint brands. Gordon is also behind the implementation of the Xerox New Business of Printing strategy, which provides products and services for customers getting into
on-demand or personalised printing. But he's not just a 'Xeroid' and has an all round knowledge of the digital sector.

He says Many of the traditional assumptions about value and quality have been challenged, and those players in the industry who have responded to the challenge, have grown and seen significant success in return.

They say A true gentleman of print.

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17 Richard Gray (16)
Vision in Print
Why According to a colleague, chief executive Gray's motto is 'be prepared and be focused', and with the group becoming self-funded as of April this year, Gray had to fall back on both of these attributes and more to ensure that the move went smoothly. He has high expectations of those around him but also of himself, and those in the know say that he has a "tough but fair" management style. Gray is dedicated, hard-working and buzzes with energy. He is also direct and supportive. "What you see is what you get with Richard – he is intelligent, committed and full of integrity," says one colleague.

He says The UK print industry is at a tipping point. The past 15 years have been good – the next 15 years will be far more challenging.
They say Is Richard driven? Can a Ferrari move fast?

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18 Debbie Read NEW
Emap
Why A brand new entry to the list, Read was catapulted into the top 20 this year when she landed her "dream job" as Emap's group production director. Read, formerly production director at IPC Media, replaced Emap veteran Andy Franks, following his surprise departure late last year. A former chairman of the PPA's pass4press committee and pre-media guru, Read's first order of business will doubtless be with Emap's pre-press suppliers. However, that is not to say that Emap's print and paper suppliers can rest easy as Read is not expected to be content with leaving things just as they are.

She says Everything can be reviewed.

They say She is almost certainly one of the best brains – particularly in terms of pre-press – in the industry.

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19 Simon Ward (51)
St Ives
Why One of the biggest movers in the Power 100 and it's no surprise – commercial chief executive Ward has risen from heading up SP Group to becoming a member of the St Ives main board. His stock is rising and it's down to his positive, go-getting attitude. It's an outlook that's served him well. Following the sale of SP to St Ives in 2004, Ward, who heads up the group-wide sales operation, has done everything but sit back. He hasn't been stifled by becoming part of a larger group and remains highly focused on finding out what customers want (and coming up with nicknames for his colleagues). Widely respected, both inside St Ives and the industry, we fully expect his stock to rise further.
He says Now we can say we are not only thinking and acting as one business, but presenting ourselves that way too.

They say Very clever and constantly on the go.

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20 George Clarke (17)
Heidelberg UK
Why Managing director Clarke has probably got one of the easiest jobs in print; after all, being market leader in virtually every kit sector the firm is active in is something that many suppliers would give their right arm for. But the charming Clarke is far from arrogant, and even with products such as Anicolor generating huge interest (which will surely reach fever pitch at Drupa when the firm will probably 'surprise' us with a B1 version), he never takes anything for granted.

He says My highs in the past 12 months have been our customers' delight at the XL105's productivity, long perfector sales and Ipex. And my first child finishing full-time education and starting work.

They say Despite a tough image, George has a gift for putting people at ease. Leading the singing, standing on a table, beer in hand in a German beer hall is my favourite image of him.

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21 Neil Rylance (19)
Chesapeake
Why It's tough at the top, especially if the' top' in question is being head of a packaging group. Rylance has had to oversee a fair degree of restructuring at Field Group, part of Chesapeake, and not all of it has been met with universal approval. The company's plans to re-organise the Bradford and Newcastle sites were met with predictable resistance from workers and the union and a tense stand-off ensued through the early part of this year. The dispute was resolved with Field pretty much getting its way. Rylance, Chesapeake executive vice president of European packaging, will be hoping that the coming months are a little smoother for the packaging sector.

He says Not a lot – Rylance is the strong, silent type and has an extremely low profile outside of his company. He very rarely gives comments to the press.

They say A tough talking businessman.

 

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22 Jasper Scott (20)

IPC Media
Why Scott is a hard man to get hold of. Permanently involved in one multi-million pound print tender or another, he is reported to have something of a 'fascination with factories'. Described as having a "sharp intellect" and being a "born communicator", Scott continues to achieve reduced manufacturing costs, in the face of a consolidating market. "He's a highly skilled negotiator," says one supplier. In addition to his business skills, Scott has a talent for the piano and was involved in a print industry band, the line-up of which included his old opposite number at Emap, Andy Franks. "We split for musical differences," said Franks. "Which is that he's musical and I'm not."

He says "It's been an action packed year, coping with a massive change in the industry and in publishing, where we are seeing printed media increasingly challenged by digital."

They say Don't mess with Jasper. Once he digs his Crockett & Jones heels in, forget it.

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23 John Madejski NEW
Goodhead Group
Why Owner Madejski's inclusion in the Power 100 is open to debate. Many will argue that the group's chief executive David Holland would have been the more obvious choice, and next year, they may just be proven right. But this year, it's a case of money talks. The future of Benhamgoodheadprint, which was forced to close its Colchester operation earlier this year, is dependent on substantial investment. And true to form, millionaire Madejski came to its rescue with a £25m package, causing some pundits to speculate that he's preparing the firm for a sale. But don't count your chickens just yet; many thought that he would sell Reading FC when they reached the Premiership, and so far they've been proven wrong too.

He says This is a major investment for the company and one that will take us to the top of the printing league as the UK's largest web offset printing plant.

They say To invest in a sector [web] that is already heavily overpopulated doesn't make sense, but he's a shrewd businessman, so there must be some method to his apparent madness.

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24 Richard Gray NEW
Prinovis
Why We almost gave this slot to sharp-shirted Ross Borton, the recently appointed UK sales director at German gravure giant Prinovis' Liverpool supersite, but Richard Gray was appointed as managing director in the nick of time to make it onto the list. In replacing Bob Robinson, Gray, an affable newspaper print veteran who has headed up Trinity Mirror's Oldham print site for the past nine years, is taking on one of UK print's biggest jobs. Argos, Tesco and Ikea are among recently recruited clients, and Gray will need to ramp the site up to take on News International's weekend supplements by the end of next year.

He says It has been a difficult decision to leave Trinity Mirror after almost half a working life.

They say We [Prinovis] are elated that we could recruit such an experienced specialist.

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25 Sidney Bobb NEW
BAPC
Why In his role as chairman of the British Association for Print & Communication, Bobb is well-known within the industry. With more than 4,000 members, this position makes him the de facto voicebox for small printers across the UK. And with 90% of the industry made up of firms with fewer than 20 staff, that's a heavy responsibility. Bobb devotes a great deal of his time to the state of the industry and has provided guidance to many multi-national companies that supply the sector with kit and services. He leads a team of like-minded individuals who are collectively responsible for the continued growth of the BAPC and, according to one colleague, his "tenaciousness coupled with a Glaswegian accent has often seen him dubbed the hard man of print".

He says When I agreed to a two-year stint as chairman in 1995, I never envisaged how far we'd progress and I certainly never imagined that I'd still be here now.

They say His schedule reads like the roll-call of the good and great and hardly an evening goes past that he isn't at some function or other.

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26 Toby Marchant (27)
PaperlinX
Why "Marchant is a through thinker," explains one associate. "He thinks in the short, medium and long term, looks at the context of the issue or the problem, and forces the people around him to think outside the box." PaperlinX's regional president for the UK and Ireland is also fun to be around, appreciates a fine bottle of plonk, travels prodigiously and loves his "go-faster BMW". When he's not trying to squeeze his hulking frame into a business class seat, Marchant is an avid follower of England's rugby and cricket teams and when he gets the chance to take a break from his work duties, he enjoys family holidays.

He says Developing the skills of the sector is a key enabler to the ability to develop competitiveness and productivity.
They say He is passionate about the business, his job and the industry and is a good all round team player.

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27 Robert MacMillan (75)
HH Associates
Why Until this year, MacMillan, much like the old HH, ran below most people's radar. Having gone unnoticed until last year's Power 100 entry, MacMillan's jump up the rankings has coincided with HH's leap into the public consciousness. Described as a "latter-day workaholic", MacMillan likes to keep his hands dirty and recently led the team that secured a £175m deal with Carphone Warehouse. "Robert was sales director before he bought the organisation and he really led from the front on that one," says a colleague.
He says This is a third-generation contract and to sign up for another long-term deal shows that what we are doing is sustainable.
They say He's taken HH from almost anonymous mid-market obscurity to a pre-eminent pan European print management organisation.

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28 Ray Huntzinger NEW
Royal Mail
Why Ray Huntzinger will have crossed some printers' radars in a former life as the head of production for Barclays' marketing operation, but his arrival at Royal Mail in January this year has boosted his profile in companies across the UK. As the organisation's strategic programme director in its newly formed document management services division, Huntzinger is heading up one of the biggest tendering processes in UK print history, initially estimated to be worth an eye-watering £400m over four years, which makes him one of the most important buyers in the market. Early indications suggest that one of the big print management firms will take the honours, but it's a tender that has had many in the industry drooling; when asked who had attended a tender presentation, one print management source simply replied that "everyone was there". Huntzinger is described as an "anglicised American" who doesn't shirk at demanding change.

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29 Christian Knapp (30)
KBA UK
Why Are there any large point-of-sale printers out there that don't have a Rapida 205? If there are, then they must be due a visit from KBA's highly determined UK managing director Christian Knapp. His ability to process information at high speed is legendary at the press manufacturer and the hardest task for those that work alongside him is keeping up. "Christian drives his big Audi like a bat out of hell and applies the same breakneck speed to doing business and eating a meal," says one associate. Bored if trapped in the office for too long, Knapp has recently taken up golf and is now (along with his wife Danielle) a self-confessed nut for the sport. In addition to pounding the fairways, he relaxes by walking his beloved labrador Nell, and roaring around on his Triumph motorbike. He's a "top bloke" who boasts faultless ethics and is "a bloody hard worker".

He says The recession is already underway, but by 2010, consolidation will have ended.

They say Lovely man, but bloody awful to keep up with.

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30 Norman Revill (28)
MAN Roland GB
Why It's been another busy year for Revill, aka 'Sir Norman of Newark', who, from behind his trendy spectacles, has stepped up to the position of managing director for MAN Roland GB – starting in the role on the same day as England football manager Steve McLaren. The web offset specialist admitted he was "bitterly disappointed" by the Telegraph Media Group's decision not to re-invest at West Ferry, but successes have come elsewhere, notably the installation and start-up of News International's raft of new presses. On the large-format sheetfed side, Revill has lost some ground to his old colleague, KBA's Christian Knapp, but the launch of the super-quick-makeready DirectDrive – as well as his infamously wicked sense of humour – should bring him more success in the coming year.

He says I would expect to be in this position longer than McLaren is in his. In fact, I'll probably stay here for the remainder of my career.

They say [His promotion] is good news for Norman because he's got the top job, and it's good news for his competitors because he won't be out selling so much any more.

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31 Nicky Mason (23)
IIR Exhibitions
Why According to Trevor Crawford, event director at IIR Exhibitions, Mason has helped "transform our events business". Since the group's acquisition of Ipex last year, IIR has gone from strength to strength, with Ipex South Asia this October, the show's first international spin-off. The only blip thus far is the delaying of Ipex Digital CEE to October 2008. In her role as managing director, Mason is highly focused and colleagues say she is normally the first to arrive and the last to leave. Her greatest skill is the ability to get under the skin of the market to understand the people and the issues it faces and she is also a first-class communicator. She always has time for people across all of the group's teams and is extremely popular and well-respected.

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32 Jason Cromack (31)
TripleArc (AccessPlus)
Why Known to many as one-sixth of the print industry's Rat Pack, Cromack has continued to oversee the revival in TripleArc's fortune's this year. Despite seeing the firm's turnover drop by over £12m, following the sale of part of its loss-making Stream direct mail business, TripleArc's chief executive cut the firm's pre-tax losses from £3.7 to £2.3m, in results that were welcomed by the City. Cromack, who is a consummate salesman, described the year as one of progress for the firm, adding: "Importantly, we are once again winning long-term contracts as demonstrated by the seven won in 2006." When taking time out from the business, Cromack can occasionally be found on the slopes. "He's something of a fledgling skier," says one colleague. "I think his real talent lies in the après ski."

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33 Charles Murray (32)
Sun Chemical
Why It's a busy time for Sun Chemical and, according to those in the know, there's no better man to manage this change than the firm's corporate vice president and UK general manager Charles Murray. On the back of acquisitions of two firms focused on packaging, the firm also introduced new product lines and invested in two new customer service centres. Sun also revamped its sheetfed commercial sales presence to enhance its service. Murray says that the re-energising of the UK offset structure is part of the firm's wider growth and investment strategy and a lot rests on his shoulders in the coming months. However, Murray is known as an industry nice guy and his professional approach should see these changes go through smoothly.

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34 Mark Shaw (74)
Bezier
Why A meteoric rise for in-store specialist Bezier's chief executive, who's been hitting the acquisition trail hard. First up was Poulters, an £8m advertising and marketing agency that gives the company the ability to go, as Shaw puts it, "through the line". Then, in October last year, Shaw was at it again, this time snapping up Leicester-based in-store company Pointer. Then the focused switched to investment and Bezier bought a KBA Rapida 162, spending a cool £3m in the press. While all this points towards Bezier being bang on for its targeted £200m turnover by 2010, Shaw's keen to stress that he's not getting too hung up on turnover and wants to build a business that's "right for the market".

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35 Rick Stunt (35)
Associated Newspapers
Why Rick Stunt conducts his business like he's captaining the winning team in a high-octane rugby cup final; mostly good-natured but he leaves you in no doubt of what he wants. The group paper director of Associated Newspapers, himself an avid rugby fan, holds a handful of university honours, including a doctorate. But beyond that, he controls one of Europe's biggest paper budgets, buying an estimated 700,000 tonnes of newsprint every year. How he changes his buying habits in the coming two years, given the influx of recycled mill projects in the UK, will have knock-on effects across the industry.

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36 Neil Sutton (34)
Komori UK
Why The managing director of Komori UK could teach Steve Harmison a thing or two about wicket taking – Sutton holds the record for the most number of wickets taken in a season. That was for his village cricket team, but he is also a junior coach and has a passion for the game. He also has a passion for Komori and while negotiating his first year in the managing director role, he has overseen the launch of the B2 Komori LS29 at Ipex, and helped grow the group's share of the market.

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37 James Povey (37)
Polestar
Why Aside from retaining his best-dressed crown, Povey has seen his role within Polestar broaden in recent months and he is now responsible for top-level sales to both the magazine and Fleet Street markets. Recent wins for Povey include deals and contract extensions with IPC Media, Telegraph Media Group and Emap, to name but a few. "Povey's watchword is integrity," says one colleague. "He goes all out to ensure that the goods are delivered and he will always follow through." Perhaps suitably for someone with as calm a demeanour as Povey, reports are that he's recently returned to playing the piano.

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38 John Charnock (26)
St Ives
Why Charnock is renowned for his technical expertise and the group technical director is St Ives through and through. He always seeks perfection in any task he undertakes and his role within the group is that of an impartial internal consultant. According to colleagues, he's laid back, loyal and extremely hardworking. As for his dress sense, it's apparently "dodgy, in a '70s school teacher kind of way", but he redeems himself by being a keen surfer – of waves, not the internet.

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39 Elizabeth Allen (33)
Penguin Books
Why Arguably the most powerful production director in UK book publishing, Allen wields a massive £85m annual print spend and is probably top of Mike Taylor's Christmas card list. In the past year, she has busied herself with developing parent company Pearson's content management strategy, on top of her day job, and has represented Penguin on the Pearson content management council. Rumoured to have a sizeable collection of shoes, Allen spends her downtime holidaying in various exotic locations, the most recent being South America. Clearly, this helps her keep things in perspective.

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40 Steve Haithwaite (48)
Tesco
Why After much speculation in the press over the timing and print-run of Tesco's hotly awaited catalogue, it finally launched with a print run of 2m – far less than the 20m predicted by one newspaper – last September. One observer described the supermarket giant's non-food catalogue as "high quality and professional", and much of the credit for this success was placed at the Haithwaite's door. One voter praised Haithwaite's ability to create a vibrant and efficient site, staffed by professional and knowledgeable teams.

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41 Tim Delahay (39)
DSTi Output
Why The "rather dapper" chief executive of DSTi Output was delighted to pick up a contract this year from Orange to produce full-colour transactional mail. He declared the deal a "massive coup" for the company, which is making waves with its ability to combine bills and statements with marketing messages. Motorcycle enthusiast Delahay has a passion for technology and the data driven nature of the business means that it's not simply an ink-on-paper operation, while his drive towards lean manufacturing is proving "immensely successful".

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42 Lascelle Barrow (40)
Augustus Martin
Why The managing director of Augustus Martin has been keeping half an eye on what the opposition has been up to over the past year and publicly delivered his view on the goings on at Bezier. He supported the firm's decision to go down the route of large-format litho, adding that it wasn't an entirely new strategy – Augustus Martin spotted the point-of-sale market's need for large format litho more than 17 years ago.

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43 John Knight (41)
Anton Group
Why One voter for Anton Group's chief executive argued that Knight was worthy of inclusion on the list due to his "forward thinking and exemplary business record within the direct mail and commercial print industry". Another praised his "sheer energy to achieve his strategic vision for the business". Knight has been the inspirational force behind a business that has grown from a three-man platemaking firm in the '70s to a £40m operation with one of the UK's most impressive line-ups of plant and machinery. And to top it all, he's a nice guy.

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44 John Bird (44)
Harmsworth Quays Printing
Why Rumour has it that John Bird, managing director of Associated Newspapers' print operation Harmsworth Quays (HQL), has commissioned an area for his pet dog at the new £80m Didcot print site his firm is building. But looking after a pooch isn't his only concern. Bird rose to head up HQL a year ago when management of Associated's London flexo print site Harmsworth Quays was merged with that of its regional presses, and now runs an organisation of 1,200 staff. How he deals with the expected glut of newspaper contract capacity will be one of his prime concerns.

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45 Andrew Parker (47)
Quebecor World
Why The Corby plant's managing director is described as one of the industry's "nice guys", and after 2005/06, when he was forced to shed 450 jobs, the past 12 months have been relatively calm for Parker. On the plus side, the cost-cutting exercise led to the development of a close relationship with Amicus, resulting in the opening of a work-place learning centre at Corby. The firm's 72pp KBA Compacta press, the first of two, was also commissioned last year. But with speculation that Quebecor is looking to sell its European operations, the next year could include more turmoil for Parker.

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46 Kevin Lyden (NEW)
UPM-Kymmene
Why Graham Fraser, UPM's sales chief for magazine papers, has previously starred in our Power 100, but it's been such a busy year for the firm as a whole that this time it made sense to feature his boss. Lyden, who is managing director of UPM's UK operations, hit the headlines this year when he claimed that paper manufacturers are "hopelessly inhibited by our past" and argued that consolidation was not the solution. He has challenges ahead, not least the construction of two newsprint mills in the UK that will contest UPM Shotton's supremacy. The never-ending push for higher prices from head office will also be high on his agenda in the coming months.

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47 Peter Morris (46)
Friedheim International
Why The print industry would be a much duller place without Friedheim's charismatic managing director Peter Morris to liven things up. He openly admits to loving the industry and everyone in it, although whether that stretches to all of his rivals is open to debate. Since the 2005 management buyout he led with financial director Mark Bristow, the Hemel Hempstead-based post-press kit supplier appears to have grown from strength to strength – not that you're ever likely to hear that from Morris's lips. He'd be too worried that his customers would want a discount.

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48 Nicholas Green (60)
Tangent Communications
Why It could have all been very different if Green's plan to buy St Ives for £282m had succeeded. It was an audacious attempt and the joint chief executive of Tangent could have been sitting on St Ives' board today. The bid showed how ambitious Green is and his ultimate desire to build his group into an all-round technology business. In February, Tangent acquired north-east digital printer Ravensworth. The company specialises in the property market and gives Tangent a foothold in the much-talked-about Home Information Pack sector – a market he believes could have a real impact on the business, if it ever goes ahead. Green's enthusiasm doesn't just stop at acquiring – end of year figures for Tangent show that the business is making money as well. Margins of around 12% are almost unheard of in the industry and with Ravensworth well and truly on-board, expect to see Tangent growing ever more.

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49 Joe Clark (25)
Guardian Newspapers
Why It's been a quieter year for Clark as the big bang effect of his £100m conversion of The Guardian from a broadsheet to a Berliner-sized newspaper wears off. The paper is still unique in the UK market and daily sales have settled at around the 365,000 mark, down from around 380,000 a year ago. But following the announcement last month that The Daily Telegraph would pull its printing out of Trafford Park over the next two years, director of production Clark could well find himself with some extra press capacity to handle – and broadsheet capacity at that.