Power shifts in growth company world
Article Date: Feb 05 2009
Hall of fame: the Power Top 50
Seasoned recession survivors, cash-rich corporate investors and turnaround experts all feature in Business XL magazine’s Power Top 50, a yearly snapshot of the key movers and shakers in the growth company universe.
Jon Moulton, the founder of private equity firm Alchemy, occupies the top spot in the annual ranking. Long before the credit crunch, Moulton warned of the ‘wall of cheap and indiscriminate money for deals’ and now says companies should aim for ‘survival, not prosperity’.
In second and third position are Ashish Patel, MD of big-hitting corporate investor Intel Capital, and Anne Glover, co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, who led an influential review into government procurement last year.
The top entrepreneur on the list is Bob Holt, the CEO and chairman of Mears Group which last year transferred its shares from AIM to the Official List. Holt, who has weathered several previous recessions, says the key to survival is ‘good financial management of the business and keeping close to your customers’.
Turnaround experts in the ranking include Jamie Constable, CEO of Little Chef saviour RCapital and Carl Jackson, the head of the business recovery division of accountancy firm Tenon.
There are also several high-profile casualties of 2008, who appeared on last year's list but do not feature this time. They include Jonathan Brown, formerly the corporate finance chief at collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki, and Doug Richard, former Dragons' Den star and founder of venture capital research firm Library House which went into administration several weeks ago.
