Chief executive, Kingfisher
In 2003, fresh from overseeing the merger of Granada and Carlton as chief executive of Carlton Communications, Gerry Murphy (pictured) joined Kingfisher.
Predictions at the time were that the Irishman was brought in to shape a sale of Europe's leading home improvement group, but instead he has steered the business in the direction of further international expansion. Kingfisher operates in France, Poland, Italy, China and Taiwan, countries that generate 40 per cent of its profits. It is now preparing to roll out in Russia.
B&Q may be facing a tough year in the UK, but becoming chief executive of the third-largest DIY retailer in the world is not a bad career move. With the dollar still weak, any talk of selling Kingfisher remains that, but should conditions change Murphy may well be hoping to make those initial predictions come true.
12 Justin King
Chief executive, Sainsbury's
When the chips are down there is more room to make your mark. This is certainly the case for Justin King, who has not been afraid to rattle cages on the road to implementing his£550 million restructuring and recovery strategy for Sainsbury's since taking over the chief executive role in March last year.
The former Marks & Spencer director of food and retail managing director of Asda admits on the Sainsbury's web site that he probably benefited from Sainsbury's decline in his previous roles, but now his job is to stop the rot. With a change strategy in place, King has helped steer the retailer towards the first signs of recovery.
For the 12 weeks to March 26, like-for-like sales, including petrol, rose 3.7 per cent. The turnaround task is huge but one that King, a passionate Manchester United supporter appears to be relishing.
13 William Fung
Managing director, Li & Fung
Li & Fung has built a US$5.5 billion (£2.88 billion) sourcing powerhouse business by helping multinational retailers co-ordinate production at factories in Asia and other developing markets, with a network of 66 offices in 37 countries.
The company not only supplies most of the UK high street (John Lewis, Debenhams and Sainsbury's rank among its many clients), it has also positioned itself in the manufacturing market with licensing deals with Levis, mainly for men's tops, and homewares brand Royal Velvet. With quotas dropped on Chinese exports, Li & Fung in its Hong Kong Base is likely to provide a much-needed bridge between East and West.
14 Richard Baker
Chief executive, Boots
Richard Baker's mild-mannered nature belies a man who has taken sometough, and very stressful, business decisions. Letting go of some 1,500 staff, selling a major part of the business - in Boots Healthcare International - and co-ordinating the sale and leaseback of 300 stores is not for the anxious or faint-hearted.
Despite fourth-quarter sales figures dipping and a warning of difficult trading conditions, Boots is still the UK's leading health and beauty retailer, with some 80 per cent of women keeping the stores on their shopping radar. In fact, one in three women have a No7 product in their make-up bag.
Baker's early career was at food manufacturer Mars, along with his contemporaries Justin King and Argos managing director Sara Weller. He is busy putting Boots back on track with price re-adjustments and investment in its own brand product, including a revamp of its£100 million cosmetics brand No7.
15 John Clare
Chief executive, Dixons Group
After his appointment in 1994, John Clare led the Dixons Group into successful international expansion, a far cry from its earlier disastrous experience in the US with the Silo chain. Just as smoothly as the acquisition of European businesses, Clare has taken on the mantle of driving the business forward from Sir Stanley Kalms, who retired as chairman in 2002.
In a tough, price-competitive sector, Dixons Group is powering ahead, with sales from continuing operations up 9 per cent at the last set of interim results to November 13 last year. Not content with storming the high street the business, under the guidance of Norfolk-born Clare, is gunning for an increase in online sales. The retailer expects online sales to break the£1 billion barrier over the next five years, with about half coming from its UK consumer sites such as currys.co.uk.
16 Charles Dunstone
Founder and chief executive, Carphone Warehouse
Often described as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of his generation, Dunstone is a self-made millionaire who gave up his job as a sales manager in 1989 to set up Carphone Warehouse aged just 25.
He started out from his bedroom, building a business that eventually floated on the Stock Exchange. Today, there are 1,100 stores in 11 countries. Dunstone is not only a force on the high street, but also in the boardroom as a non-executive director of the Halifax Group, Daily Mail and General Trust. He is also chairman of the Prince's Trust Trading board.
Not yet 40, he continues to grow the business through innovation, with Carphone Warehouse taking on the landline companies with its Talk Talk business. His competitive nature extends into his personal life too. Dunstone, a passionate sailor, won the prestigious Fastnet race in 2003 on a yacht called Nokia, Connecting People.
17 John Prescott
Deputy Prime Minister
John Prescott has the ultimate decision on planning consent and as he has shown in the past, the most memorable example being declining planning permission for Ikea's Stockport store in 2002, he's not afraid to use it.
The Government's PPS6 planning policy statement aims to promote in-town developments and Prescott has been increasingly strict on out-of-town schemes in order to help preserve high streets and reduce car use.
By blocking the Ikea store and advising the retailer to re-think its growth strategy, Prescott has led the Government's line on curbing out-of-town sites. However, the PPS6 policy has room for negotiation where it can be shown that an out-of-town development would aid regeneration plans. Prescott is the man that retailers will need to convince.
18 George Davies
Chief executive, Per Una
He may have sold the Per Una business lock and stock to Marks & Spencer last year for£125 million, but George Davies is still very much in control of the range's direction as chief executive of the brand.
With Per Una one of M&S's success stories - it represents 20 per cent of fashion sales - the retailer will be hoping Davies can keep on working his magic, a gift he used first as the founder of Next and then later with the development of George at Asda.
The irrepressible Davies is a man who bounces from one challenge to another and has proved himself repeatedly at adapting to different target markets.
His role with the Per Una brand has slightly more than a year to run. After that many on the high street will be watching closely to see where he chooses to take his talents next.
19 Jane Shepherdson
Brand director, Topshop
Jane Shepherdson runs Topshop, Arcadia's leading light that pulls in profits of£90 million. Under her guidance, the brand has become one of the frontrunners of fast fashion and a shopping stop for celebrities; which other fashion high street store can boast a£7,000 after-hours spending spree by A-list actress Gwyneth Paltrow?
Shepherdson and Topshop practically invented cheap chic, with the individuality and catwalk influence of the Topshop offer making shopping down a viable option for designer label slaves.
Now product features regularly on the pages of Vogue and Sunday style supplements, which would never have touched high street before. Competition, such as Zara and New Look, has caught up, but initiatives such as Topshop To Go, the bespoke dress service Topshop Atelier and TS Boutique ensure the brand stays one step ahead of the rest of the high street.
The flagship at 214 Oxford Street remains a destination shop for fashionistas of all purse sizes and the very hands-on boss regularly visits the store to check all is running smoothly. The next challenge for her is taking the brand abroad, with European expansion tipped for this year.
20 Phil Wrigley
Chief executive, New Look
It may have been New Look founder Tom Singh who led the privatisation of the fast fashion chain a year ago, but it is Phil Wrigley, promoted to the position of chief executive at the time of the deal, who has successfully led the business since.
The promotion of Wrigley to the chief executive position allowed Singh to focus his attentions on sourcing and the supply chain, and Wrigley to maintain the media and City links that will be key to New Look's future exit.
Now pushing hard on all fronts New Look is increasing its power in the fashion market - with trials continuing on childrenswear and menswear as well as other new sub ranges such as petites in the pipeline and the continual hunt for larger stores in which to show off its wider offers.
In a business no longer answerable to the City New Look could have lost its discipline, but Wrigley's influences means that his strategy, and his team, grow stronger by the day.
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