Ian Cheshire

Ian Cheshire has had a good run of it since he landed the top job at Kingfisher in 2008. Adjusted pre-tax profits have rocketed 88%, from £357m to £670m.

Now that Cheshire is nearing the end of his three-year turnaround strategy that aims to deliver value to shareholders through what Cheshire calls self-help initiatives - he is looking to bigger and better things. His new quest is to ‘create the leader’ in home improvement in the next five to 10 years through making DIY easier, increasing the proportion of commonly sourced product, upping innovation and expanding into existing and new territories, potentially including India, Brazil and eastern Europe.

But while undoubtedly committed to Kingfisher, Cheshire has astutely surrounded himself with dynamic figures at Kingfisher, leaving him more time for extracurricular activities. As such, he is increasingly proving a leading ambassador for retail as well as sustainability.

Last year, he was called upon by Prime Minister David Cameron to join him on his trade mission to India. He must have made a good impression, as the cerebral king of DIY was soon drafted into the Department of Work and Pensions as a lead non-executive director. Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith said Cheshire would “help drive up performance across the Department, demonstrating real value for money for the country’s tax payers”.

An expert at banging the drum for the sector, within the last 12 months he has called for reform of employment tribunal rules to help kick-start the UK jobs market. He was also one of the business luminaries to put his name to a letter to the Daily Telegraph, urging Government not to hesitate or water down plans to tackle the budget deficit.

In the toughest of times Cheshire has revitalised Kingfisher while standing up for the industry and for business in general, truly taking the Do It Yourself mantra to heart.