40 Steve Nunn    (40)
Williams Lea
Why No change for the managing director of Williams Lea’s marketing solutions division, but the print veteran is building up a strong fan base. He is responsible for the growth of Williams Lea, making it the biggest in the world, says one paid up member of the Nunn appreciation society. While Nunn himself would be too modest to take all the credit for the company becoming the print behemoth it is today, he has played a major role – he was at the forefront of Williams Lea’s moneybags contract with the Reader’s Digest Association. He is a big believer in communicating with customers and is likely to remain at the forefront of an ever-expanding sector.


39 Christian Knapp     (31)
KBA UK
Why A well-respected most English of Germans who is unlikely to take his foot off the pedal. While inevitably the past 12 months have been relatively quiet for KBA, UK managing director Knapp has been busy working to ensure the manufacturer is well placed when the upturn begins. His year has been characterised by cost cutting, engineering support consolidation and the launch of a new consumables division. Knapp is passionate about the products he sells, says one commentator, and that drive has seen deals signed with W&G Baird, Kolorcraft and Cambrian among others.


38 Norman Revill     (32)
Manroland GB
Why Described as having the common touch and a sense of humour, despite the challenges in manufacturing, keen golfer managing director Revill has a strong track record that strengthens his position in the industry. Revill has moved through the ranks of Manroland during his 20-year tenure, highlighted by the £600m deal struck to supply News International. One colleague says he is the opposite of Marmite, which would surely make Revill indifferent, but one imagines that is far from the case. He is said to have a great ability to relate to staff and customers alike.

37 Simon France    (NEW)
HSBC Equipment Finance
Why Heading up the team that provides the most finance to the industry, France’s importance has shot to the fore over the past 12 months. As cash-strapped firms pitch to refinance kit, HSBC has the power of life or death over many printers, or as one person who nominated him put it: no dosh equals no printing company so he has a real effect on the industry. With the Credit Crunch easing, he will play an important part in the growth strategies of many printers in the coming year.

36 Keith Dalton     (41)
Fujifilm Graphic Services
Why Industry stalwart Dalton has had a busy 12 months overseeing the firm’s transition from that of a pure pre-press vendor to a printing vendor. In addition to selling Xerox DocuColors, the company has established a closer collaboration with its Sericol sister firm, whose wide-format digital printing equipment and consumables it now sells. According to a colleague, Keith is a very positive leader and a real pleasure to work with. He has a great way of mixing hard work and humour, but deep down is a true competitor and this undoubtedly drives him and, therefore, Fujifilm, to great heights. His passion for promoting the value of print is second to none, particularly outside the industry. Dalton’s challenge in the next 12 months will be to commercialise the firm’s B2 inkjet machine shown at Drupa and scheduled for an Ipex launch. Thanks to his combination of knowledge and passion, few would bet against the launch being a success.

35 David Holland     (NEW)
Goodhead Group
Why Holland is chairman of John Madejski’s (see number 7) print interests and has proved extremely persuasive in getting Sir John to back up his web offset expansion plans to the     p tune of some £32m at the last count. He is without doubt one of the most experienced managers in the industry, and is described as very intelligent, and very intellectual with a tough-but-fair, style by one former colleague. With power increasingly being devolved to Geoff Hughes and Steve Palmer to perform the required turnaround at BGP, there’s speculation that Holland may be readying himself for a move into retirement, which would allow him to spend more time with his beloved Bob Dylan collection.

34 John Knight     (44)
Anton Group
Why You’d be hard pressed to find an individual more popular with printing equipment suppliers at the moment than Anton Group chief executive John Knight. The Essex-based company, with an annual turnover of £45m, continues to splash out on the latest technology. The most recent investment was in a Speedmaster XL perfector from Heidelberg, which took the printer’s spend with the German press giant to £30m in five years. Knight is a hands-on boss who likes to keep his staff up-to-date with developments – he recently called them in for a meeting in which he outlined his plans for the future of the business and pledged that he would do his damndest to avoid making redundancies in the current economic climate. A good thing too when you consider that 17 members of the extended Knight family work for the company. Outside of print Knight’s dream is for his beloved Tottenham Hotspur to lift the Premier League title.


33 Robert Stabler     (NEW)
HP Indigo
 Why Leader of the HP Indigo UK team for the past two years, Robert Stabler has steered HP towards a significant share of the production print market with more pages printed on Indigos than ever before. A big Chelsea fan, Stabler was a valuable participant in PrintWeek’s successful online web-to-print seminar held late last year. He has an enthusiasm for technologies that open up new markets, but believes you need to know what you want to achieve and how. He is also credited with helping HP break ground in markets such as direct mail and publishing. A keen cyclist, by the time this goes to print, he will have taken part in the London to Paris road race.


32 Steve Brundle     (12)
TPF Group
Why It’s been a difficult year for TPF and Brundle’s precipitous fall down the Power 100 rankings reflects the tough times that have befallen his Northampton-based print management company. Buoyed this time last year by the addition of £85m worth of new business, things were looking good. However, within the space of a few weeks, TPF lost its £2.5m a year transactional print contract with Sky, followed by its £20m-plus print management contract with the satellite broadcaster. Added to which, Brundle’s long-time business partner and TPF financial director Ian Wallace announced his retirement, marking another significant loss for the company. In the past few months, TPF, and the big man himself, have both been uncharacteristically quiet. Let’s hope that’s not an indication of more bad news to come.

31 Charles Murray     (34)
Sun Chemical
Why Some business commentators argue that one of the best ways for companies to survive, and indeed thrive, during a recession is to innovate. Based on recent developments, it’s clear that Sun Chemical’s corporate vice-president and group managing director Murray subscribes to this philosophy. Since the turn of the year, the ink giant has unveiled a series of innovative new products ranging from colour-change inks, through to two new inks aimed at the super-wide-format digital printing market at the recent Fespa Digital show. As one industry insider notes, Murray is a smart cookie who is under no illusions about how tough things are in the newspapers and magazines market at the moment. Colleagues describe him as a very personable and popular figure who enjoys life, is incredibly hard working and thorough, and is extremely passionate about what he does. Away from the industry he plays squash to unwind and apparently likes to ride large motorbikes.

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