Why Komori UK and Europe managing director Neil Sutton holds onto his position slap bang in the middle of the table this year. Sutton has held his current UK role for the past seven years and has successfully piloted the UK arm of the Japanese manufacturer carefully through the economic troubles, reliably delivering consistent, if not spectacular, results. He earns the respect of those who work with him through his "analytical and honest" approach. A well-known sports nut, Sutton will no doubt have been revelling in England’s triumph in this year’s rollercoaster Ashes series and the return earlier this year of the ‘Special One’ to his beloved Chelsea.
Why Another year, and the production efficiency march at ESP Colour continues apace. Driven by the seemingly boundless energy and determination of its "highly demanding" managing director Anthony Thirlby, 2013 has seen ESP continue its pacesetting, not to mention record-breaking, ways. First up was a trebling of the ESP premises back in January, a move designed to accommodate investments in digital, wide-format, creative design and web services made late last year. Then an investment in a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 served to once again raise the bar, reducing makereadies to three minutes. Not that such reductions are ever enough for Thirlby. Watch this space to see if he achieves his aim of reducing these to two minutes this year…
Why He has a licence to print money but even Tim Cobbold has to count the pennies. De La Rue, one of the world’s leading banknote printers, was forced to ramp up a cost-cutting programme after the group recorded an 8% drop in revenues to £484m in the year to 31 March, 2013. But if anyone can swing it, Cobbold can. Before becoming chief executive in 2011 he held several managing director positions. Right now Cobbold, a chartered accountant and a non-executive director of energy titan Drax Group, is busy identifying increased cost savings and a healthy pipeline of order opportunities: the smart money is on him doing just that.
Why KBA UK may have a new managing director, but it could hardly have wished for a more seasoned expert to step into Christian Knapp’s shoes than service director Andrew Pang. Described as "very structured, determined and a team player", Pang knows KBA kit inside out, having been print director at Butler & Tanner before joining the press manufacturer six years ago. He shares a worrying trait with his predecessor, though: a tendency to injure himself while pursuing out-of-work interests. With Knapp it was motorbikes and a broken ankle, whereas Pang’s busted knee came about after a skiing slip. Perhaps he should stick to golf, as we understand KBA’s ‘Tiger Prawn’ could be a match for another Tiger if he put his mind to it.
Why According to a colleague, Bachar Aintaoui’s "infectious energy and enthusiasm" remain undimmed as the chairman of the MBA Group looks to keep driving the north London-headquartered company forward through his unswerving focus on investing in the latest print technology to allow the company to "push the boundaries of innovation". Last year Aintaoui kicked off a £3m investment programme with an upgrade to MBA’s mailing capacity, in addition to boosting its digital and litho capabilities through the acquisition of new Xerox and Heidelberg machines. This year Aintaoui has managed to sail under PrintWeek’s radar. But based on his previous track record you can expect further announcements about investment in cutting-edge print technology soon. 
Why The sun continues to rise for Greg Hayes and his company. As group managing director for northern Europe, he is accountable for multiple business units covering ink sales across Europe. He also leads Sun Chemical’s global digital inks business, its European screen and circuits business and the packaging design business Sun Branding Solutions. This challenging, varied portfolio is responsible for sales turnover close to $750m, making Hayes "a key member of our global senior leadership team", says one of several colleagues who values the straightforward leadership style of a devoted family man "who seems to find it easy to define what success and excellence looks like".
Why What Print Finance managing director lacks in stature he more than makes up for in lending power. Following the acquisition of the firm he founded in 1992 three years ago by Rothschild-owned Five Arrows Leasing Group, and the subsequent boost to the capital available to Print Finance, and by association the print industry, Paul Coggins has joined the top table of asset-based lenders. "He’s incredibly astute. It’s not that he just knows his stuff – in his game that’s a given. He has an incredible understanding of the industry and the challenges printers face," says one vendor. One personal challenge he took on was gaining his boatmasters’ licence after buying a boat. Unfortunately though he soon discovered he was prone to seasickness and sold the boat.
Why Agfa UK has a new managing director for the second time in just over two years. Joergen Vad, a Dane and an Agfa veteran of 28 years with a wide-ranging background at its international businesses and technology groups, describes himself as "a change manager", saying: "You can’t fight change so it’s better to be part of it." An engineer who added business skills to his repertoire, and then studied at European business school INSEAD, Vad is an impressive operator and his appointment is seen as good news for the UK. A keen runner, he is also known for a subtle sense of humour and for being "a skilled practitioner of wind-ups".
Why Managing director of Office2Office’s services division Banner Managed Communications and three children (plus one big kid) Catherine Burke’s workload never stops… Yet she appears to rise to every challenge. The latest indicator of BMC’s growth, and its well-documented focus on off-setting downward print profits with integrated digital services, is the recent five year multi-service contract with South African-based Standard Bank. With this, plus ongoing contracts with other big ticket clients, such as Carphone Warehouse, Hastings Direct and Friends Life, BMC forecast 2013 profits at a cool £80m. And, we’re told, there’s at least one new acquisition on the horizon. Burke’s rise up the Power 100 list may well continue next year, too… 
Why Another deserved rise up the Power 100 rankings for the managing director of family-owned Linney Group. What a big year it’s been for the business, which won substantial new chunks of work from Boots and Home Retail Group. Miles Linney says: "We bought the site next to us thinking it would be for the next 20 years, and we’ve filled it up in two." Charming, witty and with a keen eye for financial detail – both at his own group and others – a personal highlight must surely have been his match-winning performance at the Ronald McDonald House Charities cricket event, where he bowled the ball that resulted in England ladies’ captain Charlotte Edwards being caught out.
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