The marketers featured in this year's rankings have many reasons to celebrate. Not only are they among the elite group who lead marketing creativity and innovation in the UK, but they have also successfully made it through the past 12 months of economic uncertainty.
Each and every entry has been fiercely debated and evaluated, with the influence of both the marketer and the brand under the spotlight. In an era when marketers are facing unprecedented examination from finance departments, the impressive success of Britain's leading brands, both financially and creatively, is a credit to the industry. Reason, at last, to be cheerful.
1. Phil Thomas, Reckitt Benckiser
Thomas, who has more than 15 years' experience in the household-goods sector, has overseen a transformation in marketing at the FMCG company, which is now the UK's eighth-biggest advertiser. The energetic UK marketing director, whom sources describe as decisive, firm and fair, has referred to Reckitt as a 'powerhouse of advertising development'. He should certainly be congratulated for ensuring that the group continually outperforms rivals Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Colgate in terms of growth. Reckitt does not have the corporate profile of its competitors, but this is clearly not its focus; instead, all eyes are on its 17 global power brands, from Cillit Bang to Dettol. The UK business has driven its marketing and product innovation - Air Wick Freshmatic, a product that generates more than £200m a year for the company, was first tested in the UK. While Reckitt may not win awards for advertising creativity, it has continually invested in innovation and supporting and developing its core brands. The fact that the company is a strong performer on the stock market is clearly Thomas' most important measure of marketing success.
2. Gwyn Burr, Sainsbury's
This down-to-earth and likeable marketer has cemented her role as one of the most powerful women in British retail. As customer director, a position created for her by chief executive Justin King, Burr shoulders significant responsibility within the business, including a budget of £250m. She has been behind key brand initiatives, including the strapline 'Try something new today' as well as the 'Feed your family for a fiver' and 'Switch and save' activities, which have translated into stellar results for the retailer. Burr can feel pride - and King vindication - in how she has transformed perceptions of Sainsbury's through her marketing-led approach.
3. Mark Lund, COI
Although Lund now oversees the UK's biggest advertiser as its chief executive, he is keen to distance himself from the enormity of the COI's £208m adspend. The new government plans to bring COI spending back to 1997 levels as a priority, which would result in severe cuts to the government agency's 'turnover'. While this might sound like a dire working situation for Lund, he appears to relish the challenge. Indeed, he has already instituted several cost-cutting measures, winning plaudits from Francis Maude, minister for the cabinet. These include allowing government marketers to deal directly with COI roster agencies and consolidating media buying into WPP's dedicated agency M4C. While former COI chiefs revelled in being at the head of one of the UK's biggest advertisers, Lund, sensitive to the prevailing climate, has played down such talk. In recent times the urbane former adman has gone to great lengths to highlight the fact that government departments, and not the COI, are responsible for the spending - a shrewd piece of self-preservation.
4. Roisin Donnelly, Procter & Gamble
As one of the most high-profile and inspirational women in the industry, corporate marketing director Donnelly continues to develop mentoring schemes and help those lower down the career ladder. She has overseen some key marketing success stories at P&G, including Ariel's 'Turn to 30' drive, which has been influential in persuading consumers to wash their clothes at lower temperatures. While many of P&G's mid-market brands have felt the squeeze in the recession, Donnelly has not followed her rivals into heavy price promotion. Despite overseeing the second-biggest advertising budget in the UK, she keeps her feet firmly on the ground and remains one of the most approachable marketers in the industry.
5. Jill McDonald, McDonald's
Having prospered during the recession, McDonald's felt the 35th anniversary of its arrival in the UK was worth celebrating. Its nostalgic 'Favourites' ad, created by Leo Burnett, featured the brand's staple products of Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets and French Fries and focused on the diversity of people who eat in its restaurants. The chain's core strategy, orchestrated by senior vice-president and chief marketing officer McDonald, has been the continued focus on the quality of ingredients it uses. A campaign under the strapline 'That's what makes McDonald's' emphasised that its burgers are made with only British beef. McDonald said the positioning was based on the fact that some of the chain's best-kept secrets were what goes into its food - 10 years of improvements in this area made the ad possible. A decision to trademark the slang term 'Maccy D's' was controversial, but McDonald's continuing success and the improvement of its brand image are again in the headlines.
6. Richard Hodgson, Waitrose
The launch of the Essential own-label line under commercial director Hodgson has been a success for Waitrose - many were surprised that the supermarket managed to introduce a 'value' range of everyday products without devaluing its positioning. The challenge for Hodgson now is to maintain its growth. The retailer, which claims it is adding 400,000 customers a week, still faces the tough task of making itself relevant to a broader audience. In September, it announced plans to open 300 convenience stores in the UK to increase its presence, acknowledging that 6.5m shoppers do not have easy access to a Waitrose branch. The supermarket recently embarked on a trial partnership with Boots, and launched a heavyweight campaign, created by MCBD, featuring 'Britain's favourite cook' Delia Smith and celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, aimed at inspiring consumers to try various recipes. Rival Tesco also reported an increase in sales of the ingredients featured in the Waitrose ads.
7. Elizabeth Fagan, Boots
No-nonsense grafter Fagan set out typically ambitious plans to transform the business over the past year by establishing partnerships with other retailers. Boots recently began a reciprocal trial in which it stocks certain Waitrose own-label items, while a selection of Waitrose stores carry Boots health and beauty products and toiletries. It has also announced a partnership with Mothercare, which will launch a clothing and accessories brand in Boots' UK stores in the autumn. Boots continues to run its 'Feel good' activity, using the Here Come the Girls soundtrack, established by marketing director Fagan in 2007. One of the most high-profile, successful and demanding marketers of her generation, Fagan is also president of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications London).
8. Keith Weed, Unilever
Filling the shoes of Simon Clift, who in February announced his departure from Unilever after nearly 30 years, five of them as chief marketing officer, is no easy task. However, it is one that Weed was undoubtedly ready to take on after 27 years at the company, which he joined as a trainee. In his rise up the ladder, he most recently took on the role of head of global home care, oral care and water. Arguably, he wields more power in his new position than his predecessor, as his remit encompasses communications as well as marketing.
9. Dianne Thompson, Camelot
In 2009, the high-profile Camelot Group chief executive hit the jackpot herself with a £1.07m salary, an annual rise of 11%, plus a £792,000 bonus. However, Thompson remains staunchly down-to-earth and a keen networker, and is a figurehead for marketing directors hoping to make it to the top. Thompson led Camelot's successful bid to retain the lottery licence last year and was instrumental in upgrading its infrastructure. This will be another big year for the lottery operator, which has been asked to provide £750m toward the London 2012 Olympics fund. Innovation is high on the agenda; in 2009 the group introduced 44 scratchcards and 37 instant-win games.
10. Amanda Mackenzie, Aviva
Mackenzie's epic campaign to rebrand Norwich Union as Aviva was not without risk - after all, changing a venerable and beloved UK brand name to a global, rather more anonymous moniker is no task for the faint-hearted. As one of the country's most prominent and respected marketers, the question now is whether there are sufficient challenges left at Aviva to keep its current chief marketing officer there.
11. Richard Brasher, Tesco
It has been another mixed year for Tesco's commercial director. Having introduced its 'Britain's biggest discounter' strategy at the beginning of the recession, last August the ASA ruled that the supermarket had run 'misleading' comparison ads. However, Tesco continues to grow and diversify. In March it forged a partnership with estate agency Spicerhaart and its website i-Sold, and last month announced plans to extend into homebuilding. It would be no surprise, then, if Tesco fully entered the property market as a complement to its existing financial-services operation. Brasher, a previous UK marketing director at the retailer, initiated its Clubcard Double Points strategy last August. No timescale has been put on the activity, but it has been a hit with shoppers. In the six weeks to 9 January, like-for-like sales, excluding petrol, rose by 4.9% (VAT-adjusted), and Tesco celebrated its strongest Christmas performance in three years.
12. Kerris Bright, British Airways
Bright must be something of a masochist. Not only is she taking on the lead marketing role at the UK's most punch-drunk brand, but she is also moving into the aviation industry near its lowest ebb. BA spent more than a year searching for someone to take on the head of global marketing role, while head of marketing communications Abigail Comber took temporary control. However, Bright, who has been given a mandate to revive the BA brand, is up for the challenge. In her time at AkzoNobel she gained a reputation as a tough operator, leading a gruelling review of the Dulux global advertising account before appointing Euro RSCG. She will need to draw on all that resilience to reinvent the BA brand.
13. Sally Cowdry, O2
On her return from maternity leave, Cowdry faced two tough challenges. First, she had to cut O2's 235-strong marketing team by 10%; second, O2 faced the loss of its Apple iPhone exclusivity deal. She rose to both challenges and has worked hard to expand the O2 brand into new areas, such as finance and insurance. O2 remains by far the UK's single biggest online advertiser, allocating £15.2m - almost 27% of its total media spend - to this platform, according to Nielsen. However, the merger of rivals Orange and T-Mobile means their combined business is set to leapfrog O2 to become Britain's biggest mobile operator.
14. Troy Warfield, Kimberly-Clark
It has been a good year for Kimberly-Clark's top UK marketer: he was promoted to the new post of vice-president of family care, Europe, last August. The former sun-cream model has led a significant change in marketing at the group, which is home to the Andrex, Kleenex and Huggies brands. As well as launching several products he has also moved to streamline the supply chain, resulting in significant cost savings and environmental benefits.
15. Jonathan Mildenhall, Coca-Cola
The exit of GB marketing director Cathryn Sleight amid a European restructure has left a hole at the company, but Mildenhall, vice-president of global advertising strategy, now steps up to the plate. The move to global HQ was a big change for the flamboyant and smooth-talking former adman. Adjusting to the new regime has not always been easy, but he has remained a fixture on the UK marketing circuit and led Coke's digital marketing, as well as overseeing global campaigns. While rivals slashed marketing budgets, Coca-Cola boosted its spend by 12% year on year in 2009.
16. Gavin Patterson, BT
It has been a big year for BT ad characters Adam and Jane, who, thanks to BT Broadband, are at long last set to tie the knot. It has also been a busy time for Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail. Not only has the company taken on the mobile operators with a campaign highlighting the benefits of making important calls from a landline, but it has also forged ahead with activity to promote its broadband offer. The former Procter & Gamble marketer remains committed to BT and Liverpool FC.
17. Kevin Brennan, Kellogg
Now in a broader role as general manager, encompassing the marketing duties for its snacks business, Brennan is gearing up for a major cereal brand extension later this year. He is also orchestrating a social-media onslaught aimed at ensuring the success of cereal Krave. Personable and well-regarded, he will be acutely aware that growth in Kellogg's snack business is a crucial part of its global plans.
18. Chris Jansen, British Gas
Jansen can be proud of his role in turning around the reputation of British Gas. In 2009 he managed to garner a modicum of consumer affection for the brand with his 'Count on British Gas to look after your world' campaign, created by CHI & Partners. This approach, which included British Gas' sponsorship of sports body British Swimming, combined with improved customer service, resulted in the company growing its customer base for the first time in five years. This has been a job well done by the group commercial director.
19. Jennelle Tilling, KFC
This has been another innovation-driven year for KFC under the experienced eye of its vice-president of marketing. Tilling has overseen the full-scale roll-out of Krushems, the fast-food chain's answer to the McDonald's McFlurry. She is backing the launch with TV ads and a year-long partnership with 4Music show The Crush, KFC's first use of branded content. Its breakfast offering, however, remains on trial two years after launch, while a recent spate of bad PR has put the brand in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
20. Rick Bendel, Wal-Mart
Last year, Bendel was appointed international chief marketing officer for Wal-Mart's non-US operations, having previously been responsible for the Asda business in the UK. His 'patch' now extends from Mexico to Japan. One of his main strategies has been to use technology to make Asda more accountable to customers, including running a trial enabling them to vote on what products it should stock. The supermarket, which promoted its chief operating officer, Andy Clarke, to chief executive earlier this month, has maintained its price-led promotional strategy, despite moving its £75m ad account from Fallon to Saatchi & Saatchi.
21. Steven Sharp, Marks & Spencer
The painfully slow process that led to the appointment of Morrisons' Marc Bolland as successor to Sir Stuart Rose in the chief executive role threw the future of M&S' marketing strategy - and that of Sharp, its executive director for marketing - into stark relief. Sources suggest that dropping the long-running 'food porn' advertising could be Sharp's way of showing his incoming boss that he still has a few surprises up his sleeve. The retailer is also offering branded foods for the first time, as well as trialling dedicated food counters such as meat and fish. Only time will tell whether Bolland will want to pursue the overhauled strategy. Moreover, whether Sharp - a close friend of Rose, now non-executive chairman - will want to stay is a question only he can answer.
22. Angus Maciver, Morrisons
Morrisons' former chief executive, Marc Bolland, has been largely credited with the supermarket's turnaround, from struggling post-Safeway takeover in 2006 to market-beating results in 2009. Yet the success of its pre-Christmas strategy last year is one that group marketing and communications director Maciver can claim as his own. The 'spend £40 a week ... and get £25 off the Christmas shop' promotion was so effective that Morrisons recorded a 10.3% sales hike in the 12 weeks to 27 December, according to TNS Worldpanel. Bolland cashed in on his success by taking the chief executive job at Marks & Spencer. The challenge for Maciver and his new boss, Dalton Philips, is to prove that Morrisons can continue to prosper without Bolland.
23. Stefan Gaa, Reckitt Benckiser
The fact that Reckitt Benckiser has two marketers in the top 25 of the Power 100 is testament to the company's investment in its hero brands. As UK healthcare marketing director, Gaa, who enjoys a lower profile than contemporary Phil Thomas, oversees a portfolio of brands including Nurofen and Lemsip. Having joined the company in 2000 as a brand manager for Air Wick in Germany, he soon made his way up the ranks, and was appointed to his current position in April 2009.
24. Robert Tansey, BkyB
The revolving doors at Sky's Osterley headquarters were again in frequent rotation in 2009. Brand marketing director Tansey was thrust into the spotlight following the exit of group brand marketing director Andy Brent after only one year in the job. With responsibility for a budget of more than £100m, Tansey oversees all aspects of Sky's brand and content marketing in a division ultimately run by Andrea Zappia, who arrived in January. Zappia replaced long-serving managing director of the Sky customer group Brian Sullivan, who left for Sky Deutschland, where he took over as chief executive last month. Tansey has yet to make his full presence felt, although he has shown that he is on-message with a commitment to sustainability.
25. Eva Eisenschimmel, Lloyds Banking Group
The new chief marketing officer at Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) is well-practised in wooing sceptical consumers. As chief operating officer at EDF Energy, Eisenschimmel was instrumental in the development of the utilities company's CSR-led marketing strategy. The former BA marketer came to the attention of LBG chief executive Eric Daniels via Lloyds TSB and EDF's backing of London 2012, when she was identified as a contender to replace Nigel Gilbert and steer the Lloyds TSB and Halifax brands to safety. However, she has had to contend with European intervention; LBG is preparing to sell more than 150 Cheltenham & Gloucester branches and the TSB brand to appease the competition authorities.
26. Martin Glenn, Birds Eye
The Alpha marketer, who is available to hire as a 'celebrity speaker' for events and conferences, still enjoys a high profile in the industry. Since his appointment as chief executive in November 2006, Birds Eye Iglo has enjoyed a reversal of fortunes. Its marketing continues to challenge the notion that frozen food is the preserve of the unhealthy.
27. Sharon Baylay, BBC
Despite joining as director of marketing, communications and audiences in February last year, the former Microsoft executive has yet to make her mark at the BBC. Perhaps Baylay has opted to stay out of the firing line, given the bad press the Corporation received throughout the year, not least for its apparent profligacy in the marketing department, after it emerged that her salary was between £310,000 and £340,000 a year. Baylay will have to up her game to deliver a more fleet-of-foot marketing function, and will oversee a statutory review of its advertising account.
28. Mark Simpson, Ford of Britain
In his first full year as marketing director, Simpson was presented with an unexpected bounty of low-hanging fruit in the form of the government's scrappage incentive scheme. While rival US manufacturer General Motors floundered, Simpson helped Ford retain its leadership in the UK, with a market share of 15%. As Ford moves to a globalised strategy, the straight-talking Northerner will be charged with keeping the marque relevant to a UK audience.
29. David Rennie, Nestle Confectionery
Nestle was caught up in a PR storm earlier this year when environmental group Greenpeace accused it of using palm oil in its products - a contributory factor in the destruction of orang-utans' habitat. The company's use of social media in response was less than slick and it was widely criticised for failing to engage with consumers. However, UK managing director Rennie has been keen to show Nestle's green credentials, achieving Fairtrade status for Kit Kat and ploughing £65m into sustainable sourcing of cocoa.
30. Andy Fennell, Diageo
The affable chief marketing officer has played an ambassadorial role for the drinks industry's responsible-marketing agenda. Through his work with Business in the Community, Fennell has taken every opportunity to highlight Diageo's work in this area. Last year he was thrust into the spotlight when he was questioned by the Health Select Committee in its investigation into alcohol, but his measured responses took the sting out of the MPs' grilling. In the past year Diageo increased its global sales from £6.7bn to £6.9bn. Fennell's marketing, such as the Guinness 250th anniversary work and 'Be there' campaign for Smirnoff, played a key role in this solid performance.
31. Fiona Dawson, Mars
Although Dawson's prominence has not been as great this year as last, she continues to lead the 'Raising the bar' initiative, designed to restore confidence in the Mars portfolio. To this end, Mars became the first manufacturer to cut saturated-fat levels in its confectionery. This followed the removal of artificial colours and flavours, a reduction in packaging and a commitment to using sustainable cocoa. All these forward-looking initiatives will leave a legacy at the notoriously insular company of which Dawson can feel proud.
32. David Kisilevsky, Burger King
The suave Kisilevsky may be vice-president of marketing for the EMEA region, but you can bet that he keeps a close eye on the UK operation. Burger King's biggest product launch of the year has been for Tendercrisp Premium Chicken, perhaps reflecting the changing tastes of consumers. The male-focused drive pioneered by Kisilevsky was taken to new limits last Christmas with a digital campaign for its breakfast offering that featured a woman singing in a shower.
33. Clare Sheikh, RSA
Sheikh has spent much of the year working on a marketing spectacular to celebrate the insurer's 300th anniversary. The campaign will include famous historical figures, such as Captain Cook, who bought a policy from the company. Polo-mad Sheikh, a former ITV and AA marketer, seems to have found her niche as group strategy, marketing and customer director. Candid and certainly never boring, she adds some much-needed colour to the marketing services industry.
34. Craig Inglis, John Lewis
Having won the top John Lewis marketing role following the axing of marketing director Gill Barr, Inglis faced tough trading conditions that led to a 4.7% decline in like-for-like sales in the first half of 2009. He rose to the challenge, however, and oversaw the relaunch of its 'Never knowingly undersold' proposition last October to reflect quality, service and price. This was supported by an epic TV ad following one woman's life, which met with press acclaim and is a sure contender for ad of the year. The retailer's Christmas campaign, created by Adam & Eve, was a great success, while Inglis' appearances in the BBC series Inside John Lewis, thrashing out the strategy with the ad agency's founding partner, James Murphy, made for entertaining viewing. Inglis was rewarded in February with promotion to director of marketing.
35. Mark Vile, Comparethemarket.com
Marketing director Vile must take credit for backing the development of meerkat brand character Aleksandr Orlov, a strategy that generated clear standout in a crowded market and earned Comparethemarket the Brand of the Year title from The Marketing Society last year. Now comes what music critics refer to as the 'difficult second album', as Vile must ensure that the public do not succumb to meerkat fatigue.
36. Amanda Thomson, Pepsi
Thomson succeeded Bruno Gruwez as UK marketing director in January. Previously PepsiCo's marketing director for Australia and New Zealand, she is now responsible for its core beverages, as well as the 7-UP and V Water brands. This year she will lead the UK roll-out of Pepsi's 'smiles' identity as part of a £700m global brand makeover. A further challenge will be persuading consumers to switch to no-sugar variants. Last month Pepsi launched 600ml bottles of its sugar-free products at the same price as its 500ml bottles; it is running a £5m campaign to promote the change.
37. Katie Vanneck-Smith, News International
Following her move into the new role of managing director of customer direct in March last year, Vanneck-Smith has been forging ahead with fresh projects. Top of the agenda is the publisher's plan to charge for content on its titles websites, in contrast to rival DMGT, publisher of the Daily Mail, which is to focus on increasing its number of users. Vanneck-Smith was previously head of marketing at The Daily Telegraph.
38. Richard Hayes, Warburtons
It has been a big year for Hayes, who has significantly increased the baker's marketing budget and shifted its ad account into RKCR/Y&R. The brand also unveiled a mock-epic ad that showed employees preparing an early-morning delivery. The energetic and affable marketing director has strived to take a lead in the 'bread wars' against archrival Hovis with products including Toasting Muffins. He has also steered the brand into the snack category.
39. Andreas Hilger, Anheuser-Busch InBev UK
Hilger's drive to improve perceptions of the Stella Artois brand has led the UK marketing director to work closely with agency Mother, which won its global ad business in 2008. Things have taken a rather surreal turn since then. Hilger has tried to 'premiumise' the lager by linking it to the green agenda - hence last year's 'Hedge fund' campaign, in which Stella pledged to grow a hedge for every special pack sold. AB InBev has backed only the 4% Artois variant with TV ads over the past year, but Hilger has pumped funds into online work for Stella.
40. Jon Goldstone, Hovis
Hovis recorded strong sales in 2009, up from £303m to £349m. The growth was propelled by the bread brand's memorable ad campaigns, according to owner Premier Foods. The Hovis marketing director has enlisted British Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton as a brand ambassador as he looks to steal market share from rivals Warburtons and Kingsmill, while highlighting Hovis' association with healthy eating and education initiatives.
41. Mark Hunter, Molson Coors
Hunter, who is ISBA president as well as chief executive of Molson Coors' UK business, has demonstrated leadership in both roles. For ISBA, he has provided assured direction during a tough time; in business, he put his words into action by increasing adspend by 49% last year. His approach to the responsible-drinking agenda has been widely admired; he supported the proposal of minimum pricing. Hunter continues to back the BitterSweet Partnership, a business unit within Molson Coors aimed at encouraging more women to drink beer.
42. Darran Britton, Carlsberg UK
Britton may be a Carlsberg lifer, but he has not risen to the role of marketing and strategy director simply by virtue of time served. He has impressed with his sharp, analytical thinking; as a result, his role has been expanded to include strategy. Britton was heavily involved in the review of Carlsberg's global media business, which was awarded to OMD. The FIFA World Cup is a prime opportunity for all brewers to boost sales, but as official beer of the England football team, Carlsberg is running its biggest-ever World Cup campaign, called 'Team talk', to coincide with the event.
43. Matt Close, Unilever
The marketing director of Unilever's home and personal care division has worked to extend the Dove brand into male grooming. The outcome of the recent launch - his biggest to date - will define the career of Close, who joined Unilever as a graduate trainee. This is set to be another challenging year for the company, which is under pressure from own-label lines seeking to undercut its core personal-care products.
44. Paul Nevett, Unilever
As marketing director of Unilever's food and ice cream division, Nevett is responsible for adapting international marketing for the UK, such as the unlikely recent pairing of actor Benicio del Toro and Magnum ice cream. Nevett also has a communication challenge after ending spread brand Flora's 14-year sponsorship of the London Marathon. The brand is instead investing in a global heart-health campaign.
45. Dawn Paine, Nintendo
The marketing director who helped steer video-gaming brands away from targeting women through patronising 'games for girls', Paine remains a key figure in the industry. Nintendo has certainly expanded the audience for gaming with the Wii console, but also ran an ad campaign to promote its partnership with the government's Change4Life anti-obesity initiative, showing how Wii Fit can help consumers improve their health.
46. Sally Abbott, Weetabix
It has been a hectic 12 months for the marketing director, who successfully defended her brand from own-label competitors. Weetabix was also boosted by a humorous ad campaign created by WCRS, featuring a jockey who fell from his horse mid-race, but still won after running the rest of the course on foot. The ad, with the strapline 'Someone's had their Weetabix', also became a hit on YouTube.
47. Paul Dickinson, Virgin Atlantic
It has hardly been a choice year for airline marketers, so the good-humoured Dickinson must have been particularly pleased that it was also Virgin Atlantic's 25th anniversary. The number of business fliers has collapsed across the industry, and while nemesis British Airways has lurched from one crisis to the next, Virgin Atlantic has put the glamour back into airline marketing with its big-budget 'Still red hot' campaign. As the carrier's sales and marketing director, Dickinson's focus has now turned to consolidating its position as a global brand, hiring Y&R as its worldwide creative agency. The carrier is in the process of rolling out a single creative strategy based on the strapline 'Your airline has either got it, or it hasn't.' While the turmoil caused by the volcanic ash cloud has affected all airlines, Dickinson will no doubt be hoping to capitalise on the fallout from BA's ongoing problems with industrial action.
48. Philip Gladman, Diageo GB
The long-haired Gladman may not look like a stereotypical FMCG marketer, but that hasn't stopped him nabbing the top UK job at drinks multinational Diageo. His sense of style may owe something to the fact that he worked on the Max Factor brand at Procter & Gamble before joining the drinks firm. Gladman, who takes up his post as marketing director next month, joins from the US, where he was global senior vice-president for Smirnoff. He faces a big challenge, which will include managing Diageo's decreasing marketing budget - its UK adspend dropped a massive 28% last year as it focused on emerging markets. He will also have to get to grips with the responsible-drinking agenda.
49. David Pemsel, ITV
Group marketing director Pemsel has undoubtedly been busy. As well as rolling out a big-budget TV and cinema campaign that used the optimistic strapline 'The brighter side', the marketing discipline was instrumental in successful relaunches of News at Ten and flagship daytime show This Morning. While things may have been 'brighter' on-air, behind the scenes it was somewhat chaotic as ITV struggled to find a replacement for executive chairman Michael Grade. Key to Pemsel's success will be the strength of the relationship he forges with Adam Crozier, the former Royal Mail boss eventually chosen to take the helm at the broadcaster.
50. Keith Moor, Santander
The past 12 months have been seminal for Moor, who extended his influence to a wider Santander UK remit, following the bank's takeover of Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester. Adspend fell significantly in 2009, down by 45% to £15m, but this year he has run a flurry of activity officially launching Santander as a high-street brand and retiring the Abbey name. However, as important as generating consumer awareness has been, brand and communications director Moor's biggest challenge has been internal, in aligning the marketing cultures of the three banks into one cohesive unit. He received a huge boost when Santander executive chairman Emilio Botin allowed him to continue the former Abbey association with Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and the McLaren team under the Santander brand, despite the bank becoming main sponsor of rival team Ferrari F1.
51. Kevin Peake, Npower
Not one to rest on his laurels, Peake has set about overhauling Npower's marketing strategy to challenge British Gas as a modern energy-services provider. The utilities firm refreshed its visual identity and dropped ad agency Beattie McGuinness Bungay in favour of VCCP, albeit retaining the ad campaign featuring animated stars Wallace and Gromit. Peake, a supporter of League Two football club Torquay United, also signed a three-year deal to replace Coca-Cola as sponsor of the Football League. Npower's sponsorship of domestic Test cricket in England was extended for a further two years, but the brand axed its involvement with rugby union. All the marketing director's efforts will go into the increasingly tough battleground for servicing and maintenance, and the promotion of Npower's 'Home Team' proposition. The expected roll-out of 'smart-meters' will also keep him busy.
52. Richard Holmes, Specsavers
There are two remarkable things about Specsavers' advertising: first, it defies the text-book approach by being created in-house; and second, its body of work seems to get better and better. Credit for this is due to ex-Boots marketer Holmes, who joined Specsavers in 2007 as marketing director and is now based with the optician's central team in Guernsey. Holmes, who controls an adspend of more than £40m, has overseen several campaigns that, had they been created by an ad agency, would have been sure-fire award-winners. These include a recent TV campaign parodying Lynx's 2006 'Billions' ad, featuring bikini-clad women running toward a man on a beach. The optician sought permission from Unilever for the push, which merged both brands' straplines to form the line 'The should've gone to Specsavers effect'. Under Holmes' stewardship, the optician is aiming to convert its success in traditional media into the digital space.
53. Ali Jones, Arcadia
Few retail marketing jobs are as interesting as the role Jones has taken up: group marketing director at Arcadia Group. Reporting to retail legend Sir Philip Green, it is understood that the former Debenhams marketing director has been brought in to oversee the transformation of Arcadia's Bhs brand. Green plans to integrate some sister retail brands, including Evans, Burtons, Wallis and Dorothy Perkins, within Bhs outlets to achieve efficiencies. Jones will be tasked with implementing this and positioning Bhs as akin to Selfridges, without it looking like a desperate measure. It will be interesting to see how this strategic U-turn will pan out for the group, which has long eschewed advertising. Jones certainly has the retail experience to manage this transition. What's more, Bhs is a business worth watching, especially given rumours that Green wants to create a food offering in its stores, a possible reflection of his lingering desire to buy Marks & Spencer.
54. Spencer McHugh, Orange
Having taken on the role of brand director last year following the departure of the high-profile Justin Billingsley to Saatchi & Saatchi Asia, McHugh has been quietly setting about reinforcing the brand's credentials. During the past year, the former head of digital and direct at Orange has retained the mobile operator's 'I am' strapline adopted by his predecessor and aims to continue to differentiate the business through consumer value propositions such as its Orange Wednesdays cinema-tickets offer. A self-confessed geek, McHugh is looking forward to the mobile market reaching new heights. He will retain control of the Orange brand despite its merger with T-Mobile under the Everything Everywhere umbrella company, but it is certainly not business as usual.
55. Danielle Crook, Vodafone
There has been a rash of comings and goings at Vodafone over the past year, with UK brand director Charlie Smith and his global counterpart, David Wheldon, among those departing. Crook, the Canadian appointed as Smith's replacement in November, returned to the mobile operator after a stint as European brand director at Gap. Having also worked agency-side at Fallon, Crook is, in addition, a former general manager of brand and communications for Vodafone Australia. She may have a job on her hands in the UK role, given the turmoil at the company in recent months, but has made an early impression: she has already been promoted to the board.
56. Mikah Martin-Cruz, Samsung
With Samsung pioneering the launch of 3D televisions in the UK, Martin-Cruz has busied himself with rolling out a marketing campaign to try to convince consumers - many of whom have only just managed to understand the product benefits of HDTV - to spend well over £1000 on yet another new TV set. The former Sony marketer, famed for the 'Balls' and 'Paint' ads, hired CHI & Partners to create a £7m ad campaign for the launch of its TVs, but, given that the 3D content available is as yet limited, it looks like being a long-haul task.
57. Pete Markey, More Th>n
Markey's industry stock has rocketed in the past 12 months, following his capture of the Marketer of the Year title at last June's Marketing Society Golden Jubilee Awards for Excellence. The fact that this came amid one of the grimmest and most prolonged slumps for the financial-services sector was testament to the innovation and insight he has brought to the insurance brand as its marketing director. The award recognised the fact that, under his marketing leadership, the brand delivered double-digit year-on-year sales growth and reduced cost-per-sale by more than 15%. The 37-year-old Portsmouth FC fan and roller coaster addict spent nearly three years as head of marketing at More Th>n, the direct arm of RSA, before being handed the role of marketing director in November 2008. His recent success is a far cry from his first job as a part-time waiter and dishwasher at a Swedish restaurant in Bath.
58. Euan Sutherland, Kingfisher
Kingfisher's turnaround is still a work in progress, but the past 12 months have been positive for UK chief executive Sutherland. A focus on marketing, both internally and externally, has driven the home-improvement group forward, with B&Q showing signs of recovery. Given his marketing background at companies including Mars and Matalan, it is not surprising that Sutherland places the discipline at the heart of his business.
59. Helen Page, RBS/NatWest
As managing director for marketing and innovation, UK retail, at one of the country's most unpopular brands, the fact that Page has avoided the spotlight over the past 12 months points to her success in the role. Her job has been twofold: to repair the RBS brand, savaged in the wake of the government bailout 18 months ago, and to increase the prominence of NatWest. In the case of the former, Page led the development of regional TV activity begging the forgiveness of the Scottish public. Meanwhile, marketing investment in NatWest rocketed, with adspend up 64% year on year to reach £27m in 2009. Page has also continued to push the development of the brand's 'Helpful banking' positioning. This year, she will have to cope with the forced sale of more than 300 RBS branches, following a European Commission competition report.
60. Peter Duffy, Audi
As 2008 drew to a close, car industry sales forecasts cut the total UK market to 1.65m units, the lowest figure since 1992. To be at the helm of such a recession-vulnerable business at the beginning of 2009 would have given most marketers the excuse to pull budgets, play it safe and quietly sit it out. Duffy did the opposite. As well as the 'Unbox the box' spot for the Q5, Audi launched the 'Efficiency' campaign, which ran throughout the year, and Duffy relaunched Audi.co.uk. This year looks likely to be the brand's most ambitious yet, encompassing the launch of both its most expensive car to date (the R8 Spyder) and its cheapest (the A1). There are few jobs in marketing with such scope, and even fewer marketers who could pull if off.
61. Gill Barr, MasterCard
What a difference a year makes. In March 2009, Gill Barr was made redundant from her position as marketing director at John Lewis as part of a wider management shake-up. A year on, almost to the day, it emerged that she had bagged the new role of head of marketing, UK and Ireland, at credit-card provider MasterCard. Her boss, UK and Ireland general manager Hany Fam, says the ex-Woolworths, Superdrug and Wickes marketer will help MasterCard's transformation into a wider payments brand. Her retail nous will certainly be useful - Barr's brief is to develop innovative customer propositions that work across the retail sector. However, it could be argued that rival brands have stolen a march in this area, with Barclaycard promoting its contactless payment system. Barr certainly faces a challenge.
62. Chris Townsend, LOCOG
With 2012 just around the corner, there has been plenty to occupy the time of the Olympics' commercial director. Maintaining the momentum and excitement of London's winning bid has been an uphill struggle. First there was 'Logogate', when the London 2012 logo was panned as a 'solid gold stinker'; then there were rumblings from the government that recession-hit Britain simply could not afford to host the Games. However, the former BSkyB marketer is unperturbed by the criticism and has been busy securing an impressive line-up of sponsors including John Lewis and Lloyds TSB. Quite whether the Olympics can regain the groundswell of public support achieved in the aftermath of London's bid success remains to be seen.
63. Fiona McAnena, Bupa
A year into her role as group brand director, McAnena has yet to make the waves many expected at the healthcare and insurance provider. Her remit was to develop the Bupa brand internationally. She hired FBH Incite and MediaVest to handle its global online ad strategy, and start-up ad agency Beta to raise awareness of its range of international products. More dramatic innovation can be expected as she settles further into the role.
64. Sarah Warby, Heineken UK
Warby has wasted no time in getting stuck back into her role as marketing director of Heineken UK, formerly Scottish & Newcastle, following maternity leave. After a year of consolidation for Heineken in the wake of its acquisition of S&N in 2008, this year appears to be one of change. Despite having a close relationship with M&C Saatchi, Warby removed the ad agency from the Foster's account, which it had held for 14 years, and handed it to Adam & Eve. Earlier in the year she also awarded the Bulmers business to St Luke's, ending a four-year relationship with Edinburgh agency Frame. Like many other brewers' marketing chiefs, she is pinning her hopes on the FIFA World Cup and has spent big on the 'Who wants to be a football millionaire?' promotion featuring TV presenter Chris Tarrant.
65. Daryl Fielding, Kraft
Fielding, a former Ogilvy & Mather executive, will want to quickly forget her brief tenure as commercial director at Independent Newspapers. She may be charm personified, but the media guys simply didn't warm to her. Now she has landed the plum job of vice-president of marketing at Kraft Foods, just as the portfolio of Cadbury brands falls into the US company's hands. Fielding is effectively Kraft's top European marketer.
66. Sheila Mitchell, Department of Health
Under Mitchell's stewardship, the brightly coloured animated figures from the Change4Life ads, produced by Aardman Animations, have become established as the motif of the Department of Health's marketing efforts. The first anniversary of the campaign's launch in January returned some impressive figures: 99% of mothers of children under 11 saw the campaign and the response rate to its direct marketing survey was 346,000, surpassing its 100,000 target with ease. Recognising the power of the Change4Life brand, Mitchell has extended it to communicate with an adult audience. While there are fears that the new government will curtail the initiative's marketing spend, prior to the election the Conservatives said they would continue to invest in it.
67. Gary Hockey-Morley, Post Office
The Post Office's down-to-earth marketing director has a daunting job this year: namely, justifying the continuing existence of its network of 12,000 branches as the public purse continues to feel the draining effects of the recession. It remains to be seen how the new government will facilitate the creation of a 'people's bank', developing more products to benefit consumers who are currently excluded from the banking system. Hockey-Morley, who was responsible for bringing stars such as Joan Collins and Westlife into Post Office branches in its recent ad campaigns, will be judged on whether he can successfully guide the business into fresh areas.
68. Simon Stewart, Britvic
While Britvic's marketing director has a far lower profile than his predecessor, Andrew Marsden, he is making his presence felt. The former Emap marketer was quick to shake up the soft-drinks company's agency arrangements, handing Bartle Bogle Hegarty and CHI & Partners the media planning duties for several of its brands and reducing Mindshare's responsibilities. The Australian, who came to the UK in 1997, previously held senior roles at United Distillers, Diageo and Allied Domecq. Known as a straight-talker, he has increased Britvic's focus on digital marketing across its portfolio of brands.
69. Rod McLeod, Volkswagen
McLeod and VW have had a relatively quiet 12 months, as the automotive sector licked its recessionary wounds. This was reflected in its adspend, which fell 28% year on year to £28.6m in 2009. This was in marked contrast to 2008, when TV ads showing a trembling terrier and a VW car designer fighting clones of himself attracted complaints. Recent highlights for the brand's head of marketing have included the biggest-ever retail launch for Polo. The £1m, month-long push was intended to entice 30- to 55-year-old women into car showrooms. McLeod, who drives a Golf GTi, has held his current role since November 2004.
70. Roland Agambar, Associated Newspapers
The arrival of Jeremy Schwartz as chief marketing officer at News International proved notable only for the eventual brevity of his tenure, and the fact that it prompted Agambar, head of marketing for The Sun and News of the World, to decamp to Associated Newspapers as its first chief marketing officer. The former media buyer at Carat has already made his mark by moving the account for the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers into M&C Saatchi from Bartle Bogle Hegarty. He has also used his charm - or guile - to persuade management to hike his budget to £50m.
71. Michael Johnson, Thomas Cook
The marketing director's signing of Jamie and Louise Redknapp as brand ambassadors might have seemed a good idea, but lost its sheen after Carlsberg and Marks & Spencer also featured them in campaigns. Nonetheless, Johnson has attributed a rise in summer 2010 bookings to the multimillion-pound campaign, the first after he appointed Beta to its account. Johnson joined Thomas Cook in the depths of recession last year, but, following its latest results, its share price has risen and optimism has returned to the sector. All this activity has occurred against the backdrop of the brand's German parent company, Arcandor, filing for bankruptcy, although Johnson insists that this will not affect the UK business.
72. Obi Felten, Google
As director of consumer marketing, EMEA, Felten has had little downtime. She has been responsible for promoting Google's product offering, including its search, Chrome, Maps and mobile services. The former head of multichannel at jewellery retailer Signet Group has spent the first few months of the year overseeing the launch of Google Chrome in eight European countries, appointing a roster of agencies, including Essence, Glue and BBH Labs, to work on the campaign, expected to reach 178m web users.
73. Jeremy Davies, E.ON
The clubbable Davies has continued to bring his straightforward style to energy firm E.ON. Having started his career at JWT, the former Abbey marketer refused to run ads that took swipes at its rivals, as many of E.ON's competitors have; instead, he chose a style that engaged customers. He also eschewed green claims, crediting consumers with the intelligence to realise the traditional energy sector can never truly be green, basing his strategy on cutting waste instead. Davies brings a welcome dose of realism to the discipline.
74. Richard Hudson, BMW UK
Brand heritage has never been a big issue for BMW, so its UK marketing director's focus is on positioning it at the cutting edge. Since taking up his role almost two years ago, Hudson has emphasised the marque's environmental and sustainability credentials through its EfficientDynamics technology. To ensure best practice, he called a review of BMW's ad account, held by WCRS for more than 30 years, before centralising the business into Engine. Despite an especially harsh recession, BMW increased its adspend by 56% year on year to £22.2m in 2009.
75. Michelle McEttrick, Barclays
McEttrick may be new to Barclays, but few have a better knowledge of the business. Prior to joining the bank this month, the personable American headed its account at ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty. She played a pivotal role in the development of the light-hearted 'Take one small step' campaign - Barclays' first TV work in 18 months, which broke in March. McEttrick reports to Deanna Oppenheimer, vice-president of global retail banking.
76. Grita Loebsack, L'Oreal UK & Ireland
L'Oreal's UK managing director has continued to champion innovation despite the recession. Research by the company concluded that the 'foundation factor' had replaced the 'lipstick index' as a key economic indicator, and responded with lines such as its True Match roll-on foundation. While L'Oreal hit the headlines for its use of false eyelashes and hair extensions in its ads, the UK team put its own mark on its advertising by signing up singer Cheryl Cole to front its Elvive haircare brand ads.
77. Catherine Salway, Virgin Group
With Virgin taking over headline sponsorship of the London Marathon, 2010 will be key for Salway, who continues to make her mark on the brand. Virgin quickly moved to clear consumers' association of the marathon with long-running sponsor Flora by adopting a fresh, playful strategy, which includes teams of cheerleaders and the creation of an irreverent magazine to promote the tie-up. The group brand director also instigated a revamp of Virgin Group's web presence and remains a high-profile figure on the marketing circuit.
78. Will Harris, Nokia
Nokia's overhaul of its senior management last year resulted in its top UK marketer being promoted to Southeast Asia-Pacific head of marketing. While Harris now focuses on the Asian market, the mobile operator's new UK marketing chief, John Nicols, has yet to make his mark. Although Nokia is the leader in the smartphone market, with a 46.9% share, in the past year it has faced the challenge of reinventing itself as a software provider to reach young consumers. It has done this under Harris by establishing itself in music and gaming.
79. Joanna Shields, Facebook
Facebook's new European commercial director has some tricky times to negotiate. As well as needing to reassure the authorities, parents and the media that the social networking site is protecting its younger users, Shields will also be instrumental in deciding how it should introduce location-based status updates in the UK - a tool that could prove particularly useful to marketers. Last April, Facebook became the top social network in Europe; it grew by a staggering 314%, attracting 100m European visitors in February 2009, according to comScore.
80. Emma Harris, Eurostar
Harris' first task on arrival as sales and marketing director at the rail company last year was to deal with the impact of a fire on a Calais-bound train carrying heavy-goods vehicles through the Channel Tunnel. The 16-hour conflagration forced Eurostar to suspend its services for 24 hours; it was a further six months before normal service resumed. Later in the year, Lady Luck was again unkind to the personable Harris, when weather disruption resulted in a total rethink of Eurostar's marketing strategy. A hard year for any marketer; however, Harris' honesty and willingness to acknowledge the need for change mark her out as one to watch.
81. Thomas Delabriere, Innocent Drinks
The quirky smoothie and juice brand has had an eventful 12 months, translating into quite a wild ride for its marketing director Delabriere, who joined the company in March last year. Soon after, Innocent faced a consumer backlash when Coca-Cola invested £30m in acquiring a stake in the business, which helped fund expansion in Europe. Innocent then axed its Village Fete event and announced dramatic changes to its agency roster, appointing Fallon to handle its ad account, which was previously in-house, and hiring Coca-Cola's media agency, Vizeum. It also launched a national ad campaign, including TV work focusing on the health benefits of its smoothies and Veg Pots. This was all set against a sales drop of 19% to £92m. However, the courteous Frenchman claims Innocent has now returned to growth. Last month, Coca-Cola increased its investment to take a majority stake.
82. Tracy Britton, HSBC
Unlike so many financial-services marketers, US-born Britton has not been overly concerned with the impact of the global recession. While marketing directors at RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have been constructing brand strategies based on trustworthiness, the former HSBC North America marketing director has sought to strengthen HSBC's position as the bank of choice for affluent consumers. A review of the bank's marketing launched by WPP's teamHSBC agencies, including JWT and Fitch, led to the development of a strategy focusing on six sub-brands to target consumers and businesses according to their level of wealth. The bank rolled out the first of these propositions, HSBC Advance, earlier this year.
83. Jonathan Webb, Virgin Media Television
Virgin Media Television's likeable executive director, Webb, was again handed responsibility for overseeing Virgin Media Television's marketing following the departure of Jeff Dodds after just one year as brand and marketing director. Webb is certainly well-qualified for the role. Although he has worked his way effortlessly up television's greasy pole - he was promoted from managing director to executive director with responsibility for running the entire division in April - he cut his teeth at Unilever, working on brands including Jif and Persil.
84. Ian Armstrong, Honda
Honda did not escape the difficulties that have pervaded the motor industry: it temporarily halted production at its Swindon plant and put the brakes on its marketing. It was fortunate, then, that the cheery and likeable Armstrong remained an effective mouthpiece for the brand and presented Honda's viewpoint at industry events, further enhancing his status. His high industry profile was rewarded with the addition of responsibilities for European communications to those he already held as manager of customer communications for cars in the UK.
85. Matt Hill, Heinz
Heinz's incoming top marketer fills the void left by chief marketing officer Suzanne Douglas, who became managing director of Heinz Australia in February last year. Hill, who takes up the post in August, was previously global vice-president, brand development, Knorr Masterbrand and soups. The reinstatement of the role is a U-turn on Heinz's previous decision to leave its marketing strategy to its category marketing directors.
86. Andy Gilson, Vauxhall
January brought good news for the car maker when parent company General Motors announced a plan to transform Opel/Vauxhall into a global brand. Marketing director Gilson remains the senior marketer at Vauxhall, which must be a relief, given that the brand almost ceased to exist after GM resorted to US government bailouts to stay afloat. He is part of a working group aiming to define the 'Opel/Vauxhall DNA', which will inform efforts to portray a consistent image in its ads. The separate UK and European marques remain, limiting Gilson to building share in the UK. His notable campaigns include the first TV ads for the upmarket Insignia.
87. Tim Williamson, TUI
After bringing Thomson and First Choice back to TV advertising in 2009 with new brand positions, TUI's customer director restructured the travel group's marketing team. In June, he appointed Andrew Laurillard to handle brand strategy and Jeremy Gidley to head CRM and innovation, delegating the day-to-day management of the brands. Given the success of the comeback ads, Williamson retained the strategy, while rival Thomas Cook made headlines with its Redknapps spot. Williamson is a senior figure in the industry, with a seat on the board of travel association ABTA.
88. Mariano Dima, Visa
The Italian-Argentinian executive vice-president for marketing and products has lofty ambitions, but his reputation is already assured for having led the development of Visa Europe's 'Running man' campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi. With the forthcoming World Cup and London 2012 Olympics, much of his focus is on achieving the best ROI from Visa's expensive sponsorship portfolio. With rivals American Express and MasterCard increasing their adspend, Visa will be hoping to retain Dima's services.
89. Kristof Fahy, William Hill
Fahy, previously vice-president of international marketing for Yahoo!, recently became group brand and marketing director at the high-street bookmaker and online gambling brand. Prior roles include head of brand, planning and advertising at Orange UK and brand marketing director for EMEA at BlackBerry. Fahy's remit is to bring William Hill fully into the digital era and last month it appointed The Bank to handle its advertising following a pitch. The brand aims to raise its profile to maximise revenues around this summer's World Cup.
90. Mark Fells, Lastminute.com
Lastminute.com's UK and Ireland marketing director joined the business during rocky times for the travel sector. Two months after he arrived from insurance group BGL, his boss, Simon Thompson, left for Apple. While the brand experiments with augmented reality, Fells has been working on Lastminute's latest TV push, which encourages consumers to holiday abroad. The 41-year-old also oversaw the launch of the 'Good stuff' strategy and had a hand in the decision to return to TV advertising after a four-year absence.
91. Chris Macleod, Transport for London
Macleod finally got his hands on the top job at London's public transport body when Nigel Marson stepped down after seven years in the role. Major new activity overseen by the director of group marketing over the past year has included the 'Catch up with the bicycle' campaign and a road-safety push targeting teenagers. Its digital activity continued to grow in importance and traffic to the TfL website, which now attracts 6m unique users a month, has grown by more than 20%.
92. Chris Edgington, Gala Coral
The group marketing director of Gala Coral is one of the most powerful marketers in the gaming industry. Previously marketing director at William Hill, he has also had a stint at Ladbrokes. The marketer has had his hands full since joining Gala Coral at the end of 2009. He recently oversaw the launch of Coral TV across its betting-shops network and is revamping the entire Gala Bingo offer.
93. Simon Thompson, Apple
For a marketer with such an impressive track record of self-promotion, taking a vow of silence at the notoriously secretive Apple might prove particularly difficult. Yet Thompson, who last August quit as European managing director and chief marketing officer of Lastminute.com to join Apple as general manager of its online stores for the EMEA market, has been quiet of late. Meanwhile, Apple launched its iPad device, and the iPhone surged in popularity, selling 8.7m in the first quarter of this year. However, it has not been all smooth sailing; over the past year Apple has been caught up in lawsuits with rivals over alleged patent infringements.
94. Anthony Thomson, Metro Bank
Thomson's role at the heart of one of the year's most interesting brand launches marks him out as one to watch. The bank chairman, known as 'AT', established his reputation with marketing advisory body The Financial Services Forum, which he co-founded in 1987. A chance meeting with Commerce Bank founder Vernon Hill led to the conception of Metro Bank - a high-street brand with branches open 8am-8pm and at weekends. Two branches are due to open in London in the coming weeks, with plans for more than 200 over the next 10 years if they prove a success. Thomson will have the final say on all marketing and advertising.
95. Simon Wallis, Domino's Pizza
Wallis has carved out a career niche at various pizza restaurant chains. Having worked at United Biscuits, he joined KFC before moving to sister firm Pizza Hut as retail marketing director in 2003. His years there and time at Papa John's gave him an unrivalled knowledge of the UK pizza market, so he was a logical choice to replace the high-profile Robin Auld. Wallis joins Domino's as sales and marketing director on 14 June.
96. Oscar Nieboer, Betfair
Teaming up with football behemoths FC Barcelona and Manchester United has been one of Nieboer's boldest decisions of the past 12 months. It has also been one he has enjoyed personally, as a Man U fan. However, he refuses to get carried away by the FIFA World Cup. Betfair has a campaign in the pipeline, but, as Nieboer put it: 'It's only a six-week tournament and we are in football, day in, day out.'
97. Christian Woolfenden, Bacardi
Woolfenden was rewarded with a new set of responsibilities this year, following his promotion to global brand director of Bacardi. As marketing manager, he relaunched Bacardi Gold and flavoured rums and landed a place on the company's global CSR leadership team. His responsibilities in his new role, created following a restructure, include overseeing international consumer and trade marketing and innovation.
98. Cathy Ferrier, Oxfam
The energetic Ferrier has worked tirelessly to challenge consumers' old-fashioned view of the charity. She oversaw an extensive overhaul of its brand image, handled by RKCR/Y&R, which resulted in the striking 'Be humankind' work. Ferrier, who joined from bookseller Borders, where she was commercial director, has brought a strong commercial instinct to the role. Her focus is on communicating Oxfam's reputation for well-run activity on the ground, and ensuring it maintains its donations income.
99. Diana Tickell, Barnardo's
Brave and creative in equal measure, Barnardo's director of communications does not shy away from controversy. Last year, the charity's 90-second film, showing a group of hunters firing shotguns at what viewers are initially led to believe are vermin, but turn out to be young people, hit the headlines. As the ad ran online, rather than on TV, Barnardo's escaped censure from the Advertising Standards Authority and generated a debate. There is no doubt that Tickell has raised the bar when it comes to marketing a charity; she has won a clutch of awards over the past 12 months.
100. Daniel Ek, Spotify E
The Spotify founder and chief executive has had a bumper year as his music-streaming service has flourished. The 27-year-old Swede's site attracted more than 1m users across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Finland, Norway and Sweden only a month after coming out of beta testing last May. Since then, the former chief technical officer of Stardoll has invested heavily in staff, including hiring sales director Jon Mitchell and senior vice-president, strategic partnerships, Paul Brown. Ek has also been developing the next version of the service.
He is looking at ways to add to the site's 7m European users and fend off competition; Spotify will also make its US debut later this year.
The Power 100 is produced in partnership with engine.