Alexa Chung: from television presenter to fashion figure
The model and presenter moved between British television, international fashion and her own label, while making a distinctive personal style part of her public work.
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Kate Moss: the model who changed fashion’s image
From Corinne Day’s early photographs to campaigns, collections and British Vogue, Moss made an unmistakable mark on fashion and popular culture.
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Princess Diana: fashion, public life and charitable causes
Diana’s widely watched style—from her wedding gown to the 1994 Serpentine Gallery dress—formed one part of a public life also associated with humanitarian causes.
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Victoria Beckham
Former Spice Girl turned fashion designer, known for her chic and sophisticated style.
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Twiggy: the face of a changing fashion world
From a teenage modelling sensation in 1960s London to a long career in film, theatre, music and television, Lesley Lawson built a public life beyond the image that made her famous.
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David Bowie: reinvention, music and British popular culture
From the Ziggy Stardust years to his final album, Bowie joined musical experiment with a striking visual imagination.
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John Timpson and a different way to run a high-street business
The Timpson chairman’s management philosophy put trust in employees and helped shape a family retailer built around everyday services.
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Peter Hargreaves
The accountant and entrepreneur who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown and later backed a new investment firm.
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Kate Swann: leading WHSmith and SSP Group
Swann led WHSmith from 2003 to 2013 before becoming chief executive of travel caterer SSP Group.
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Paul Polman: sustainability and the business of the long term
The Dutch executive led Unilever from 2009 to 2019, putting environmental and social aims at the centre of a major company’s strategy.
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James Dyson: from the G-Force to a British engineering business
The inventor’s route from a bag-clogged vacuum cleaner to a product company began with thousands of prototypes and an idea manufacturers were reluctant to handle.
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Guy Hands: private equity, risk and the EMI deal
The founder of Terra Firma built a major European investor, but the firm’s failed acquisition of EMI became a defining episode in his career.
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Richard Reed: building Innocent and backing new ventures
The co-founder of Innocent Drinks helped turn a Cambridge friendship into a major European smoothie brand, then went on to support other entrepreneurs.
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Alex Chesterman: from Zoopla to Cazoo
The entrepreneur built online businesses in property and car retail, bringing search and information together for consumers.
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Jim Ratcliffe: building INEOS and reshaping British industry
The chemical engineer founded a global group through acquisitions, while his ventures in manufacturing, energy and sport have extended its reach.
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James Palumbo
Co-founder of Ministry of Sound, a global nightclub and music brand.
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Emma Harrison and the rise of A4e
The engineer became a leading figure in welfare-to-work contracting; A4e’s expansion also brought scrutiny of public spending and its employment schemes.
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Ann Gloag: building Stagecoach and backing medical charities
The Scottish nurse helped establish a major transport company and later supported specialist care for women in Sierra Leone and Malawi.
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Brian Souter and the growth of Stagecoach
The Scottish entrepreneur built a bus and rail group, while his political campaigning and charitable giving made him a contested public figure.
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Tom Singh: from a Taunton shop to New Look
The British-Indian entrepreneur founded a fashion retailer whose accessible high-street offer began in Somerset.
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Charles Dunstone: building a market for mobile phones
From a £6,000 start in a Marylebone flat, Dunstone built Carphone Warehouse and helped extend its business into home telephone and broadband services.
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Tony Pidgley and the growth of Berkeley Group
From haulage to housebuilding, Tony Pidgley built a company that became one of the UK’s largest residential developers.
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Michelle Mone: the rise of Ultimo and a contested public career
From a Glasgow upbringing to the launch of a lingerie brand, Michelle Mone’s career joined business ambition to a later life in public office and controversy.
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Julie Deane and the Cambridge Satchel Company
How a small family venture turned the traditional school satchel into an internationally recognised British leather-goods brand.
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Mike Ashley
The retailer built a sports-goods business into a major force on the British high street, while his ownership of Newcastle United made him a prominent and divisive figure in football.
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Simon Wolfson: leading Next and entering the Lords
From a sales role at Next to the company’s chief executive and a Conservative life peer, Wolfson’s career spans British retail and politics.
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Richard Desmond: building a British media empire
From music magazines to national newspapers and Channel 5, Desmond’s career joined ambitious publishing ventures with a record of controversy.
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David and Frederick Barclay: business, newspapers and the Ritz
The twin brothers built a far-reaching business empire, including ownership of The Daily Telegraph and London’s Ritz Hotel.
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John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley
The BP chief executive reshaped the oil giant, put climate change on its agenda and later championed engineering and inclusion.
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Warren Buffett: his reported links to British business
The American investor’s British connections include reported investments in Tesco and Cadent Gas, alongside a wider readership for his business thinking.
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John Lewis and the retail business that became a partnership
A drapery shop on Oxford Street began a family business whose later employee-ownership model became central to the John Lewis Partnership.
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James Goldsmith: business, controversy and the Referendum Party
The French-British financier built businesses on both sides of the Atlantic before founding a party that demanded a referendum on Britain’s place in Europe.
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Duncan Bannatyne: From ice-cream vans to Dragons’ Den
The Scottish entrepreneur built businesses in care, fitness and leisure, and brought his investment decisions to a national television audience.
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Deborah Meaden: business, broadcasting and the path to investment
From early retail ventures to Weststar Holidays and Dragons’ Den, Meaden’s career spans business ownership, television and environmental advocacy.
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Peter Jones: business ventures beyond the Den
The entrepreneur’s route from a teenage computer business to telecommunications, television and enterprise education has made him a familiar figure in British business.
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Terry Leahy: the Tesco chief who changed British retail
From Liverpool and a first job at Tesco to the Clubcard, international expansion and a much larger retail business, Leahy reshaped the supermarket’s ambitions.
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John Timpson and the people-centred approach to retail
The Timpson chairman’s management ideas put shop-floor colleagues and local service at the heart of a long-established British business.
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Stephen Kelly: from public service to enterprise software
The British business executive led Sage through a period of cloud growth, while also holding senior roles in government and technology.
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Philip Green
Chairman of the Arcadia Group, which includes brands such as Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, and Burton.
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Peter Hargreaves
The Lancashire-born entrepreneur who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown and later backed a new investment company.
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