Who’s at the top?
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Who has the most effect on and influence over the road transport industry? Read the first part of CM’s Power Players to find out
Words: Justin Stanton Welcome to the third edition of CM’s Power Players – the list of the 20 people and organisations we believe have the most inluence and exert the most control over the road transport industry.
This list is by no means objective, but we’ve debated the merits of those on the list. You will ind operators, clients, industry stakeholders and a few off-the-wall choices. Some people make the list because they have power themselves, while others appear because the organisations they lead have power. A handful are there because they are representative of a particular section of the industry.
Direct influence
Some are there because they have exerted power this year, while others appear because we expect them to have an inluence in 2012.
What they all have in common is a direct inluence (for good or ill) over the industry. Thus the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are not included. And neither are the fuel companies, OPEC, nor the commodity traders whose actions directly affect the price of fuel – actions that are driven by self-interest rather than a desire or need to control the road transport industry.
To jog your memory, here is last year’s Top 20:
20. Mark Hinchliffe, Upper Tribunal judge 19. Graham Dalton, chief executive, Highways Agency 18. Boris Johnson, London mayor 17. Kevin Buchanan, MD, Palletline 16. John Williams, MD, Maritime Transport 15. Iain Speak, chief executive, Bibby Distribution 14. Jonathan Smith, chief executive, Yodel 13. Malcolm Wilson, MD, Norbert Dentressangle 12. Eric Born, chief executive, Wincanton 11. Graham Inglis, chief executive, DHL Supply Chain 10. Geoff Dunning, chief executive, RHA 9. Theo de Pencier, chief executive, FTA 8. Mike Penning, transport minister 7. José Manuel Barroso, EC president 6. Philip Brown, Senior Traffic Commissioner 5. Alastair Peoples, chief executive, VOSA 4. Cowboy operators 3. Andrew Tinkler, chief executive, Stobart Group 2. Your drivers 1. David Potts, retail and logistics director, Tesco
Plenty has happened in 2011 so a number of those who made it onto last year’s list do not make this year’s. One person we were tempted to put on this year was industry legend Glyn Davies: it looked like he’d settled into retirement with a little nest egg in the shape of the Hanbury Riverside dealership, but in September he joined the board of Culina Logistics as a non-executive director. We’ll take a view on Davies this time next year, but meanwhile the temperature-controlled sector has been warned.
For now, read on to ind out who is a 2011 Power Player.