What does power mean, and who holds the most of it in Devon and Cornwall?
The list below has narrowed down the people in power in the private sector.
We've ranked them by how far we think their influence stretches.
The Power List is a matter of opinion. Tell us what you think and let us know if there is someone we have missed, or someone who should be higher up the list, or whether they should be there at all.
Below we look at 30 of the most powerful people in Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall.
30. Peter Downes
Pete Downes is the new boss at Cornwall Newquay Airport, joining the team from London City Airport where he was currently Aviation Director and has been instrumental in driving its route development and airline growth, delivering passenger numbers in excess of five million per year.
Starting his career in transport with FirstGroup, Downes entered the aviation industry at Bristol Airport where he was previously Head of Aviation.
The appointment follows significant network developments at Cornwall Airport Newquay, with new routes to Aberdeen, Newcastle, Glasgow, London Gatwick and Amsterdam commencing this spring, and the retention of a summer service to London Heathrow.
29. Michael Birch, OBE, Bebo millionaire
The multi-millionaire founder of the Bebo social networking site is transforming the North Devon village of Woolsery after seeing it in a sad state.
The California-based tycoon Michael Birch and his wife Xochi felt a "need" to transform Woolsery, where his ancestors have lived since 1700. This month, they unveiled The Farmer's Arms that they bought in 2015. The Grade II listed, thatched local pub dates back to the mid-17th century and has undergone a major renovation as part of a wider ambitious rejuvenation of the village.
He has bought properties including the village pub, an old hotel and the fish and chip shop over the past two years. Residents have welcomed his support and at the time, parish councillor Robin Edmonds, said it was ‘as good as winning the lottery’.
28. Chris Grigg – British Land’s chief executive
Chris Grigg is chief executive of The British Land Company plc, the British property development and investment company which now owns what is probably the most significant part of Plymouth’s city centre.
British Land's portfolio covers the Drake Circus Shopping Centre and nearby Bretonside. It also owns the huge block of Plymouth city centre buildings which include the House of Fraser and Debenhams department stores.
All this means that, as boss of British Land, Mr Grigg has had a vital say in the future of the city centre. But he is not higher in the list because as it was being written news broke that he is considering stepping down from his job.
Mr Grigg, aged 60, was educated at King Edward VI School in Southampton and graduated from Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, with a first in economics.
He joined Morgan Grenfell as a graduate trainee in 1981, moved to another major bank, Goldman Sachs, in 1985, rising to partner, before he left in 2005 to become Treasurer of Barclays Bank, and chief executive of Barclays Commercial Bank from February 2007 to November 2008. Mr Grigg joined British Land as chief executive in January 2009.
27. Dr Stephen Hobbs – Rittal-CSM managing director
Dr Stephen Hobbs is the long-serving boss of Plymouth manufacturer Rittal-CSM, one of the city’s most important, and successful, companies.
The company has created more than 200 jobs on the back of accelerating growth in the global computer industry – and is not afraid of even a “no deal” Brexit.
The company, part of the German Friedhelm Loh Group, had another stellar year in 2019 and is predicting a strong future as its metal enclosures are sought after in industry and increasingly for computer data storage bringing in some of the world’s largest digital companies – including Facebook, Hewlett Packard and other global IT giants - as clients.
It now has about 700 staff in Plymouth and is the 21st largest firm in the Ocean City, with a turnover of £60,361,000, reported in the Western Morning News’ Annual Business Guide 2019.
Dr Stephen Hobbs, managing director Rittal UK and Ireland, said sales revenue had “increased by a reasonable percentage” and there may be more job creation yet.
26. Tim Martin, Chairman, Wetherspoon
The Exeter-based businessman has seen his empire grow from one pub in Muswell Hill in 1979 to almost 1,000 towns and cities across the UK. He studied law at the University of Nottingham and qualified as a barrister, but never practised law, instead entering the pub trade.
According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2019, Martin was at 310 on the list and was worth £437m, which is £11m down on 2018. He is staunch Brexiteer and has criticised the government for its handling of Britain's exit from the European Union.
Last year, he made good his promise to cut European beer and wine brands from his pubs. A third of EU beers from the draught selection have been culled with Germany’s Erdinger, Denmark’s Tuborg and the Czech Republic’s Staropramen no longer sold.
25. Malcolm Bell
Malcolm Bell is the chief executive officer of Visit Cornwall, the organisation responsible for promoting Cornwall to the rest of the world.
Having overseen the transformation of Visit Cornwall into a Community Interest Company, Mr Bell is now at the helm of Visit Cornwall's future as a private enterprise and is responsible for overseeing the vision, strategy and delivery of the company.
A passionate brand ambassador for destination Cornwall, Malcolm is a key spokesperson across the world for tourism issues and sits on European and national advisory boards.
Malcolm is also on the Board of Governors for Cornwall College, South West Lakes Trust and the Cornwall Food Foundation.
24. Steve Hindley, CBE, Chair of the Great South West
Hindley's tenure as LEP chair has just come to an end, but for six years he has been a driving force for the South West economy, pushing for government investment and kickstarting initiatives including Exeter Science Park, Hinkley Supply Chain, the Electronics and Photonics Centre in Torbay and Oceansgate in Plymouth.
As chairman of Midas, he has more than 40 years’ experience in the construction industry at both project and company board level. He is former Chairman of the CBI Construction Council and the South West CBI Council.
23. Toby Parkins
Toby Parkins is the co-founding director of software company Headforwards based at the Pool Innovation Centre and the chairman of both Tech South West and co-founder of Software Cornwall.
Co-founder and co-director of software company Headforwards and UKNetweb as well as supporting a number of tech start up businesses in the county. Toby is president of the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, chairman of Tech South West and a founding director of Software Cornwall.
He was appointed chairman of Tech South West in 2017 and took over from Philip Letts, who stood down as chief executive of Exeter-based blur Group in August amid a rebirth for the pioneering tech firm.
Toby Parkins has over 25 years experience working in the tech sector, is managing director of UKNetWeb, founding director of Headforwards, founder of the Agile on the Beach conference and Software Cornwall and president of the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce.
Toby has been on the steering group at Tech South West, which helps connect and showcase technology firms across the region, since the start of this year.
22. Tom Bloxham – Urban Splash’s chairman and co-founder
Tom Bloxham began his career selling fire extinguishers door-to-door before studying for a degree in politics, then selling records and posters and he even ran a market stall. He made more money sub-letting the space than selling his posters. That's how his business empire started.
After setting up a pub business, nightclub and radio station, Mr Bloxham, along with Jonathan Falkingham, founded Urban Splash in 1993.
Urban Splash has developed over a billion pounds of regeneration projects across the country, including Plymouth’s Royal William Yard. The firm is now working on plans for the derelict Civic Centre too.
Mr Bloxham chairs the Manchester International Festival and is a trustee of The Tate, Manchester United Foundation. He was awarded an MBE for services to architecture and urban regeneration in 1999 at the age of 35.
21.Sir Peter Rigby, Chief Executive and Chairman, The Rigby Group
The serial entrepreneur is at the helm of the £2.4billion company that owns Bovey Castle, Exeter Airport and the XLR Executive Jet Centre. Sir Peter started the founding company for Rigby Group in 1975 and it is one of the biggest privately owned businesses in the UK. The Eden Hotel Group has eight luxury hotels including Bovey Castle.
20. Mike Carr and Henk Wiekens
Mike Carr and Henk Wiekens are joint managing directors at Falmouth-based Pendennis Shipyard.
Mr Carr is a qualified Naval Architect, who, after graduating from Southampton University, worked with Vosper Thornycroft for eight years before joining Pendennis in 1989.
Along with Henk Wiekens, he led the management buyout in 1993 and both have been at the helm ever since. Mr Carr is the previous chairman of Superyacht UK, which represent the interests of the UK Superyacht industry both at home and internationally.
Mr Wiekens is a time served engineer who managed his own yacht building companies in Holland and New Zealand for 12 years before being asked to join Pendennis in 1988.
19. Paul Crawford, Chief Executive, LiveWest
As Chief Executive of Devon & Cornwall Housing since 2009, Crawford has overseen the merger with Knightstone Housing to form the biggest housing provider in the South West.
The housing provider is planning to invest £2billion in the region over the next decade, including building 16,000 homes.
LiveWest owns more than 36,000 homes across the West of England and says its investment plans will sustain 7,000 jobs in the building and supply chain.
In the last financial year the company reported an £81million operating surplus - a £12million increase on the year before.
It invested £115million in new homes, including 900 affordable ones for rent and and 147 homes that were sold on the open market.
18. Richard Stevens – Citybus managing director
North Devon born Richard Stevens was appointed as managing director of Plymouth Citybus in May 2012. With an annual turnover of more than £27million, Citybus serves more than 17million passengers a year and is the biggest public transport provider in Plymouth, employing 520 people and running a fleet of 185 buses.
Mr Stevens has more than 20 years of senior management experience in the bus industry under his seatbelt. Previously he served as an operations and commercial director for Stagecoach South West and before that was operations director for First Devon and Cornwall. And all this after his career was jump started in 1990 - as a bus driver in Penzance.
Mr Stevens is also chair of Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, joint chair of the Plymouth Area Business Council, chair of the Plymouth Growth Board. Richard sits on the Devonport Task Force, One Plymouth, the Mayflower 400 Leadership group and the Peninsular Rail Task Force. He is a director of Destination Plymouth and a Heart of the South West LEP board member.
In his spare time he enjoys sailing and has been known to wear a kilt at business functions.
17. Hugo Tagholm
Hugo Tagholm is the chief executive officer of the St Agnes-based environmental charity and campaign group Surfers Against Sewage.
He joined SAS in 1991 but took over the role of CEO in 2008.
A keen surfer and beach cleaner he has led SAS's worldwide campaign in the fight against single use plastic which end up in our rivers and oceans.
The organisation, which was one of the nominated charities during the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has helped empower communities and schools up and down Britain to take the fight back and go plastic free.
16. Lindsey Hall – RIO’s chief executive
Lindsey Hall is co-founder and chief executive officer of the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) group. RIO was formed Ms Hall and Matt Little who had worked for the Arts Council England run Creative Partnerships and had seen social enterprises in action in Canada.
The community interest company “went live” in September 2007 primarily as an educational organisation, working with schools nationally and internationally. But a few months later the prospect of taking on Devonport Guildhall came into view. RIO took over the Victorian Guildhall and its neighbouring column, on a 25-year lease via a community asset transfer from the council, in 2011 and set about masterminding a £1.75million one-year renovation.
RIO launched its own business, Column Bakehouse, in 2013 and it now has five ovens and supplies leading Plymouth restaurants, with a second cafe in Ocean Studios, at Royal William Yard, which it also now runs.
The social enterprise is also progressing with ambitious plans to create a world-class digital technology hub and 3D immersive cinema in the disused Devonport Market Hall after landing a £1million windfall from the Government. RIO also works with hundreds of schools and has developed a range of nationally-recognised social enterprise qualifications.
Ms Hall is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a trustee of many organisations including Kernow Education Arts Partnership and Plymouth Culture Board and a governor of Devonport High School for Boys.
15.Chris Loughlin, Chief Executive, Pennon Group
Appointed Group Chief Executive in 2016, Loughlin is at the helm of the one of the biggest employers in Devon and Cornwall. Through leadership in the #BacktheGreatSouthWest campaign, he has been a vocal advocate of the regional economy and working collectively for prosperity. An enthusiastic voice for local business, Chris was a director of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership for six years and is currently chairman of British Water, a director of Water UK and a trustee of the charity WaterAid.
14. Kevin Georgel
Kevin Georgel took over from James Staughton as CEO of St Austell Brewery in January 2020 after the latter retired following 40 years at the firm his ancestor founded including 20 years in the top seat. St Austell Brewery employs more than 1,500 staff throughout the region and owns more than 170 pubs from the isles of Scilly to Lyme Regis.
Prior to joining St Austell Brewery Mr Georgel was the CEO of pub group Admiral Taverns.
He's worked for Punch Taverns and has been on the board here for many years.
In his last interview to Cornwall Live before retiring Mr Staughton said: "We always wanted him and now it's falling into place."
13.Tony Rowe OBE, Chief Executive, Exeter Chiefs
Rowe has been the driving force behind the Chiefs for over 20 years and has been credited with turning around the fortunes of the club to become of of the biggest draws for sport and hospitality in the South West. He relocated the club from its former County Ground site to Sandy Park in 2006, and has seen the club within the past 12 years going from a turnover of around £150,000 in 1998, to £17m in 2017.
Next on the cards is the build of a £25million four star 250-bedroom hotel as part of Sandy Park expansion plans, on which work has begun. The boss of SW Comms, Rowe was awarded the OBE for services to business, sport and charity in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours List and has since received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of Exeter, as well as being given the Freedom of the City of Exeter.
12. Antony Sheriff – Princess Yachts’ executive chairman
In January 2016, Antony Sheriff became Princess Yachts’ executive chairman. The 56-year-old, Swiss-born, American-Italian had headed the supercar maker for a decade and launched two road car models and began the development of a third. Mr Sheriff resigned from the firm in 2013 and later took it to court.
During his spell at McLaren, Mr Sheriff built up the road car division and turned it into a leading global force in the world of luxury cars. Under his leadership, McLaren conceived a range of ground-breaking supercars.
He has also brought success to Princess Yachts and the firm has seen profitable growth and increased revenue by 75% in three years, hitting record profitability and has embarked on the development of a new generation of products and a realignment of its production systems and employment to meet the growing demand.
11. Cory and Phil Beinhaker – Sutton Harbour Holdings bosses
The father and son team now have Plymouth’s Sutton Harbour Holdings in their grip, and are planning huge developments on the waterfront, including two skyscrapers and a boardwalk.
Canadian Phil Beinhaker splashed £20million on shares in Plymouth’s waterside development company, which also has the long lease on the former airport site, to take a controlling interest in 2018.
Before touching down in Plymouth, Mr Beinhaker set up the world’s fourth biggest architecture practice and was involved in building major sports arenas, hospitals, office blocks, restaurants and housing estates in North America and Europe.
The 78-year-old grew IBI Group, in Toronto, Canada, into one of the largest architecture or architecture/engineering firms in the world – in fourth place according to some rankings, with more than 2,500 employees and 60 offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Mr Beinhaker now lives in the UK where he has founded Beinhaker Design Services.
His son Cory is an Israel-based businessman with a track record in major developments,. He lives in Jerusalem but is a director of two companies headquartered in Manchester: Future Habitat Ltd and Beinhaker Design Services Ltd.
He worked for IBIB Group Consultants (Israel) Limited from 2010 to 2017, latterly as its chief executive, where he was contract manager for a number of significant projects including the Tel Aviv Red 10 Line Underground Station design and the design and technical specification for the traffic management for the inter-urban network in Israel.
10. Simon Hallett – Plymouth Argyle’s chairman
United States-based businessman Simon Hallett took control of Plymouth Argyle FC in late 2018, ending James Brent’s tenure. The 62-year-old is the club's majority shareholder after a £3.25million investment, on top of an initial £500,000 injection.
He lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania, with his wife of 42 years, Jane, who he met at Oxford University. The couple, who have three daughters and two grandchildren, moved to New Jersey in 1991 and took up US citizenship in 2003. He works in the investment management business for Harding Loevner where he is co-chief investment officer and has been a key figure for 27 years.
Mr Hallett was born near Bristol. In 1966 his family moved to Plymouth where his father, a mechanical engineer, worked at RNEC Manadon. Mr Hallett went to school at Plymouth College, where he had a council scholarship.
His first job was at the Midland Bank, but in 1981 he moved to Hong Kong and met David Loevner, who ended up founding Harding Loevner.
Mr Hallett has overseen the construction and opening of Plymouth Argyle’s new £8million grandstand.
9. Rick Stein
Rick Stein is a celebrity chef, restaurateur and television presenter.
He is head chef and co-owner of "Rick Stein at Bannisters" at Mollymook in Australia, and owns four restaurants in Padstow in Cornwall as well as fish and chip shops in Falmouth, Porthleven and Newquay.
He has written cookery books and presented television programmes and has been largely credited for helping transform Padstow's fortunes into the foodie town it is known as today and an all-year-round tourist destination.
8. David Walrond
David Walrond is the principal of Truro and Penwith College.
He joined Truro and Penwith College in 2003, becoming principal of the merged Truro and Penwith College in 2010.
He attended Llanishen Comprehensive School in Cardiff and has Higher Education qualifications from Exeter, Oxford and Leicester universities.
He began his teaching career in London, and has also taught at colleges in Hampshire and Cheshire.
He lived for five years in Italy, where jobs ranged from fork lift truck driver in a scaffolding warehouse to teaching at Padua University.
He has been a chairman of School Governors and an Associate Ofsted Inspector.
Bodmin's Callywith College was completed in August 2017 and opened its doors to its first students in September that year.
Mr Walrond is retiring at the end of the academic year in August 2020.
7. The Brownswords, hoteliers
Andrew Brownsword and wife Christina Brownsword were named as one of the richest people in the South West on the Sunday Times' Rich List in 2019, and are said to be worth £295million.
The pair owns Devon's five star manor Gidleigh Park alongside other premium hotels as part of their portfolio.
Their 13 hotels includes The Bath Priory, 900 year-old Amberley Castle in West Sussex, five Cotswold properties: The Slaughters Manor House, The Slaughters Country Inn, Buckland Manor, Minster Mill and the Old Swan plus stylish London pied à terre, Sydney House Chelsea.
Mr Brownsword sold his greetings card business to US giant Hallmark for £165million in 1994 and his sports retailer Snow and Rock for £50million in 2010.
They own the fire ravaged Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter, but put it up for sale in August.
6. Professor Penelope Endersby, Chief Executive, The Met Office
Professor Endersby became the first female leader of the Exeter-based organisation that has been credited with kickstarting the science and research sector in the region.
She took over the reins in December 2018 after a post at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) where she led the Cyber and Information Systems Division and was Acting Chief Technical Officer as well as a Non-Exec Director of Ploughshare Innovations, the MOD’s technology transfer organisation. Her remit is to keep the Met Office at the forefront of weather and climate science.
5. Chris Dawson – The Range’s founder and executive chairman
Shopping tycoon Chris Dawson saved £5million on his tax bill in 2019 – even though his earnings have gone up.
The entrepreneur, along with wife Sarah Dawson, paid HMRC £20.4million in 2019 according to the second Sunday Times Tax List.
But that is down from the £25.4million the Dawsons paid in 2018 - even though the couple are now worth £1.99billion.
The founder and owner of The Range store chain famously began his business empire, still headquartered in Plymouth, from a market stall.
4. Peter and Nick Vosper – Vospers bosses
Father-and-son Peter and Nick Vosper run Plymouth-headquartered Vospers car dealership which was founded by Peter’s father in 1946.
Peter joined the firm in 1966 and became managing director in 1974. Nick joined his father in the business in 1996, after completing his studies at university and following extensive training with Ford in London.
Nick, who obtained an MBA at Exeter University, was appointed as managing director in 2011. The company, which has 700 employees, saw turnover hit £232million in 2017.
3. Sir Tim Smit
ir Tim is executive chairman of Eden Regeneration and co-founder of the iconic Eden Project near St Austell, which opened to the public in 2000 and which has since contributed more than £1bn to the Cornish economy.
Sir Tim was knighted in 2012 in recognition of his services to public engagement with science.
The iconic Eden Project is to build new Edens around the globe as part of new ambitious international expansion plan.
The Eden Project, near St Austell has now created a new company to drive the establishment of Edens around the world including China, Australia and New Zealand.
2. Prince Charles
Prince Charles is, as Duke of Cornwall, the largest landowner in Cornwall. But is he the most powerful person in the Duchy?
Prince Charles's Duchy of Cornwall estate extends beyond the geographical boundaries of Cornwall covering 53,134 hectares across 23 counties mostly in the South West.
It is made up of arable and livestock farms, residential and commercial properties, as well as forests, rivers, quarries and coastlines.
The Duchy of Cornwall employs more than 150 people, who work at locations such as Dartmoor, Liskeard and the Isles of Scilly.
The Duchy of Cornwall is a private estate which funds the public, charitable and private activities of the Prince of Wales and his family.
Prince Charles visited Cornwall twice in 2018, first when he attended the Royal Cornwall Show in Wadebridge and second in August when he was accompanied by Camilla for a three-day official visit that took the Royal couple to St Agnes, the Isles of Scilly and St Tudy in North Cornwall.
1. Ruth Cairnie – Babcock International’s chair
In 2019 Plymouth’s biggest company appointed as its new chairperson a high-flying female executive who has fought to get more women into positions of power.
Babcock International, the aerospace and defence company which runs Devonport Dockyard, named Ruth Cairnie as successor to Mike Turner, who retired after 11 years in the role.
Ms Cairnie initially joined the board as a non-executive director but assumed the role of chair at the company's annual meeting in July 2019.
Ms Cairnie has extensive experience of the engineering sector, gained from a 37-year international career spanning senior roles at Royal Dutch Shell plc, including being executive vice president for group strategy and planning.
She has been senior independent director of Primark owner Associated British Foods Plc and a non-executive director of Rolls Royce Holdings plc and ContourGlobal plc.
She has also chaired POWERful Women, and has experience of advising Government departments on strategic development and capability building.
She has also been a trustee of Windsor Leadership and a member of the finance committee of the University of Cambridge, where she studied for her Master of Advanced Studies in Mathematics.
