Stephen Gould & Stuart Bateman

Stephen Gould chief executive, Everards (47), Stuart Bateman managing director, George Bateman & Son (49)

Why they are on the list:

Gould and Bateman are the bosses of two of the UK's best-known regional brewers. The companies may be small in size, but they have displayed an innovative approach to running their respective businesses.

What the past year has held:

Batemans has been making enormous strides to forge better relations with its pub tenants. It created what was believed to be an industry first last August when it announced the end of rent reviews, introducing basic rises linked to RPI instead. It also helped licensees tackle high energy costs by paying for consultants to help hosts find the best deal.

Everards launched a novel trading partnership with local microbrewers to operate some of its pubs and also launched a mystery-shopper programme challenging "agents" to convert a friend to cask ale when they visited an Everard house.

Challenges ahead:

Like most fellow regionals the two companies may well adopt a safety-first approach until the economy gets moving again.