Job: founder, Beattie, McGuinness, Bungay
Age: 47
Industry: advertising
Staff: 47
2005 ranking: 75
More than a decade after he put Wonderbra back on the map with his "Hello boys" campaign, Trevor Beattie remains one of the most influential advertising executives in the business.
This time last year Beattie had just quit TBWA/London to go it alone with his own agency, Beattie, McGuinness, Bungay, or BMB. It was, he said, the "toughest decision" of his life.
Twelve months later, BMB's client list suggests it was the right one, with the likes of Heinz, Carling, Selfridges, HP Sauce, First Choice, Discovery Channel and Sky on board.
Showing he had lost none of his knack for controversy, Beattie launched the American edition of Richard Desmond's OK! magazine with giant billboards advising New Yorkers to "Avoid dull People", a sly dig at the market-leading US gossip mag.
When People publisher Time Warner complained, Beattie followed it up with "Some People have no sense of humour". Desmond also hired Beattie to breathe new life into the Daily Star.
But his latest ad campaign for French Connection, featuring two scantily clad kung fu fighting women who kiss and make up, failed to hit the mark. Causing outrage is all very well, as Beattie found out with FCUK, just so long as it boosts sales. This one didn't and Beattie and French Connection subsequently parted company after a decade-long relationship.
Beattie left TBWA/London in May 2005 after 15 years with the agency. He took with him two TBWA colleagues to set up the new agency, chief executive Andrew McGuinness and deputy creative director Bil Bungay.
Other BMB clients include Richard Branson's space age travel agency, Virgin Galactic, which promises to blast punters 70 miles into space on board the Virgin Enterprise. Beattie knows all about that one - he was the first Brit to sign up for the trip.
"I'm scared of heights but I want to go to space more than anything else," said Beattie. "I'm a boy and that's what boys dream about."
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