What makes a CEO exceptional? Achieving strong financial performance will always be key to the role, but modern business leaders are judged on much more than revenue or share price. Successful CEOs today must foster healthy and high-performing workplaces, set the tone for sustainability, adapt their business to an increasingly unpredictable operating environment and spearhead the adoption of innovative technologies.
We believe each person in the Raconteur 50 is a model of an exceptional CEO.
The Raconteur 50 aims to highlight outstanding achievements in overcoming crises, ensuring strong employee engagement and wellbeing, innovating with digital technology, driving sustainability or social impact and transforming markets or business models.
By shining a light on the UK’s best business leaders, we hope to inspire CEOs of the future and provide insights into what it takes to lead from the top.
The Raconteur 50 recognises chief executives across industries, at companies large and small. To select this year’s winners, we consulted our network of C-suite leaders, pored over news from the past year and spoke to industry experts to find the most deserving candidates.
This year, we assembled expert judging panels to help us choose the most outstanding CEOs from a shortlist of nominees. Among the judges were former Raconteur 50 winners, as well as senior business decision-makers from across our network. For their help in selecting the 2025 winners, we sincerely thank:
- Sairah Ashman, global CEO at Wolff Olins
- Jonathan Grubin, founder and CEO at SoPost
- Orlando Martins, CEO at Oresa and founder of the Growth Index
- Denise Myers, founder and CEO at Evenfields
- Amanda Rajkumar, former HR executive at BNP Paribas and Adidas
- Romi Savova, founder and CEO at PensionBee
- Sarah Vizard, deputy editor-in-chief at Business Leader
- Radha Vyas, co-founder and CEO at Flash Pack
Here’s some of what we considered for each category:
- For Crisis Commanders, we were looking for leaders who steered their organisations through challenging circumstances. Many of these executives have navigated difficult trading conditions, regulatory scrutiny, policy hurdles and general macroeconomic malaise. Some have transformed legacy operations in the face of challenger brands. And all have been forced to make difficult decisions for the long-term good of their organisation.
- For Culture Architects, we were looking for leaders who champion workplace wellness and employee engagement. Winners of this category have maintained progressive hiring or development practices, advocated for openness and transparency around burnout and mental health or championed diversity and inclusion – and almost all have achieved stellar employee approval scores.
- For Digital Trailblazers, we were looking for leaders who are championing the use of digital technologies to transform their business or industry. These executives are not simply caught up in the hype; their organisations are finding innovative yet secure ways to drive business growth with technology. Some have overseen the full digital transformation of legacy brands, while others have helped to define best practices for emerging technologies.
- For ESG Changemakers, we were looking for leaders focused on the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. Some of these individuals are leading firms founded on sustainable principles, while others are transforming their business to be greener and fairer for society as a whole. In either case, their achievements are significant. They have launched resource-preservation initiatives, helped to develop the circular economy, established impactful social-benefit programmes and much more.
- For Visionary Strategists, we were looking for leaders who have pushed the boundaries of their industries. These executives see beyond what is to what could be. They set the trends that guide leadership in their sectors. Many have led pioneering growth or expansion strategies, disrupted their markets and redefined their business models.
The Raconteur 50 celebrates exceptional leaders. The aim is not to recognise the most well-known or the richest or even the best-performing by the usual financial metrics. Instead, it is to shine a light on the CEOs leading strong performance while also defining best practices for business leaders everywhere.
There’s no shortage of crises facing modern business leaders. But these CEOs have excelled under pressure and led through adversity. They have successfully navigated business upheavals, economic downturns or major industry shifts.
While some business leaders abandon DEI commitments and restrict workplace autonomy, these CEOs have built workplaces where people thrive. They have fostered inclusive, engaging and high-performing company cultures.
Creating real business value with digital technology can be difficult. But these CEOs have successfully integrated emerging technologies and digital-first strategies to drive their businesses forward.
Corporate sustainability is at a crossroads: investors are questioning its importance and consumers have grown wary of opaque initiatives that deliver little good. For these CEOs, however, success is measured in part by ESG impact.
From rapidly developing technology to shifting consumer behaviours, the business environment is constantly evolving. These CEOs have disrupted or transformed their industries by executing game-changing business strategies.
Meet the Raconteur 50
Click on a profile to learn about each outstanding CEO and why they made the cut.
