The 2011 How-Do Media 100 - The Top 20 and the full compilation

Following publication by sector over the course of last week of this year's crop of the How-Do Media 100, today we publish the list in its entirety together with the 20 individuals our judges ranked as the most influential of the 100.

We have received dozens of comments, suggestions, suggested amendments and suggested inclusions (next year)... and we'd like to express our thanks to all those who have taken the time to write and comment, or simply write to advise us how much we have under-estimated the wonder of their achievements... for the rest of our readers, we hope and trust you have been informed, enlightened and have ultimately enjoyed reading about those who are shaping and leading the region's thriving and growing media and creative marketing communities.

For information about the criteria we employed to compile this initiative and to see the names and background information on our judges, please click here.

This year's compilation has been supported by the law firm Hill Dickinson and the University of Salford.



The 2011 How-Do Media 100 - the Top 20 individuals - unranked


Peter Salmon, director BBC North. Oversees the growing BBC investment in Salford although he is no longer on the BBC’s executive board - the refusal to relocate was believed to be the cause of the resignation. Salford, it is claimed, is now the world's most advanced broadcasting centre and within the next few years, over 3,000 BBC staff will be based there - the majority of whom will be working in national departments. Ignore if you can the tiresome Fleet St headlines about which Breakfast or 5Live presenter will  or won't move north; the investment in Children's TV, Sport, R&D and Future Media dwarves the other issues in both scale and significance. Salmon joined the BBC in 1981 working on Blue Peter, Newsnight and BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat. He left to become controller of factual programmes at Channel 4 and three years later moved to Manchester to become director of programmes at Granada. He was appointed director, BBC North, at the end of 2008.

Nicola Shindler, Red Productions. A successful year for one of the UK’s most influential indies with a second series of Scott & Bailey recommissioned for ITV1 following its debut earlier this year, lots of plaudits for Single Father and Exile and Hit and Miss (created by Paul Abbott) due for broadcast next spring on Sky Atlantic. BBC2 also proved a new source of commission with a contract confirmed for a five parter of children’s shorts exploring various emotional issues including sibling rivalry, parental illness and friendship for broadcast next spring.  

Richard Gregory, chief operating officer, Latitude. Gregory has been at the business since 2002, witnessing the departure of founder Dylan Thwaites who sold to Vitruvian Partners in 2007, and a 2010 pre-pack administration. Vitruvian merged the digital agency with a sister portfolio company back in January before selling to Leeds-based Callcredit. Gregory now oversees the enlarged operation. It's probably the biggest purely digital agency in the region with around 100 staff in Warrington and London.

Alastair Machray, Editor, the Liverpool Echo. Despite further sales slippage, he edits what is the UK’s third biggest regional newspaper with greater paid-for sales than the MEN. Lots of new initiatives, continuing campaigning and plenty of supplements keep the title particularly close to his readers. Along with his peers at the Post (Mark Thomas q.v) was awarded Freedom of the City status by the city’s civic leaders in July.  As part of the recent editorial changes to the Post, three freebies covering Merseyside will be incorporated into the Tuesday edition.  Online readership up 42.9% year on year but print sales dropped to 85,463 in latest ABCs, a decline of circa 4%.


Joe Godwin, director, Children’s TV.. Godwin is responsible for CBeebies and CBBC and their websites and related offerings. Given the North West's proud history of creating outstanding national and international children's TV - Cosgrove Hall, Chapman, Mersey/Lime etc - and the increasing number of related parties now relocating north, it is no understatement to suggest that Godwin, should he stay the course, will be at the centre of one of the world's two or three leading international centres of kids' TV production.


Robin Burgess,  Chief executive, CN Group. Privately-owned CN is the one of the UK's largest independent publishers. Another tough year with CN implementing staff cuts and pay freezes and in turn faced with industrial action. His titles remain quite profitable and facing lesser declines than bigger city titles. Poached David Helliwell from Blackpool as his group’s new editorial director in its heartland. Oversees a portfolio of weeklies and two dailies as well as three radio stations and magazines.

Scott Taunton, chief executive, UTV Media (GB). Oversees a network of around 20 local radio stations – including Juice in Liverpool - and TalkSport nationally from offices in Birchwood, Warrington. Recent figures show UTV's radio portfolio is outperforming the market with 5% revenue growth in the 10 months to October. Taunton has been riding high after TalkSport picked up station of the year at the Sonys and audience figures hit new highs. He's been bullish about expansion and UTV was considered a frontrunner to buy Absolute.

Paul Abbott. Following two years of development, Shameless USA now airing Stateside (and here in UK) and Abbott believed to be now looking at other opportunities in the US, where in fact he is now based for part of the year, ostensibly helping to co-write the US version.  The critically acclaimed Exile (scripted by Danny Brocklehurst and produced by Abbott)  aired in the Spring, Shameless series eight draws to an end and in between Abbott has created Hit And Miss, a six parter for Sky Atlantic in 2012, the channel’s first original drama commission.

Dave Lucas/Andy Jeal (pictured), managing partners, and Elliot Muscant, director of interactive media, Carat. After months of rumours Aegis acquired 75% of what was MediaVest in July valuing the agency at £95m. By some distance the largest media buying agency outside London with over 200 staff, Jeal and Lucas are a class act. The digital arm is reputed to be the fourth biggest in the UK - a remarkable feat for any regional agency of any discipline. Aegis is now to also roll the Manchester office of Feather Brooksbank into Carat Manchester. In the year to February the old MediaVest business recorded a pre-tax profit of £4.7m and had gross assets of £49.6m. Its clients include Holland and Barrett, JD Williams, Barratt Developments and Thomas Cook.

Dee Ford, group managing director, Bauer Radio. Her 40 plus stations command around a quarter of the UK’s commercial radio market including many of the North’s biggest stations such as Radio City and Key 103. Bauer also has the Kiss and Magic brands. Her biggest competitor is Global with nearly twice as many licences but Ford is understood to have no desire to match that scale and is happy with Bauer's emphasis on major, or big city, markets. She divides her time between her office in Manchester and London.


Tony Wood, creative director, Lime Pictures. Oversees the rapidly growing programming output of Lime. Hollyoaks still trucking along but scripted reality is the big new buzz and Wood more than anyone at Lime has nurtured the niche which is going international. The Only Way is Essex has been contracted for four further series and although the much trailed Desperate Scousewives didn’t materialise out of Lime, we can expect further new Wood-inspired Lime initiatives in 2012 as his Air Miles tot up sharply. Rejoined Lime in 2006 (began on Brookie as a trainee) having been part of David Liddiment's celebrated reign at Granada and subsequently producer of Corrie.

Sara Wilde, Regional MD Trinity Mirror North West and Wales. In addition to her day job, Wilde was also appointed ccommercial director of TMR in March 2010. Although Burgess at CN has more control over his own destiny, in sheer numbers, Wilde is the most senior regional newspaper exec in the region, and indeed arguably outside London. Her immediate geographic area of control ranges from South Wales to West Yorks. control Husband Colin McKeown runs LA Productions. STOP PRESS - How-Do 16/12/11

Barbara Slater, director, BBC Sport. Appointed to the post in April 2009. The former international Olympic gymnast (Montreal 1976) has responsibility for circa 20,000 hours of sports coverage across radio, TV and online each year spanning live sporting events, highlights, sports news and magazine programmes and over 450 staff report to her. Having joined the Beeb in in 1983 as a trainee assistant producer in the Natural History Unit in Bristol, her previous BBC Sport roles included head of production and head of general sports.


Kieran Roberts, creative director, Drama Manchester ITV Studios. In the role since 2005 and one of ITV’s most influential national executives. The award-winning producer oversees all drama output out of Manchester. Although he doesn’t day to day run Corrie, he does oversee life on the Street. The 50th anniversary of Corrie last year has taken yet a further step this year with the news that he is to exec-produce Reckless Entertainment’s and Paul O’Grady’s Street of Dreams which will debut at the MEN Arena next March. If ITV continues to invest more in its Manchester operation, his national influence will continue to rise. We should also be told whether his Movember effort raised the most out of Manchester’s TV folk…

Ben Hatton, managing director, Rippleffect. Hatton surprised many when he decided to stick around following the end of his earn-out. He has spent the year leading a growth strategy at the Liverpool business after owner Trinity Mirror invested £2m to expand its services. At the time Hatton said he wanted to make the agency one of the best in the UK for delivering digital campaigns. The firm, which employs 68 staff, has expanded its operations in Salford, London and Glasgow during the year and focused on social media and mobile technology. Hatton's aiming for 80 staff by the end of next year.

Jimmy McGovern. A quieter year for McGovern as he attracted more headlines with his views on the Accused and The Only Way is Essex: the latter, he suggested, would effectively end intelligent life as we know it…. Otherwise he continued to develop drama with his own company RSJ Films and renewed his working relationship with Colin McKeon with series three of Moving On produced by LA Productions.


Carolyn Reynolds, chief executive, Lime Pictures. Lime is by far the largest TV drama producing company based outside London - with staff numbers now up to over 500 – and the largest regionally-based indie. In addition to Hollyoaks, MTV projects and other, Lime is cultivating an international niche in the area of scripted reality with shows such as Geordie Shore and The Only Way is Essex.  A sale of parent company All3Media is currently off and in the meantime, Lime reported ptp of £10m plus so it’s clearly in robust health. Stop press. Just announced on 12/12 that Reynolds (six years with Lime/Mersey TV) will be moving to a new role for All3 from the New Year with former BBC Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas succeeding her.

Sue Little, chief executive of McCann Manchester. Another busy year for the boss of the largest advertising/marketing agency outside London. Some redundancies earlier in the year but second half has seen a spate of hirings plus most recently she has brought the digital operation Metro back into Prestbury from its Manchester outpost. Staff numbers are back up above 300 again and McCann has launched an apprenticeship scheme for school leavers in partnership with Macclesfield College. The agency has carried out high profile work for Aldi and continued to win new business in sectors ranging from food and drink to financial services.


Andy Carter, group managing director, GMG Radio. Promoted to his new role in August, he still retains a strategic role in the brand development of Smooth and Real has also been added to his portfolio. Carter, who joined the Manchester-based business in 2002, had previously held the dual positions of MD of GMG Radio in the North West and Smooth Radio brand MD. The change made way for Michael McIntyre, the group’s regional sales director, to step into the North West MD position. Carter launched an auction promotion on Real Radio in November in a bid to get more companies to use radio in their marketing strategies.


Adrian van Klaveren, controller, Radio 5 Live.. In the post since April 2008, he is responsible for content and direction of 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra with the stations attracting an average weekly audience of six million. He has previously held several senior national news roles together with a stint as head of local programmes for BBC West Midlands overseeing the TV output and five local radio stations.

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