JEREMY DARROCH

Jeremy Darroch, BSkyB's CEO, has a reputation for being close to James Murdoch, a bright, thorough and trusted lieutenant who tempered some of his energetic boss's schemes and excesses. Murdoch, together with Darroch, changed the outlook and culture at Sky beyond recognition. Externally, they changed it from a one-product, pay-television broadcaster shifting set-top boxes to a triple-play, multiplatform communications operator. Then suddenly, in classic, capricious style, Murdoch was shifted by his father to run the whole of the News Corp business in Europe, including, fatefully, the News of the World. What happened at the News of the World was appalling and unacceptable, says Darroch. But they are a separate company. As a leader, it just reinforces to him how vital values are. Sky has got 17,000 people but he can't sit down and write a rulebook for every one of them. So their values and their culture are there to help with difficult decisions.