Recently appointed as the inaugural chair of UK Research and Innovation, Sir John Kingman’s already high stock in the sector is rising further. He will lead UKRI in its shadow form before it is fully established. When fully operational, the organisation will have a budget of over £6bn per year. He has been a longstanding mover-and-shaker in science, funding and regional devolution.
The son of a former Bristol vice chancellor and a former banker, Kingman helped to orchestrate the government’s bailout of the banks. Before taking up the UKRI role, Kingman was Second Permanent Secretary, and sometime Acting Permanent Secretary, at the Treasury. He’ll be combining his UKRI role with that of Chairman of Legal & General Group, an investment business with over $1tn under its management. He falls a few places this year through no fault of his own – Brexit and a new government saw to that. But his place in the top 10 doesn’t seem in any immediate jeopardy.