12. ERIC BORN
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Had this page gone to press two weeks ago, you'd be reading about Graeme McFaull; instead you're reading about his replacement Eric Born. The latter joined Wincanton in April 2009 as chief operating officer from airline caterer Gate Group, where he was group senior vice-president. Since then he has successfully turned around Winoanton's German business.
Following McFaull's departure (CM 16 December), Born became chief executive and now it gets tough. While the group's half-year results weren't bad (3.3% boost in underlying profit to E25.2m on turnover up 2.6% to 2.681m), they weren't what the City was expecting, and the share price slumped as a result.
Wincanton is exposed to manufacturing, constructor and defence markets rocked by recession and government cut-backs which must also be a concern. However, any contract losses in the past year have been outweighed by a spate of wins.