Chapter 4
The Seller: Marketing Maestros Who Connect Products with People
In 1977, Sidney Taurel drove clinic to clinic in Columbus, Ohio as an Eli Lilly "detail man"-a pharmaceutical sales representative pitching medications to physicians. These smartly dressed representatives carried bags with drug samples and branded merchandise, building relationships with doctors through personal connections. For Taurel, this three-month sales experience proved formative-within 21 years, the Moroccan-born executive would become CEO of the entire corporation.
Sellers understand that great products require excellent routes to market. The pharmaceutical industry pioneered sophisticated customer analytics, tracking physician prescribing patterns and targeting influential doctors. With high margins, sales teams had generous resources, though Taurel notes the industry later faced cost pressures. For Sellers to succeed in leadership, they must develop beyond sales techniques to master strategy and cost control-marketing themselves as complete executives.
Procter & Gamble produced an impressive roster of corporate leaders during a golden decade in the 1990s. Alumni went on to run companies across diverse sectors from luxury goods to telecommunications, including Fabrizio Freda (Estee Lauder), Patrice Louvet (Ralph Lauren), and Chris de Lapuente (LVMH/Sephora). Gavin Patterson, who began his P&G career after being spotted in a cricket jumper at a Cambridge University career fair, eventually became BT's CEO and later president at Salesforce.
P&G's coveted graduate scheme accepted only 15 marketing candidates yearly, offering remarkable freedom within a structured environment. New hires were immediately assigned to a brand that consumed their professional lives, with rotations to new products every 18 months. Unlike many American multinationals, P&G UK relied on local talent rather than expats, enabling brisk career progression. Young marketers developed comprehensive skills across marketing plans, packaging, and advertising, with significant responsibility-Patterson was signing off million-pound advertising checks in his early twenties.
Despite their marketing origins, few chief executives want to be defined solely by this background-perhaps because the discipline has historically been regarded as lightweight compared to accounting, law, or science. Dave Lewis exemplified this when he became Tesco's CEO in 2014 amid the supermarket's crisis. Though he had launched Dove in the UK and created environments for award-winning campaigns at Unilever, Lewis emphasized his broader experience: "One of the things I have loved from the favelas in Brazil to the islands of Java is getting that connection with consumers."
The most successful Sellers transcend their marketing origins by mastering broader business disciplines. Sidney Taurel applied financial acumen to tackle Brazil's chronic inflation when managing Eli Lilly's agricultural division. As CEO, he faced patent challenges with Prozac losing protection in 2001, requiring aggressive R&D investment to diversify the product pipeline while cutting costs. Similarly, Gavin Patterson transformed BT by acquiring broadcasting rights to top-flight football and purchasing mobile firm EE, reversing previous strategic mistakes.
Yet despite engineering training and fifteen years at BT, the media still labeled Patterson a "soap suds salesman" from his P&G days. This highlights the challenge Sellers face-they must prove their broader business capabilities while leveraging their core strength: understanding consumers. This combination proves increasingly valuable as companies struggle to connect with social media-influenced shoppers seeking specialized products across industries.
Chapter 5
The Founder: Visionaries Who Create Something from Nothing
Sir Richard Branson's arrival in the Virgin Atlantic lounge at Heathrow creates an electric atmosphere-tourists exclaim, business executives stare, and staff swarm around him with handshakes and kisses. At 64, Branson remains in perpetual motion, flashing white teeth and offering hugs before being ushered away for his next performance. This magnetic presence exemplifies what makes Founders special.
Founders stand apart from conventional business leaders, often achieving wealth and fame while maintaining complete autonomy. Governments and media court them for their job-creating potential. Their confidence, creative flair, and risk-taking make ordinary executives seem pale by comparison. Unlike "hired help" who serve at boards' pleasure, Founders have created their empires from scratch-their businesses are their "babies," ideas they've nurtured through countless challenges.
The most compelling founder stories trace the journey from modest beginnings to remarkable success. Unlike the flamboyant Branson, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei represents a completely different founder archetype. An ex-engineer from the People's Liberation Army who started his telecom equipment company with just a few thousand pounds after losing his military job, Ren remained hidden from public view for years while his company grew into a global powerhouse competing with Apple and Samsung.
Despite Huawei's controversial Western expansion, Ren himself cultivates an unremarkable image, claiming his crushing childhood poverty prevented him from developing hobbies or vices-"I don't even know how to drink and how to smoke. Overall, my personal life is not that colorful." Like Ikea's Ingvar Kamprad, who wore second-hand clothes despite his 50 billion fortune, Ren distances himself from both political influence and capitalism, noting that "in the army you never talk about money; you only talk about how you can serve the people better."
Some founders aren't rags-to-riches stories but risk-takers who abandoned comfortable positions to pursue bigger visions. Lance Uggla was already a successful credit trader at Toronto Dominion Bank when, at age 39, he quit to start his own business in 2003-hardly an ideal time with Enron's collapse and the dotcom bust still fresh. From a barn in St. Albans, he created Markit (later IHS Markit) by convincing a dozen competing investment banks to share their closely-guarded financial derivatives data, which he would aggregate, anonymize, and sell back to them.
Founders share traits with Alphas-power centers on them and professional life blends seamlessly with personal. For many, staff become like family and business problems follow them home. Surinder Arora's remarkable journey exemplifies this dynamic-arriving at Heathrow from India at age 13 without speaking English, he worked in various airport roles before investing in property, starting with houses for aircrew and eventually building a 15-hotel portfolio including properties at major London airports.
Letting go proves challenging for most Founders. When seven colleagues left Patni Computer Systems in 1981 to create Infosys with just $250, they pioneered IT outsourcing but struggled to relinquish control. Remarkably, it took until 2014-over three decades-before a non-Founder led the company. The transition proved disastrous; hired from SAP, Vishal Sikka lasted only three years before resigning, citing "personal attacks" from the very people he expected support from.
Research confirms this pattern: a Harvard Business Review study found that by a venture's third birthday, only 50% of Founders remained as CEO, dropping to 25% by IPO. Peter Cruddas of CMC Markets exemplifies this struggle-after stepping back as chairman, he reinstated himself as CEO in 2013, finding it less stressful to "change things" directly than watching decisions he disagreed with.
Richard Branson represents the ultimate Founder evolution. From breeding budgerigars at prep school to launching Student magazine and then a mail-order business that became Virgin, Branson has created 18 billion-dollar companies across 12 sectors over 50 years. Virgin's brilliance lies in its challenger brand positioning, deployed across territories and industries. The brand's power is so magnetic that established companies acquire Virgin ventures specifically to rebrand themselves.
Branson's role has evolved into marketer-in-chief, with day-to-day operations handled by professionals. The business model has shifted from profit-sharing to brand royalties, allowing Virgin to recycle capital into new ventures while companies pay for the privilege of using the name. This gives Branson the best of both worlds-maintaining his disruptor image while focusing on charitable endeavors through Virgin Unite and ventures like Virgin Galactic.
Chapter 6
The Scion: Inheritors Who Balance Tradition with Innovation
Jean-Francois Decaux's entry into JCDecaux began with his father's challenge in 1982: "Pick your own market and grow it from scratch." Choosing Germany, he started with nothing, making calls from public phone boxes in Hamburg. His father wagered five million Deutschmarks on his success, making it clear failure would exclude him from the business.
The gamble succeeded. By 2019, JCDecaux employed over 13,000 staff operating more than 1 million advertising panels worldwide, with net income of 266 million on revenues of 3.9 billion. The company adopted a unique leadership structure in 2001, with Jean-Francois and his brother Jean-Charles as co-chief executives, alternating the chairman role annually - a structure Jean-Francois proposed to leverage their complementary expertise.
At Banco Santander, succession took a different path. When Emilio Botin died in 2014, his daughter Ana was immediately appointed chair, despite the family owning only 2% of the business. Ana boldly reshaped her father's legacy, replacing executives, ending aggressive acquisitions, and raising capital to strengthen the balance sheet. However, by 2020, challenging market conditions had significantly impacted Santander's performance under her leadership.
The Wallenberg dynasty of Sweden represents another model through their holding company Investor, managing stakes in major companies like Electrolux, Ericsson, and AstraZeneca. Jacob Wallenberg, chairman since 2005, notes how influence has shifted from name recognition to pure ownership power across generations.
Seagram's story serves as a cautionary tale. Built during Prohibition by Samuel Bronfman and expanded by his son, the company's fortunes reversed under third-generation leader Edgar Bronfman Jr. His decision to sell Seagram's DuPont stake and merge with Vivendi proved disastrous when the dotcom bubble burst, fulfilling his grandfather's fears about third-generation leadership.
While Scions benefit from early business exposure and privileged opportunities, their success often depends on proving themselves through genuine challenges and maintaining the delicate balance between honoring tradition and driving innovation.
Chapter 7
The Lover: Leaders Who Lead Through Authentic Passion
Joey Gonzalez, CEO of Barry's Bootcamp (now simply Barry's), exemplifies the Lover archetype. From first walking into the original gym to becoming chief executive took 14 years, during which his personal and professional life became deeply intertwined with the brand. Unlike executives who merely appreciate their product, Gonzalez embodies the fitness lifestyle his company promotes, even leading classes himself. This authenticity gives Lovers like Gonzalez a natural credibility and infectious enthusiasm that inspires both employees and customers.
Some Lover-type leaders take their passion public by personally fronting advertising campaigns. Jim Koch of Sam Adams beer successfully used his genuine enthusiasm to drive sales, while Victor Kiam became famous for declaring he was so impressed with Remington razors that "I bought the company." While this approach can powerfully demonstrate a leader's belief in their product, it risks coming across as inauthentic if poorly executed.
James Daunt transformed Waterstones from a struggling bookstore chain into a profitable business by infusing it with his passion for books. From his vantage point in the flagship Piccadilly store, Daunt revitalized the brand by empowering staff, improving store aesthetics with comfortable furniture and better lighting, and crucially, devolving power from head office. A lifelong book lover who quit investment banking at 25 to open his own bookshop, Daunt made counterintuitive decisions like sacrificing 27 million in publisher promotional income to rebuild the chain's identity. His success led to his appointment as CEO of Barnes & Noble in the US, where he's applying the same passion-driven approach.
While Alphas fall in love with power, Lovers fall in love with their product, process, or output. Given the sacrifices leadership demands, those who wear their responsibilities lightly are special-they "rise early, work late, and strike oil" as Dame Cilla Snowball exemplified in advertising. As head of Abbott Mead Vickers, Britain's biggest ad agency, Snowball's authentic passion for client relationships helped maintain accounts for decades in an industry where the average relationship lasted just 2.5 years. Her high-energy enthusiasm and attention to detail inspired her team and built client loyalty with companies like The Economist (30 years) and BT (20 years).
Lovers naturally thrive in the not-for-profit sector where passion trumps profit. Beccy Speight exemplifies this as chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Europe's largest conservation organization. Her love for the natural world began in childhood exploring Dorset's outdoors. Despite studying English and working as a management consultant, she realized she wanted "to do something that felt like it really mattered," leading her to 14 years at the National Trust before joining the RSPB. Her motivation is clear: "The RSPB is of a scale and steely determination to make a difference to the biggest issues facing us today... I wanted to be somewhere where I could make the most difference with my little bit of time."
Lovers have emerged as one of the most important leadership types in recent years. Their genuine personal connection to their organization creates powerful momentum in celebrating brands and motivating staff. Their authenticity means actions speak louder than words-they don't need to convince anyone about their beliefs. Single-mindedly focused on their cause and their people rather than advancing personal agendas, they rarely accumulate numerous non-executive roles. This focus doesn't make them too comfortable to perform; they're capable of "tough love" when required. Their only limitation may be how effectively they channel their passion toward purpose-a lesson they might learn from Campaigners.
Chapter 8
The Campaigner: Purpose-Driven Leaders Who Champion Change
In 2009, Paul Polman arrived at Unilever with a bold vision beyond quarterly profits. In 2010, he launched the Sustainable Living Plan, aiming to improve the health of over a billion people, enhance livelihoods in Unilever's supply chain, and grow sustainably without increasing environmental impact-all while doubling sales over a decade. What made his approach revolutionary was extending responsibility beyond Unilever's operations to include suppliers and consumers.
This wasn't entirely new territory; Unilever's founding father Lord Leverhulme had built homes for soap factory workers at Port Sunlight over a century earlier, calling it "prosperity sharing." Polman, who might have become a priest after studying at a Carmelite seminary, brought religious fervor to business leadership that divided opinion. While his sustainability campaign boosted his profile, he remained aware that shareholder results were essential: "If I don't have the business results, the guns will come out very quickly." By 2013, Unilever's share price had doubled.
Some companies are defined entirely by purpose, especially when led by Founder-Campaigners who built their organizations around a cause rather than profit. Patagonia exemplifies this approach-donating 1% of sales to environmental causes, closing stores for climate protests, and encouraging repairs over replacements. CEO Rose Marcario (until 2020) worked in lockstep with founder Yvon Chouinard, who sharpened the company's mission in 2018 to "We're in business to save our home planet" and instructed HR to hire based on environmental commitment.
Similarly, Blake Mycoskie built Toms Shoes around his "One for One" model, donating 86 million pairs of shoes since 2006. While this purpose-driven approach attracted a $625 million valuation and Bain Capital investment in 2014, Toms later struggled financially and was taken over by creditors in 2019.
Jochen Zeitz transformed Puma during his 18-year tenure as chairman and CEO, not just by revitalizing the brand with strategic sponsorships like signing a young Usain Bolt, but by pioneering sustainability in the fashion industry. Despite limited resources, he developed an environmental profit-and-loss account that quantified Puma's impact on air, water, land, and carbon-treating the environment as "an equal partner who bills us."
This challenger brand approach, initiated when Zeitz was just 29, sought wins for all stakeholders through experimentation. He confidently predicted consumers would eventually care about the "environmental calories" consumed in making products, anticipating the current climate concerns around fashion's 10% contribution to global carbon emissions.
While Lovers build careers around what they enjoy, Campaigners take it further by carrying a mission for change directly into the boardroom. This contrasts with less credible campaigning efforts like those of Philip Morris International's CEO Andre Calantzopoulos, whose attempt to position himself as an anti-smoking advocate while selling billions of cigarettes annually seemed more like corporate self-preservation than genuine purpose.
The era when businesses could focus solely on maximizing shareholder profit has ended. Today's corporate leaders must champion causes that benefit society or risk falling behind. Effective Campaigners must select causes that are credible, aligned with their business, broad enough to engage all stakeholders, and feature attainable targets. The best Campaigners combine Alpha's force of will with Lover's passion.
The line between corporate and charitable leadership has blurred as profit-with-purpose mirrors purpose-with-profit. Oxfam International's billion-euro operation requires its leader to pitch for support and generate margins before pursuing charitable aims. Corporate leaders can learn from charity executives who inspire volunteer workforces with clear purpose, while charity leaders can benefit from the discipline and governance of corporate life.
Chapter 9
The Diplomat: Consensus Builders Who Balance Competing Interests
At Morden Hall Park, a National Trust property in suburban London, children play while families enjoy the grounds of this former deer park and snuff mill. If the National Trust were a company, this would be like a factory visit. With 5.6 million members, it's the UK's largest membership organization, growing far faster in recent years than in its first century after being founded in 1895.
The Trust presents a leadership challenge with its kaleidoscope of stakeholders: founding families, local groups, councils, wildlife clubs, 14,000 staff, 65,000 volunteers, a 36-person council, and 12-person board. Dame Helen Ghosh, a career civil servant who led until 2018, embodied the diplomatic leadership style needed-collaborative rather than commanding, managing change while respecting tradition.
"Conservation is about managing the process of change, not keeping things exactly as they are," she said, though her decisions often attracted criticism. With 634 million annual income, the Trust required someone who could listen and act carefully, demonstrating that leadership success through inclusiveness can be as effective as command-and-control approaches.
Diplomats in professional service firms share remarkable longevity-David Sproul spent 27 years at Deloitte before becoming CEO, Kevin Ellis 32 years at PwC, and Chris Saul 31 years at Slaughters. Culture and continuity are so vital that outsiders are never installed at the helm.
Sir Philip Dilley, who served as Arup's executive chairman after 33 years with the firm, was guided by founder Sir Ove Arup's legendary "key speech" from 1970. This address, still given to all new joiners, outlined principles of leadership where partners "only act as owners during their tenure" and leaders must remember they are "just as much servants in a good cause as everybody else-only more so."
Under this philosophy, Arup's leaders function as first among equals, representatives kept in check by colleagues rather than traditional bosses. This seemingly constrained leadership model has proven effective-Arup's revenues increased by over 50% to 1.7 billion between 2015-2019, with current chairman Alan Belfield describing the firm's global practices as "little villages" that occasionally argue but always reconcile.
Deloitte's David Sproul described the firm's partner election process as "slightly archaic" despite being a modern global organization. Successful candidates must present a compelling manifesto while winning hearts and minds-partners are electing someone they want to follow. Campaign pledges typically focus on growth, client relationships, and improved working conditions, but personality proves crucial. Candidates must find common ground among diverse partner perspectives.
Robin Mortimer, chief executive of the Port of London Authority (PLA), exemplifies the Diplomat leading a complex stakeholder organization. The PLA oversees 95 miles of the tidal Thames, ensuring navigational safety for container ships, commuter boats, and wildlife. Drawing on 20 years in civil service working under cabinet ministers, Mortimer valued the autonomy of leading outside government. His civil service training provided a "disciplined, structured way of thinking" perfect for preparing strategy through evidence gathering and stakeholder consultation.
Diplomats excel at distilling complexity into simplicity. They thrive when balancing competing interests, picking paths through stakeholder views and minefields of dissent. They listen, learn, and maintain stability. While not natural changemakers and sometimes slower than the business world demands, Diplomats shouldn't be seen as weak leaders-though they can suffer from weak mandates. "Jointly owned" cannot mean "jointly run." Yet collaborative leadership can deliver commercial success, and close engagement with workforce and volunteers is crucial in the modern inclusive organization.
Chapter 10
The Human: Leaders Who Empower Others Through Authentic Connection
The "less is more" philosophy defines Human leaders who believe in minimal top-down control. Swedish consulting firm Crisp represents the extreme-operating entirely without a designated leader, structured as a non-profit supporting independent consultants who value happiness over growth targets.
Similarly, Nick Pearson of Parkrun embodies this approach, overseeing a movement that engages 350,000 runners weekly through 35,000 volunteers across 22 countries. Despite its growth to 7 million registered participants, Parkrun maintains just 43 staff members and a lean 7 million budget. Pearson deliberately keeps resources minimal: "We won't be sustainable if we build a model that needs to double in size every two-and-a-half years like our participation is doing, because our costs will spiral." This focus on doing maximum good with minimum overhead ensures long-term sustainability.
Some Human leaders stay deeply connected to their organizations' core work rather than flattening hierarchies. Charlie Jacobs, senior partner at law firm Linklaters, reserved half his time for client work after his election at age 49. Born in Cape Town and a rare non-Oxbridge recruit, Jacobs brings an outsider's perspective to leadership. He connects with colleagues through morning spinning classes rather than after-hours drinks and has worked to deemphasize individual metrics in favor of a "firm first, practice second, individual third" mentality.
Similarly, Clare Gilmartin of Trainline champions flexibility, having experienced its benefits firsthand when she returned to work at eBay after having children. "If you can help women and men manage through challenging points in their career, they will be super-loyal and thrive thereafter." Human leaders recognize that talent is a resource to nurture, not merely a cost center.
Even with their collaborative approach, Human leaders must still provide direction. Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment (Paddy Power, Betfair), defines his responsibility as threefold: setting direction, communicating it clearly, and employing the best people while caring for them properly. Jackson emphasizes empowerment over micromanagement: "Great people don't want to be told what to do... no one wants to work for a dictator." He believes in tapping into collective wisdom rather than being the source of ideas himself, creating a supportive environment that encourages and rewards.
Jackson values organizational clarity over perfection, noting that "heading slightly in the wrong direction but having the whole organization heading there is much better than having people partially headed in one direction and then changing it six months later."
The quest to improve leadership continues because something seems inherently wrong with how companies are organized and directed. Corporate failures and financial scandals fuel suspicion that capitalism and its captains are failing, particularly regarding wealth inequality. Yet leadership isn't simply about continuous improvement like fine-tuning a production line-the metrics determining success have multiplied dramatically in a generation.
Human leaders recognize their numerous targets: sustainable profits, well-being, enjoyment, and minimal environmental harm. They operate with shareholders in mind while keeping the perspective of workers and suppliers. Their true power lies in being an enabling force for others, remaining inclusive and authentic. The best leaders stay open to change and renewal, learning quickly from mistakes.
Chapter 11
Leading Through Uncertainty: The Future of Leadership
Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashton's concluding insights reflect on leadership during unprecedented crisis. While many executives doubted the virus would change everything long-term, few would let a good crisis go to waste. The pandemic accelerated existing trends rather than introducing entirely new ones.
For business leaders, three key implications emerged: First, a global recession means less patience for weak businesses and weak leaders, reinforcing the profit imperative. Second, the pandemic reasserted the social contract between business and society, with companies supporting communities in need. Third, more dispersed workforces require leaders to project their message effectively from afar, using technology to build teams and monitor productivity, morale, and well-being.
Despite constant change in faces, technologies, and styles, the best leaders will always combine purpose, authenticity, and delivery-inspiring others toward an unknown future. The nine leadership archetypes offer a framework not just for understanding today's leaders, but for developing tomorrow's. By recognizing our natural tendencies and deliberately cultivating complementary skills from other archetypes, we can become more versatile and effective in an increasingly complex world.
As we face unprecedented global challenges, from climate change to technological disruption, the ability to adapt our leadership approach to changing circumstances becomes more valuable than ever. The most successful leaders of the future will likely be those who can move fluidly between archetypes as situations demand-combining the Alpha's decisive action, the Fixer's pragmatism, the Seller's communication skills, the Founder's vision, the Scion's stewardship, the Lover's passion, the Campaigner's purpose, the Diplomat's consensus-building, and the Human's empathy into a leadership style that is both powerful and adaptable.
