Last year's position : Not Placed

Tasked with overseeing possibly the largest, most ambitious and complex government IT project in history, Granger became the UK's highest paid civil servant on £250,000 a year for his role as head of the £2.3bn NHS IT modernisation project.

The former Deloitte and Andersen management consultant has vast experience in public sector projects and has already taken no prisoners with a no-nonsense approach aimed at making sure IT suppliers bring the national electronic patient record system, e-booking and an NHS broadband network in on time and on budget. Not afraid of ruffling feathers, major supplier Lockheed Martin has already withdrawn from the bidding after finding the going too tough.

Some concerns remain over whether the government, whose flagship health service policy rests on the success of the project, is pushing things too fast but the general consensus is that if anyone can do it, Granger can, with the panel praising his "fresh and determined" approach.