Last year's position : Not Placed

Capita tends to hit the headlines mostly for the wrong reasons and this year is no different - with heavy criticism of its work with the Criminal Records Bureau and the London Congestion Charging scheme. But behind that lies the story of one of the true successes of the UK technology industry, with Aldridge driving Capita to half-year profits of £51m and a turnover predicted to hit the magic £1bn figure for 2003.

He has turned Capita into a hugely successful business process outsourcing company since heading the buyout of the IT services arm of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy almost two decades ago. The company's success, according to the panel, is that it is a non-technology services company that knows where to go to get the technology.

And despite criticism of London Congestion Charging, Aldridge is sitting pretty, ready to cash in if, as expected, other cities follow suit with similar schemes. That, and a potential pipeline of £2.8bn-worth of deals, mean he is definitely one to watch.