Paul Ogle became managing director of Johnson Cleaners, the dry-cleaning division of Johnson Service Group, in 2007. He has helped guide the group through tough trading conditions and cut its debt from £180m to £70m.

"The group went the wrong way between 2004 and 2007," says Ogle. "It went into varied markets and became more of an FM [facilities management] company rather than concentrating on the dry-cleaning and laundry sector."

The share price fell from £4 to less than £1. And Ogle worked with the chairman and the board to put together a strategy for the business, selling off non-core assets and refinancing with the banks. The plan is to invest in the portfolio and new technology. It has high hopes for the GreenEarth silicone dry-cleaning technology-greener than existing methods and for which Johnson Cleaners is the master licensor. Three hundred of its 500 branches now operate silicone cleaning. "GreenEarth will distance us as the marketplace leader. We have a focus of where we want to take the business," says Ogle.

If he has learnt one thing it is to be unafraid of a challenge
—even from the chairman or non-executives. "If you take people's contribution as challenge all the time, you'll just die. As uncomfortable as challenges are, you need to embrace them, reflect upon them and learn from them."