The most influential people in European capital markets are a diverse bunch. There is an investment banker on top but below him are politicians, regulators, hedge fund managers, private equity investors, bank chief executives and derivatives whizzes. The eldest is 80, the youngest 37 (and a woman). Fourteen nationalities are represented but there are no Belgians.

The ranking says a lot about the state of Europe’s capital markets. There are three fixed-income specialists in the top five, reflecting the domination of bond sales and trading desks in the investment banking industry. The top 20 includes four individuals from the private equity industry and three hedge fund managers. Go back just three years and none of these individuals would have been likely to feature as highly on the list - if at all.

So how did we come up with the ranking? With difficulty, is the simple answer. Influence is a tricky quality to judge. It is not as obvious or straightforward as power. The chief executive of any organisation is arguably its most powerful individual but the most influential member of the team may be much lower down the ranks. The task was further complicated by trying to measure fund managers against investment bankers, or buy-out specialists against market regulators.

In an effort to make the job more straightforward, we came up with four categories on which to judge people: firepower - the capital or assets they can put to work; network - their friends and contacts, particularly beyond their own organisation; innovation - their ability to change the face of the markets; and track record - their successes and failures.

Over three months, Financial News journalists canvassed opinion in the market to compile a list of more than 500 names. We then whittled it down to the final 100, using our four categories as a guide. Individuals did not have to excel in all four areas - being strong in one or two made them a candidate for the final list.

There were just a couple of ground rules: individuals had to be based in Europe; and the fixers of interest rates were excluded - so no place for Jean-Claude Trichet or Mervyn King.

You will probably find some of our choices spot on and some downright bizarre. You will no doubt think there are some glaring omissions. If so, let us know. Send your suggestions to feedback@efinancialnews.com. They will appear online and we will print a selection in the newspaper.

Feel free to disagree - but every individual on this list wields a big influence over the future of European capital markets, for better or worse.

James Rutter, managing editor,
business publishing

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