RICHARD PALMER

Chief financial officer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

FIAT Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne wore a tie this month for the first time in 10 years, to keep a promise that he’d go formal when FCA cleared its debts. The man whose management of the books helped this is Richard Palmer, who became one of the boss’s inner circle after joining FCA in 2003. His prowess and Marchionne’s vision have helped to clear the firm of the financial burden that has weighed it down for decades. Now Palmer will have to manage fresh investment in new products and technology.