Job: chairman, Channel 4
Age: 67
Industry: broadcasting
Salary: £100,000 (for five days a month)
2010 ranking: 75
Lord (Terry) Burns has proved his worth at Channel 4 by showing a strong independent streak.
In October he resisted considerable pressure, including a letter from Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, to stop Channel 4 airing a drama about what would happen if Prince Harry was kidnapped while on active duty in Afghanistan.
Burns, whose chairmanships have included Marks & Spencer and Abbey National, was permanent secretary to the Treasury for seven years. After leaving that post in 1998, he carried out a series of high profile reviews for Labour, earning a reputation as Whitehall's "Lord Fixit".
He has looked into everything from fox hunting to the Football Association, but is best known in the media industry for leading a review of the BBC for then culture secretary Tessa Jowell in advance of the corporation's 2006 charter renewal. He suggested making the licence fee voluntary, and raised the possibility of recouping the lost income by taking in advertising.
His leadership of Channel 4 has been less radical. Burns believes its position as a state-owned broadcaster that takes no public subsidy should remain unchanged. He warned recently that when the Treasury is "short of money they look around everywhere for targets".
