241 Pizza

Jonathan Ive, designer of the iPod, is ranked No3 because his music players have shaken up two industries — music and electronics.

The founders of Rockstar Games may earn less than some Wall Street bankers, but their Grand Theft Auto video games are a cultural phenomenon sparking furious debate among American politicians, as well as outselling all their rivals.

We also discounted Brits who live international lives and are huge players in America but who would consider Britain to be there primary home. Sir Martin Sorrell, globe-trotting boss of WPP would be an obvious example.

We would like to thank Harvard Business School and the British Consulate in New York for helping identify some of our exported stars.

All lists are subjective to some extent, and this one is no exception. There are no doubt many other British people at the top of their field who should be on the list. To those who feel they qualify but haven’t been mentioned we apologise, and ask that they make themselves known. To those breathing a sigh of relief that they have escaped detection, we are still looking.

Here is our top 25.

1 MARTIN SULLIVAN, president and chief executive officer of American International group (AIG), age 51

Scandal may have elevated Sullivan to the top job at the insurance behemoth but it seems to have brought out the best in him.

Earlier this year founder Maurice “Hank” Greenberg was ousted from AIG after more than three decades amid a multibillion dollar accounting scandal. AIG’s shares went in to freefall, wiping $45 billion (£26 billion) off its value.

Sullivan, who is married with two daughters, has done much to calm the waters with shareholders and regulators. The share price has recovered sharply and AIG is now valued at more than $177 billion.

Born in Stepney in east London and raised in Dagenham, Essex, Sullivan started as a trainee with AIG in 1971 in the finance department of American International Underwriters, AIG’s non-life arm in the UK and worked his way to the top.

He moved to America in 1996 and served as vice-chairman and co-chief operating officer of AIG from May 2002 until March 2005, when he was elected to his current position after Greenberg’s departure.

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