Julian Barrowcliffe

Julian Barrowcliffe was one of the first ever graduates to be hired by an oil major to specialise in trading. A hugely successful career followed, spanning the oil industry, financial services and hedge funds. But Barrowcliffe admits that when he graduated from Loughborough University in 1985, he didn't have much of a plan.

"I applied to two management consultancies because a friend's dad did that, two oil companies, Shell and BP, because I had heard of them, and British