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Rob Lawes got his start in show biz at 17 as a runner for the TV production company of British funnyman John Cleese, and only a few years later helped launch London-based HIT Entertainment, a distributor of children's programming. Lawes pushed HIT to evolve into a creative studio, and today its most popular program, Bob the Builder, an animated show about a construction worker and his talking machines, is aired in 140 countries. One of the the top preschool programs in Australia, Britain, Germany and Japan, it has sold 4 million videos in the U.S., where it also plays on Nickelodeon.

Before Lawes, 35, became CEO last year, he engineered the $275 million acquisition of Lyrick Studios, the U.S. company behind Barney, the purple dinosaur that draws more than 1.5 million viewers for each of its TV episodes. Lawes just bought the firm behind another classic kids' character, Thomas the Tank Engine, and next fall will roll out a new show, Rubbadubbers, about bath toys come to life. "You're not just making a TV show," says Lawes, who has cleverly peddled toys and other merchandise based on HIT characters. They account for more than 40% of the firm's $190 million in annual sales. In his most important acquisition, Lawes and his wife just had their first child, who should provide some valuable market research.

— By Daniel Eisenberg

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