Big hitters who’ve made the switch | Business

Companies that hire business leaders from different industries to their own are apt to have shareholders scratching their heads. Sometimes, however, the unconventional pays off.

A select few chief executives seem able to move seamlessly from one sector to the next. Adam Crozier built his career bounding from advertising (Saatchi & Saatchi) to football (the FA) to parcel deliveries (Royal Mail), before returning to advertising and broadcasting (ITV).

Dame Carolyn McCall, a former chief at the Guardian Media Group, the publisher, raised eyebrows when she shifted roles to head Easyjet in 2010, but her seven-year stewardship of the low-cost airline became regarded as a golden era for the company.

Alison Brittain, a former senior banker with Lloyds, has pleased shareholders since alighting on Whitbread, especially