Successor has fearsome reputation for demanding results

The City breathed a sigh of relief that John McAdam, the tough head of ICI's paints business, was packing his brushes and heading for the chief executive's office in an effort to turn around the struggling chemicals giant.

Businessmen who know Mr McAdam say he is actually similar to Brendan O'Neill, the outgoing ICI boss, in one respect. Both trained as scientists but have gravitated towards the marketing world, in pursuit of the holy grail of discovering exactly what customers want, from flavours of ice cream to the scent in their air fresheners.

However, senior colleagues say Mr McAdam, 54, should be far more effective in solving ICI's problems where Mr O'Neill has failed because of his fearsome reputation for making sure people working for him do not fall short of their targets.

One person who knows him said: "He does not mess around. He expects a lot from people and they know they have to come up with the goods."

Mr McAdam joined Unilever as a management trainee in 1974, rising up the ranks to head up Quest, its flavours and fragrances business bought by ICI in 1997.

From there he was moved to take charge of ICI's paints division, which makes the Dulux brand in the UK. He has been widely credited with halting its declining market share in the US and focusing on Asia as a potentially massive growth market. The business now makes up 35 per cent of ICI's turnover.

Mr McAdam said: "This is a great company, with strong market positions and considerable potential. My first task will be to improve the overall performance of the group, and I am determined to drive the business forward in the best interest of shareholders."