Wave of new appointments at the UK's largest scientific and laboratory equipment companies is set to prompt a radical change in their behaviour and put greater pressure on those with ageing boardrooms
That's the view of Plimsoll Publishing, an industry analyst which claims a track record of predicting business trends in the UK, France and Japan.
There have been 559 new appointments at director level in the last 18 months in an industry with 1610 directors in total.
According to Plimsoll, new blood represents a transformation of the industry, with new ideas, renewed focus and different ways of working.
Senior analyst David Pattison says: "There has never been a more important time to take note not just of the companies you are doing business with, but of the decision makers behind those companies.
"We all know that companies don't do business with companies - people do business with people.
"But the people are changing, and firms will be caught out and lose business as a result, simply because they took a customer, competitor or supplier for granted on the basis of an older management style".
Plimsoll's detailed analysis has investigated each company's financial performance and offers firm views on the challenges the new directors face, as well as the strategies they are deploying to stamp their mark on the industry.
It finds that for 203 of them the challenge is to keep the company afloat, while for 356 others it is to deliver industry-leading performance.
In both cases, a change in the way of doing things looks inevitable.
Said David Pattison: "The reasons for the new appointments are varied.
"Some have been taken on with the direct objective of finding a buyer for the company, while others look as if they have been appointed to see through a management buyout.
"Whatever the reason, this wave of new blood is simply the start.
"More than a quarter of directors are over the age of 60, and we will see yet more evolution in the not too distant future".
Directors' salaries vary widely between different industries.
The average is £63876, but in the property developers industry, for example, a director can pick up nearly £300,000.
Job security varies widely, too, however.
In summary: average director's salary in the scientific and laboratory equipment industry was £66,960 last year.
UK director's average salary is £68,500.
Directors' fees increased on average by 5%.
Top earners can see their pay rise to more than £168,000.
The typical time in office in the scientific and laboratory equipment industry is now over four years, compared to the UK average of just over seven years.
This brand new independent analysis of the UK's 1610 most influential decision makers and the 719 companies they are responsible for is available now.
Laboratorytalk readers can obtain the full report for £300 - a discount of £50 - by quoting the code PR02 when ordering.
