Chief executives in the shadows ©Jim Ross Leading from behind: Martin McCourt, former CEO of Sir James Dyson's business When Nicky Clarke, the celebrity hairdresser behind the eponymous brand, went to Buckingham Palace in 2008 to receive an OBE from the Queen, his wife Lesley went too - even though they had separated in 1996. For, as Mr Clarke has readily admitted, without the guiding "business acumen and drive" of Ms Clarke, who continues to manage the business they co-founded, there would be no Nicky Clarke salons and no haircare empire - just a stylist with not much more than a lot of talent. The couple has never formally divorced and Ms Clarke has remained the company's chief executive, driving the expansion of the brand. Double acts between creative innovators and behind-the-scenes managers are the secret ingredient in many brands that capture the public's imagination. But managing in the shadow of a famous name can be challenging, requiring behind-the-scenes CEOs to take a deep breath each time the poster boy or girl yet again receives all the credit. It is certainly not a role for CEOs who crave the limelight. But even those who shun celebrity could be forgiven a touch of pique at how little attention the world pays to what they achieve. Ms Clarke, who describes herself as "quite shy," says she has learnt to laugh off the "countless" occasions when businesspeople have addressed themselves to her husband, not realising that beyond the salon floor, where he reigns supreme, she runs the show. Of course, the flipside of any frustration such managers endure is that building the founder's fame may make the business more profitable, which benefits everyone. Martin Mason, chief executive of Lulu Guinness, the handbag company, says he and Ms Guinness complement each other. Lulu is the voice of the brand and very much its best advert. I make sure the engine room ticks over," he says. Martin McCourt spent 15 years, until his resignation in February, developing Sir James Dyson's business and was the company's first CEO. When working with a famous figurehead, he says, the worst mistake is to defer to their celebrity. These guys are tough, driven, exacting and strongly opinionated . . . and they have a great amount of conviction. Mr McCourt says he and Sir James would thrash out their differences until one or the other budged. "We didn't argue in a bloody kind of way, but it was argument not cerebral debate," he says. How to play second fiddle to a star ● Partner someone whose skills you complement. If your forte is bold strategic thinking, team up with a brilliant tactician. If you're a master of detail, find a partner who sees the big picture. The only thing you need to share are the same values. ● Get to know each other. Before getting stuck in, take every opportunity to spend time together, and consider having a facilitated discussion to discover how the other likes to operate, says Ginka Toegel, professor of organisational behaviour and leadership at IMD. The more you invest in getting to know each other upfront, the less you will have to figure out later. ● Speak your mind. Well-known entrepreneurs are never short of "yes men." Don't be tempted to join them. If you defer to a famous name, you deprive them of the professional judgment for which they hired you. ▪ ● Leave the limelight to the star. A founder who captures the public's imagination is often a brand's greatest asset. If you are itching to muscle in on their act, you are in the wrong job. A case in point was the closure of the company's UK factory in 2002 and the relocation of its manufacturing to Malaysia. As a businessman, Mr McCourt regarded the move, which was intended to reduce the company's rising costs, as central to its global expansion. However, as the founder, Mr Dyson's first reaction "was deep concern" at the prospect of making several hundred UK workers unemployed. Ultimately, Mr McCourt's commercial pragmatism prevailed. The fact that Mr McCourt was a hired manager working "in the shadows," as he puts it, and Sir James was a celebrated entrepreneur was unimportant. "We came to the table as equals," Mr McCourt says. While some executive-founder partnerships thrive on straight-talking, others require careful handling. Maurice de Kervénoaël, chairman of the supervisory board of champagne house Laurent-Perrier, who has worked with a number of businesses dominated by charismatic families, says that in his experience, behind-the-scenes managers need to tune in to the founder's sensitivities and develop a "diplomatic sense." He recalls an occasion when, as head of Danone's beverage businesses, he landed himself in hot water by commenting on Danone's international policy without consulting the modern group's co-founder and chairman Antoine Riboud. Thereafter, Mr de Kervénoaël was careful to secure the boss's "benediction" before making public statements or when he had a controversial idea to put to the board. "First we had a private discussion, then a formal meeting," he says. Personal chemistry can get a professional pairing off to a good start; but when one party feels threatened by the other the mood can soon sour. Artti Aurasmaa joined 3 Step IT, a high-growth Finnish technology company, in 2000 and so impressed founder Jarkko Veijalainen, that after five years he made him CEO. Wary of his boss's hands-on approach, however, Mr Aurasmaa went on the offensive to carve out his own role, and soon the two men were at loggerheads. After a difficult year, they worked out a division of labour that restored their collaborative relationship. With hindsight, Mr Aurasmaa says, "it would have been very beneficial" to have agreed the decisions that each was mandated to make - making senior management appointments was a particular flashpoint - before they started to argue. Agreeing the ground rules by which a partnership will be governed may be a way to avoid turf wars later on. One of the first things Mr Mason did after joining Lulu Guinness was to draw up job specifications for the entire senior team, including the creative director and founder Ms Guinness herself. However, it is important not to overdo the formality. If the creativity of the founder is what defines the brand, there has to be "an element of indulgence," as Mr Mason puts it, for how creative people like to work. For Mr McCourt, helping his boss's genius flourish meant relieving him of the bureaucratic niggles and vexatious personnel issues he detested. "I saw my role as creating the best possible environment for James [to invent]," he says. Mr Mason says he is often in the paradoxical position of backing Ms Guinness's intuition against the trend-driven analysis of his merchandising experts. "If Lulu comes in and says, "I want to do a green bag next season," even though it's not in the range plan and the commercial team is saying it won't sell, we let her." It is odds-on, he adds, that "we find the green bag is a best seller."