The ‘British Bulldog’ Prime Minister has been named the leader most admired by CEO’s.

Winston Churchill has beaten Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela and compatriot Margaret Thatcher to take out the prize, voted for by the CEO’s of over 1,300 companies.

The former chief of Apple Inc ranked second, above Ghandi and Mandela respectively, former US presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton occupied places six, eight, nine and equal 10th. Clinton was forced to share his spot with Napoleon Bonaparte.

"It may be that choices of leader are driven at least in part by the prevailing mood of the time, which could explain why so many CEOs chose leaders who were persistent in the face of adversity - as well as transformational leaders and leaders who did the 'right thing','' said the report, which surveyed 1,330 CEO’s in 68 countries.