Richard Branson is a more popular business mentor than Mark Zuckerberg

“When it comes to aspirational business leaders, it’s hard to see anyone knocking Richard Branson off the top spot anytime soon,” said Russell Gould, managing director of Everline. A Sunday Times poll of FTSE 350 executives, released this weekend, named the tycoon Britain’s most admired leader of the last five decades.

JK Rowling was the most popular female mentor on the list - although the only other women offered in the poll were Cheryl Cole and Mel B. Simon Cowell was top choice for some 15pc of respondents, and 23 of the 500 people asked said they would choose David Cameron as a mentor.

Both the comedian Russell Brand and the rapper Dr Dre - who recently sold his earphones business, Beats Electronics, to Apple for $3bn - proved more popular than either Ed Miliband or Nick Clegg.

Perhaps it is telling, though, that 208 of the business owners polled said they would choose none of the above.

“It’s worrying though that there is a lack of people in the pipeline that small business owners can aspire to or would want as their mentor,” said Mr Gould. “We need Government and business partners to do more to help small businesses get off the ground and ensure they get the support they need to keep growing.”

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