27 Types of Business People

27 Types of Business People (Common Workplace Archetypes)

Hello, English learners 👋 Welcome to a new lesson! Today, we’re looking at 27 types of business people — informal labels, metaphors, and archetypes commonly used in English to describe people’s roles, behaviour, reputation, or attitude at work.

Many of these expressions are informal or idiomatic, common in business journalism and workplace conversations and useful for Business English, Cambridge exams, and real-life discussions.

Let’s take a look.

Behind-the-Scenes & Support Roles

Backroom boy

Meaning: someone who works behind the scenes and plays an important but unnoticed role.

• The backroom boys made sure the launch went smoothly.
• Scientists often act as backroom boys in major technological advances.

Cog in the machine / wheel

Meaning: a person with a small but essential role in a large organisation.

• Sometimes I feel like a cog in the machine, doing repetitive tasks.
• He was just one cog in the corporate wheel, but his work mattered.

The brains behind

Meaning: the person responsible for planning or creating something successful.

• She’s the brains behind the company’s rebranding strategy.
• He turned out to be the brains behind the entire operation.

Power, Influence & Status

Big cheese / big shot / big wig

Meaning: an important or influential person.

• The big cheese is visiting the office tomorrow.
• She became a big wig in the tech industry.

Top dog

Meaning: the person in the most powerful position.

• He worked hard to become top dog in the department.
• Staying top dog in a competitive market isn’t easy.

Heavy hitter

Meaning: a powerful or influential person in a field.

• They hired a heavy hitter to negotiate the deal.
• She’s a heavy hitter in international finance.

Movers and shakers

Meaning: people who have influence and make things happen.

• The event attracted the movers and shakers of the industry.
• She quickly became one of the movers and shakers in tech.

In the driving seat

Meaning: in control of a situation.

• After the promotion, she’s firmly in the driving seat.
• The company is now in the driving seat of negotiations.

Money, Deals & Strategy

Bean-counter

Meaning: someone who focuses heavily on finances and budgets (often negative).

• The bean-counter cut costs wherever possible.
• Some see the CFO as a bean-counter, but accuracy matters.

Wheeler and dealer

Meaning: someone skilled at making deals, sometimes in a shady way.

• He’s a wheeler and dealer with contacts everywhere.
• The company relied on his wheeler-and-dealer instincts.

Rogue trader

Meaning: a dishonest trader who takes unauthorised risks.

• A rogue trader caused millions in losses.
• One rogue trader can destroy a firm’s reputation.

Attitude, Loyalty & Conformity

Company man

Meaning: someone extremely loyal to their employer.

• He’s a company man who always backs management.
• As a company man, he avoids public criticism.

Corporate clone

Meaning: someone who conforms completely to corporate culture.

• She feared becoming a corporate clone.
• Critics describe him as a corporate clone with no originality.

Suit

Meaning: an informal term for corporate executives or managers.

• The suits will decide the company’s future.
• Employees feel disconnected from the suits upstairs.

Yes-man

Meaning: someone who agrees with their boss to gain favour.

• He’s a yes-man, never challenging ideas.
• The company needs thinkers, not yes-men.

Performance & Value

Dead weight

Meaning: someone who slows progress.

• The team can’t afford any dead weight.
• He was viewed as dead weight on the project.

Dead wood

Meaning: people or systems that are no longer useful.

• Management decided to cut out the dead wood.
• The review aimed to remove dead wood.

Go-to person

Meaning: someone reliable and highly skilled.

• She’s the go-to person for technical issues.
• He’s our go-to person in a crisis.

Hard-nosed

Meaning: tough, practical, and realistic.

• Her hard-nosed negotiation style worked.
• A hard-nosed leader focuses on results.

Experience & Potential

High flier

Meaning: someone expected to be very successful.

• The firm is recruiting young high fliers.
• She’s a high flier with a bright future.

Whizz kid

Meaning: a young, very talented person.

• He’s the new whizz kid in IT.
• The whizz kid transformed the department.

Wet behind the ears

Meaning: inexperienced or naive.

• He’s still wet behind the ears, but learning fast.
• Though wet behind the ears, she impressed everyone.

Ethics & Integrity

Whistleblower

Meaning: someone who exposes illegal or unethical behaviour.

• The whistleblower revealed corruption.
• Being a whistleblower requires courage.

Specialists & Thinkers

Wonk

Meaning: someone obsessed with technical details or policy.

• He’s a policy wonk.
• The finance wonk analysed every figure.

Social & Economic Groups

Fat cat

Meaning: a wealthy, powerful person, often criticised.

• The media attacked the fat cats at the top.
• Protesters accused executives of being fat cats.

Big fish in a small pond

Meaning: someone important only in a limited environment.

• He’s a big fish in a small pond locally.
• She enjoys being a big fish in a small firm.

Lost generation

Meaning: people affected by economic or social disruption.

• The recession created a lost generation.
• Many graduates feel part of a lost generation.

Final tip for learners

Most of these expressions are informal, so use them carefully in exams and professional writing. However, recognising them will help you understand business articles, follow workplace conversations and sound more natural in discussions.

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