Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top London based CEO’ operating in the Lifestyle space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Brian Harrison
CEO & Co-Founder of Swoon Editions
Brian Harrison is CEO and Co-Founder of Swoon Editions. Brian was formerly a senior executive at kgb inc, and served as Global CEO of kgb deals and CEO of The Number UK LTD (118 118). Previously he was the executive responsible for digital strategy at Telegraph Media Group, which is where he first worked with co-founder Debbie Williamson.
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About Swoon Editions, Telegraph Media Group: Swoon Editions is a design-led furniture brand.
Priyanka Gill
Founder & CEO of POPxo
Priyanka Gill is the Co-Founder and President of MyGlamm. She is also the Founder & CEO of POPxo, India’s largest community of women.
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About MyGlamm, POPxo: POPxo is India’s online community for women that deals everything from fashion, beauty, lifestyle, work, and etc.
Nickyl Raithatha
CEO of Moonpig.com
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About Moonpig.com: Moonpig is a website where people can design their own greeting cards to send to others.
Mary Turner
CEO of Koovs
Mary was Chief Executive of AlertMe.com, a pioneer in the “internet of things” technology which powers the UK’s leading smart homes solution, Hive Active Heating, acquired by British Gas in May 2015. Previously she was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tiscali UK Limited from 2001 to 2009 and was a non-executive director of ASOS plc between 2009 and 2013. Prior to joining Tiscali, Mary was Chief Executive Officer of BTLineOne, the joint venture between BT and United News Media, and Senior Vice President Marketing (Europe) at CompuServe Information Services. She has also held the position of product & merchandising at Innovation Group and prior to that, worked in sales and marketing at Avon Cosmetics and Elizabeth Arden. Mary joined the board in July 2014 as a Non-executive Director and was appointed CEO in October 2015.
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About Koovs: KOOVS is the one-stop online fashion destination for all your fashion needs.
Chris Edson
Co-founder & CEO of Second Nature
Christopher Edson CEO & Founder of EU Top 50 Startup, Forbes 30 Under 30
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About Second Nature: Second Nature is a digital programme that helps people lead healthier lives
Hasna Kourda
Co-Founder & CEO of Save Your Wardrobe
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About Save Your Wardrobe: FashionTech startup using AI to make Fashion more digital and sustainable
Petter Neby
Founder and CEO of Punkt. Tronics
Petter Neby is a Norwegian technology entrepreneur. Mr. Neby launched his first business in Norway in 1989, at the age of seventeen, and in 1991 moved to Paris, to work for an international consumer electronics company. Innovation and creativity has led Mr. Neby to find and manage successful businesses in the telecommunications, enterprise software and website areas. Mr. Neby created Punkt. in 2008 to offer straightforward alternatives to multi-function devices that started to dominate the consumer electronic marketplace.
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About Punkt. Tronics: Punkt. is a Swiss design led technology company that aims to make life simpler by creating timeless and outstanding products
Christopher Cowdray
CEO of The Dorchester Collection
Mr. Christopher Cowdray became Dorchester Collection’s chief executive officer in 2007, prior to being general manager of The Dorchester since 2004. Brought up in Zimbabwe, his 30 years of extensive international hotel management experience, across four continents, gives him an exceptional understanding of the luxury hotel market and the significant impact that cultural differences have when doing business around the world Mr. Cowdray firmly believes that the success of any organisation comes from its employees, with every single member of the team playing a vital role in delivering exceptional service. He has been instrumental in establishing Dorchester Collection’s Vision & Values and ensuring that these are articulated through all teams in the hotels. This has led to the entire company being visibly aligned to his vision of passion for excellence and innovation.
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About The Dorchester Collection: The Dorchester Collection provides one of the world’s largest selections of luxury hotels.
Philipp Man
Co-Founder & CEO of CHRONEXT
Philipp Man holds a Master of Philosophy in Innovation, Strategy & Organisation from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from King’s College London, majoring in corporate finance, venture capital and market sociology. Besides his work at the Boston Consulting Group, Germany and Switzerland, he also gained experience at GlencoreXstrata in London. During his studies he worked for various watch dealers and focused his dissertations on luxury watch market dynamics.
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About CHRONEXT: Chronext is is a full-service platform for luxury watch trading where clients can buy, sell luxury watches.
Federico Marchetti
Founder and CEO of Yoox Net-a-Porter Group
Born in Ravenna in 1969, Federico Marchetti holds a degree in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and an MBA from Columbia University. Upon completing his studies, he embarked on a traditional path in the corporate world and while those early years in his career proved to be an invaluable experience, he knew all along that he would need to go out on his own to fulfil his professional objective of becoming an entrepreneur. In 2000, after having served as an advisor for several chief executives and designers in the fashion industry, both in the U.S. and in Italy, he founded YOOX, the perfect venture in which he could unite his business vision with his passion for fashion and design.
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About Yoox Net-a-Porter Group: Yoox Net-a-Porter Group is the global Internet retailing partner for leading fashion and luxury brands.
Stefano Martinetto
Co-founder & CEO of Tomorrow
Stefano Martinetto is CEO at tomorrow ltd.
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About Tomorrow: Tomorrow is an international sales platform that operates from four outstanding showrooms in the main fashion cities.
Mike Walsh
CEO of Tomorrow
Mike Walsh is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing business for the 21st century. He advises leaders on how to thrive in this era of disruptive technological change. Mikes clients include many of the global Fortune 500, and as a sought-after keynote speaker he regularly shares the stage with world leaders and business icons alike. Mike previously founded Jupiter Research in Australia, and has also held senior strategy roles at News Corporation in the Asia Pacific Region. He is currently a board member and strategic investor in the North Alliance, Scandinavias leading digital marketing group. Mikes best-selling book FUTURETAINMENT, published by Phaidon was the winner of the design award by the Art Directors Club in New York. Rather than focusing on the distant future, Mike takes an anthropological approach scanning the near horizon for emerging technologies and disruptive shifts in human behavior, and then translating these into pragmatic plans for business transformation. A prolific writer and commentator, Mikes views have appeared in a wide range of international publications including BusinessWeek, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal.
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About Tomorrow: Tomorrow is an international sales platform that operates from four outstanding showrooms in the main fashion cities.
Aidan Cramer
Co-founder / CEO of Stride
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About Stride: Deep jobs marketplace connecting sales talent with jobs at tech companies.
Constantin Bjerke
CEO and Founder of Crane.tv
Based in the UK for 10 years, Constantin Bjerke is a Founder and CEO of TheCrane.tv, the first online video magazine with emphasis on contemporary culture. Constantin started his career working in TV and film production and was involved in Emotional Brand Building at an Omnicom agency. He has worked with a host of international clients including FIFA World Cup, Mercedes Benz, Laureus World Sports Awards, Orascom, Deutsche Telekom and Pro7Sat1. In the past, he also worked in Finance across various positions at companies including UBS, Lazard and most recently, Citigroup in London and Madrid. Constantin holds a Diplôme de Grande Ecole and a Master’s from ESCP-EAP.
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About Crane.tv: Crane.tv is a contemporary-culture video magazine, focusing on arts, design, style, food and travel around the world.
Jack Tang
Co-Founder & CEO of Urban
A startup entrepreneur and angel investor. Currently Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Urban Massage – a B2C and B2B technology marketplace connecting wellness professionals with buyers in their local neighborhood. Prior to founding Urban Massage, he founded a social network and app-based job board TheStudentJob.com
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About Urban: Urban is an online wellness appointment platform for booking in-person and online treatments.
Karin Cabili
Founder & CEO of Dropit Shopping
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About Dropit Shopping: Dropit provides a digital handsfree shopping solution for malls and central shopping districts, delivering bags from store to door.
Imran Amed
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of The Business of Fashion
Bringing a unique understanding of the creative and commercial sides of fashion, Imran Amed has emerged as one of the fashion industry’s leading writers, thinkers and commentators. In 2007, he started writing a blog called The Business of Fashion (BoF) from his sofa just as social media and smartphones were about to explode onto the scene, new markets were rapidly emerging in China, India and Brazil, and the financial crisis threw the industry into a tailspin. Five years on, with its award-winning editorial franchises and a global reputation for intelligent, analytical content, BoF has grown into the pre-eminent daily destination for the global fashion community. Imran has been named to British GQ’s list of the 100 Most Influential Men in Britain, Indian GQ’s list of the 50 Most Influential Global Indians, British Vogue’s list of 25 New Fashion Faces to Watch, and Wired UK’s list of the 100 most influential figures in Britain’s digital economy. Previously, he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Com from McGill University. He holds Canadian and British citizenship.
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About The Business of Fashion: The Business of Fashion is a online platform for the global fashion industry, offering content and tools to industry professionals.
Clare Julie McKeeve
Founder & CEO of Luxcite Limited
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About Eaton Gate Capital Partners, Luxcite Limited, TLNT Holdings SA: Investor – Luxury and Premium Brands
Jason de Savary
CEO of Core Collective
Core Collective founder Jason de Savary.
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About Core Collective: Core Collective is a premium pay-as-you-go fitness studio
Pablo Barclay
Founder/CEO of Rubbersole
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About Rubbersole: Rubbersole is a company that sells various name brand shoes in an online store.
Robert Bennett
CEO of Rehab
Rob Bennett is CEO of rehab, a leading creative technology company that specializes in delivering 1:1 consumer experiences for today’s premium brands. Headquartered in London, with offices in New York City, Warsaw and Los Angeles, rehab delivers emerging technology solutions and services across multiple disciplines including strategy, creative, user experience (UX), design, creative technology and development. The company works with leading global brands including Facebook, Google, Nike, HBO, Möet Hennessy, Zappos, HSBC and Estée Lauder, and has been honored with numerous industry, business and entertainment awards including the Emmy, Deloitte Technology Fast 50, Digiday and Cannes Lion awards. Prior to rehab, Rob worked with Samsung and oversaw the launch of their SmartThings and Connected Home products. He is a passionate advocate for moving marketing beyond the status quo of conventional advertising.
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About Rehab: Rehab is transforming brands from alpha to beta.
Tamsin Lejeune
CEO of Common Objective (CO)
Tamsin is one of the pioneers of the sustainable fashion movement. Her entrepreneurial spirit and drive have seen her work with thousands of fashion professionals and businesses over the years, growing a global network spanning 141 countries, and pioneering solutions that overcome the challenges they face. Tamsin is a force to be reckoned with, and an inspiration to many.
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About Common Objective (CO): CO is an intelligent business network that drives more sustainable business practices, starting with the fashion industry.
Megha Prakash
CEO & Founder of Earthmiles
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About Earthmiles: Track and be rewarded for your healthy and fit activities. Get exclusive deals on the widest range of fitness products.
Charlie Richardson
Co-Founder and CEO of Lumio Technologies
Charlie Richardson is the Co-Founder and CEO at Lumio Technologies.
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About Lumio Technologies: Lumio is you Intelligent wealth mentor. With the simple aim to maximize your money around your lifestyle
Jean-Michel Chalayer
Co-Founder & CEO of LeSalon Beauty
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About LeSalon Beauty: LeSalon is delivering a branded, consistent and high-quality at-home beauty service.
Sophie Rochester
CEO and Founder of Yodomo | Making Made Easy
Founder of Yodomo, the creative experience platform. Improving wellbeing and supporting sustainability through making. Sophie is a digital content specialist with over 20 years experience across the digital and publishing sectors. She has worked at Random House. 4th Estate and Good Technology, and consulted for Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Nesta, British Council and Royal Society of Literature. Listed as one of the Top 10 Creative Entrepreneurs in the UK by the British Council and in the UK’s Top 100 ‘most influential and innovative’ in the Guardian Professional’s hClub 100 list, Sophie has global contacts across publishing and technology and has also consulted on a large number of digital publishing start-ups through her award-winning company The Literary Platform. In 2015, The Literary Platform was listed as #10 on the Fortuna 50 list of the UK’s fastest-growing women-led small businesses. Sophie has successfully raised funding through Arts Council England, National Lottery, Bath Spa University, Queensland University of Technology and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation for a number of digital content initiatives. She has spoken about the future of digital content at UNESCO Paris, Editech Milan, MIX Conference (Opening Keynote), Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, O’Reilly’s Tools of Change New York, London Book Fair, Bologna Book Fair and UKTI / British Council ‘Crossing the River’ digital conferences across Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. A keen maker herself, she lives in the heart of London’s designer maker community and understands the community that is Yodomo’s marketplace. Her professional network gives her access to the right tutors, businesses, brands – and staff – to bring to the Yodomo platform.
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About Meaningful Business, Yodomo | Making Made Easy: The Marketplace for Making. Discover online courses, live workshops and kits from our artists and makers.
Josif Grace
Founder & CEO of Legado
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About Legado: Securely and easily organise, store and share your most important documents, files, wishes and memories.
Jonathan Holmes
Founder & CEO of LuxDeco
Jonathan Holmes is a tech and design entrepreneur and an ardent supporter of luxury and fine craftsmanship. He founded LuxDeco in 2012 as a destination for luxury design enthusiasts to discover and shop the most world’s most beautiful home products.
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About I KANDI, LuxDeco: LuxDeco is a digital platform that connects the buyers and sellers of luxury home furnishings.
Joe Levi
CEO & Co-founder of Noise Media
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About Noise Media: Noise Media is an award winning social-first media agency that helps brands scale to universal heights.
Jose I Naranjo
CEO & Co-Founder of nextub
CEO of nextub
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About nextub: nextub offers a location-based application that enables its users to find and discover events, and activities to do in London.
Jose I Naranjo
CEO & Co-Founder of nextub
CEO of nextub
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About nextub: nextub offers a location-based application that enables its users to find and discover events, and activities to do in London.
Justin Sedgmond
CEO of Boutique Social
Boutique Social is a new social shopping platform for fashion and beauty products. We enable brands and retailers to access a highly engaged shopping audience. We provide our users with the latest social functionality and unique content to create, share and shop for the hottest products from hundreds of premium and boutique online stores. We are building a stack of great products which include unique blogger and magazine content all of which are designed to drive user engagement, retailer conversions and insights for brands. Our platform has been over a year in the making and will be launched October 2015.
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About Boutique Social: Boutique Social is a social commerce platform for fashion & beauty.
Daria Kantor
CEO & Founder of TruBe
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About TruBe: Available in London initially, TruBe instantly connects you with all relevant trainers, ready to help you meet your goals.
Mark McDermott
Founder, CEO & Head of Product of GoShow
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About GoShow: GoShow offers a platform that enables collaboration between professional athletes and filmmakers.
Catherine White
Co-Founder & CEO of Fundzzle
Highly motivated entrepreneur with exceptional sales, marketing and business development skills. After 20+ years in Healthcare industry, now focused on doing good by leading a new innovative plaform that helps people gather more meaningfully through charitable giving and environmentally friendly group gifting.
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About Fundzzle: Fundzzle is an eco-friendly invitation, group gift and charity fundraising service all wrapped into one privately and securely.
Stephanie Margaronis
CEO of Blaiz
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About Blaiz: Blaiz a retail platform of online and physical stores curating best of Latin American womenswear designers, bringing completely new styles.
Uche David
CEO of Riset
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About Riset: A Platform for Fashion Brands with an Appreciation for Unique Fashion Items
Ritika Dhamija
CEO of Iqrup + Ritz
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About Iqrup + Ritz: Iqrup + Ritz is a design and furniture startup. We’ve made it our mission to make high-end contemporary design easy!
Darren Burn
CEO of TravelGay.com
A former ITV News journalist, Darren Burn founded OutOfOffice.com in 2016 – the world’s luxury LGBT travel company. In 2018, Darren led the team that successfully acquired TravelGay.com, the world’s most visited LGBT travel website.
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About OutOfOffice.com, TravelGay.com: The world’s most visited LGBT travel website.
Nancy Johnston
CEO & Founder of Tengri
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About Tengri: Tengri is a London-based lifestyle brand and technology specialist.
Clover Lewis
Founder and CEO of Clover Lewis Swimwear
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About Clover Lewis Swimwear: Clover Lewis Swimwear is the post-surgery brand of the Year in the UK Lingerie Awards
