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 Edinburgh based Manager operating in the Financial Services space. If you think a Manager 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.
Jessica Cameron
Senior Human Centred Design Manager of Lloyds Banking Group
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About Lloyds Banking Group: Lloyds Banking Group is a major British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009.
Tom Croy
Investment Manager of Par Equity
Tom Croy is an Investment Manager at Par Equity.
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About Par Equity: Par Equity is a leading, early-stage venture capital firm, investing in innovative, high growth technology companies.
Angus Allan
Digital Adoption Manager of M&G Plc
Recipient of the UK Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Visa – Angus is an experienced digital professional who has worked with clients around the world on a variety of digital projects, ranging from the creation of digital strategies, through to large-scale transformation. He specialises in helping businesses navigate disruption and leads high performing teams. Alongside his work helping clients to achieve their goals, he is also passionate about technology, change, and business strategy. He has spoken about these topics at various events in New Zealand and the UK. He was recently one of only two hundred each year to receive a prestigious endorsement from Tech Nation for the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa to the UK, enabling him to live and work in the UK. He is currently based in Scotland and has a particular interest in financial services and fintech products/companies.
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About Hello Digital, M&G Plc: M&G plc is a leading savings and investments business.
Martin McLaren
Investment Manager of Maven Capital Partners
Martin is an Investment Manager responsible for new Private Equity investments across Scotland. He joined Maven in September 2013 from Lloyds Banking Group, where he worked in the Equity Risk Management Division, providing risk oversight on the Bank’s equity portfolio, and then in the Corporate Real Estate Business Support Unit. Martin previously spent 5 years with Henderson Loggie CA, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) and worked in Corporate Finance. Martin graduated from Heriot Watt University in 2005 with a MA Honours in Economics and Business.
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About Maven Capital Partners: Maven Capital Partners is a private equity firm that provides a range of funding options to SMEs and investment opportunities.
Graeme Mckinstry
Investment Manager of Foresight Group
Graeme Mckinstry is an Investment Manager at Foresight.
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About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
David Stevenson
Fund Manager of Amati Global Investors
David Stevenson joined Amati in 2012. In 2005 he was a co-founding partner of investment boutique Cartesian Capital, which managed a range of retail and institutional UK equity funds in long only and long/short strategies. Prior to that he was Assistant Director at SVM, where he also managed equity products including the UK Opportunities small/midcap fund which was ranked top decile for the 5 year period from inception to 2005. David started his career at KPMG where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He latterly specialised in corporate finance, before moving into private equity with Dunedin Fund Managers. David has co-managed the TB Amati UK Smaller Companies Fund and the Amati VCTs since 2012 and the Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service since 2014.
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About Amati Global Investors: Amati Global Investors is a specialist fund management business based in Edinburgh.
Rachel Le Derf
Investor Relations Manager of Amati Global Investors
Prior to joining Amati (previously Noble Fund Managers) in June 2007, Rachel worked as Desk Assistant to the UK Equities team at First State alongside Paul Jourdan. Before this Rachel has held various roles at the Financial Times in the Advertising Department, at a renewable energy consultancy in Edinburgh and also worked in Paris at The Institute of Educational Planning / UNESCO. Rachel holds the IAQ from the Securities & Investment Institute and is fluent in French.
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About Amati Global Investors: Amati Global Investors is a specialist fund management business based in Edinburgh.
Paul Devlin
Investment Manager of Mercia Fund Managers
Paul Devlin is based in Mercia’s Edinburgh office, and is building a team in Scotland to increase Mercia’s deal flow, providing the company with new and exciting investment opportunities. Paul has a strong track record as an entrepreneur and supporter of early stage businesses and has a wealth of expertise in market and technology assessment, academic and industrial collaborations, company formation and IP commercialisation. Paul has worked in innovative technical and commercial environments throughout his 16 year career, making the transition from an engineer, patent holding researcher and company founder to a commercially focused senior programme manager, consultant and advisor. Paul worked at Scottish Enterprise from 2009 to 2011 as a Senior Programme Manager, where he performed an extended ITI role which included commercialisation, research portfolio management and business process integration implemented to PRINCE2 and MSP guidelines. From there, he worked at New Media Partners as a Senior Consultant, before moving on to the University of Edinburgh, first as a Senior Company Formation Executive, then as a Student Company Formation Manager.
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About Mercia Fund Managers: Mercia Fund Managers helps to scale innovative businesses across the UK regions by providing debt, equity and growth capital.
Janet Forbes
Finance Manager of Frontier IP Group plc
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About Frontier IP Group plc: Frontier IP Group plc is a specialist asset management group.
Sean MacNicol
Engagement Manager of Money Dashboard
Sean MacNicol heads up user engagement at Money Dashboard, the award-winning UK personal finance app that allows people to see all of their financial accounts in one place to help them master their money. More than 200,000 people currently use the app and the company generates revenue by creating insightful market research from anonymised transaction data, for example by helping hedge funds predict revenue announcements of listed companies. Sean works closely with Money Dashboard’s diverse community of users as they take steps towards achieving their own financial goals and is fascinated by the impact of technology on how we manage our money. Whilst helping the Money Dashboard team develop products that solve customer needs, he also runs initiatives that engage and delight users. Money Dashboard recently closed a significant equity crowdfunding round which saw more than 3000 users invest into the growth of the business.
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About Money Dashboard: Money Dashboard is an online personal financial management service allowing users to view their online financial accounts.
Yanina Mowat
Digital Analytics Manager of The Royal Bank Of Scotland Public Limited Company
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About The Royal Bank Of Scotland Public Limited Company: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) engages in the provision of international banking and financial services.
Chris Barker
Business Development Manager of ABGI UK
Chris represents Jumpstart, one of the UK’s leading R&D tax relief specialists. Since their foundation in 2008 they have recovered over £100m in tax relief for their clients through their expertise. Innovation has been at the heart of Chris’s career to date, carrying out roles in business development, operations, education and training. He has specialised in renewable energy funding when it was in its nascence, and as a senior operational manager at a technology-focused JV set up by Sky and its investors to create the set top box functionality that most of us now use on a daily basis. He has also taught Systems Thinking at the Australian RMIT University in Vietnam. Having worked for both rapidly growing start-ups and large multi-nationals, Chris understands the challenges that each can face. He is keen to apply this blend of finance expertise and experience from his work within a number of innovation-focused sectors to help his clients benefit from R&D tax relief. His interests include sustainable development in which he holds a Masters, trying to learn Japanese and remembering it the next day, following Ipswich Town (which can be challenging), and motorcycling in nice weather only!
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About ABGI UK: ABGI UK is one of the world’s leading tax incentive and innovation management advisors
