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 United Kingdom based CEO’ operating in the Aerospace 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.
Warren East
CEO of Rolls-Royce
Appointed to the Board in January 2014 and Chief Executive in July 2015 Warren joined ARM Holdings in 1994 and was appointed Chief Executive in 2001. Under his leadership the company became the world’s leading semiconductor IP licensing company. He retired from ARM Holdings in 2013. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Distinguished Fellow of the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. He was awarded the CBE in 2014 for services to the technology industry. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive, Warren had been appointed as a Non-Executive Director in 2014 and was Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominations and Governance Committee. Warren is a non-executive director of Dyson Ltd. In July 2015, he was appointed as a member of the UK Government’s business advisory group.
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About British Computer Society, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Rolls-Royce, Royal Academy of Engineering: Rolls-Royce is an industrial technology company that provides integrated power and propulsion solutions.
Louis Tag
Founder / CEO of Passnfly
Louis is a serial-entrepreneur and founder of multiple tech-based start-up companies such as PASSNFLY, Helicopters Worldwide or Fast-Track. A visionary entrepreneur, from Germany, currently residing in London. To those who know him, it’s no surprise that WIRED named him Top100 Entrepreneurs in Europe. Helicopters worldwide (est. 2021) is already today a leading provider for heli-transfers. Users can book on partner sites door-to-door transfers combining heli+limo. WallStreetJournal calls PASSNFLY ”the check-in app for frequent travelers”. Louis says himself, that “My journey in business started with my first tech company at the age of 21, but not every youthful project came to prosper still it gave me what it took, to succeed at innovation.” His most popular initiative is a disruptive travel tech startup – PASSNFLY. “When I see an apparently overdue market gap I ask myself if the solution I envision could be useful on a daily basis and turn out to be a new trend. Airlines ask passengers to check-in themselves – 20+ clicks until the boarding pass. Making check-in a 1-click experience is what I believe to be useful for every of the 8 billion annual air passengers.” PASSNFLY provides what every passenger needs to fly – the boarding pass. Today PASSNFLY automated check-in service is available for most airlines worldwide. Customers are some of the world’s well-known travel brands. Investors and advisers are some of the leading heads from the travel and aviation industry. PASSNFLY provides seamless travel solutions for Passengers, Travel Distributors, Airlines and Airports around the globe. For more info visit http://www.passnfly.com Louis Tag, 37, is originally from Germany, where he studied law. With just 21 years age and while still studying, he built his first company. With his first startup and only 30k investment, he accomplished a 100x return on sales in less than a year. Since then he continues on the entrepreneurial path. When Louis is not working he enjoys running, reading, and golf. He is married to Elizabeth and has a daughter Violetta and a son Peter. The family lives between Munich, Barcelona and London – with Barcelona being their absolute favorite. Specialities: business plan, cash flow, executive management, finance, investments, leadership, travel, positioning, pricing, purchasing, data processing and encryption technologies, telematic infrastructures, accreditation technologies, aeronautical engineering, architecture of informatics and communication systems, research, risk analysis, sales, strategic planning, vision.
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About Helicopters Worldwide, Passnfly: Passnfly is a mobile application that provides users with automated multi-airline flight check-in solutions.
Shai Weiss
Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Atlantic Airways
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About Gevo, Virgin Atlantic Airways: Virgin Atlantic Airways is a British airline serves over 30 fabulous destinations worldwide.
Stephen Fitzpatrick
CEO and founder of Vertical Aerospace
Stephen Fitzpatrick is the CEO and founder of OVO energy and Vertical Aerospace.
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About Kaluza, OVO Energy, Vertical Aerospace: Vertical Aerospace builds technology to revolutionize how people fly, by making air travel personal, on-demand, and carbon-free.
Ming Kong
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TG0
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About TG0: TG0 is an R&D start-up creating novel 3D controls.
Chris Harris
CEO of YASA
Chris joined YASA Motors as CEO in December 2011. He has over 25 years experience of building and leading high technology companies in the UK, US and Europe. He previously held the post of CEO at Light Blue Optics, a spin-out company from the University of Cambridge. Chris has a degree in Physics from the University of Oxford and a PhD from Imperial College.
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About Eight19, YASA: Yasa develops and manufactures electric motors and generators of high power and high torque density electric.
Anthony Baker
Founder & CEO of Satellite Vu
Anthony Baker is the Founder & CEO at Satellite Vu.
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About Satellite Vu: Satellite Vu An Earth Observation and satellite imagery analytics company deriving insights into economic activity
Pui Kean Chan
Fiscal CEO and supervisor of Rusada
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About Rusada: Rusada provides Maintenance & Engineering Technology Solutions for the Aviation Sector.
Howard Kimberley
CEO of Aeromet International
Howard Kimberley is the CEO of Aeromet International.
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About Aeromet International: Aeromet International manufactures aluminum and magnesium sand castings, aluminum investment castings for aerospace and defense industries.
Hira Virdee
Founder and CEO of Lumi Space
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About Lumi Space: Lumi provide precise positioning for satellites and space debris, using laser ranging.
Mark Thomas
Chief Executive Officer of Reaction Engines
Mark is driving the growth of the Company and setting the future direction of the business. He leads the Executive Leadership Team. Mark Thomas has been Chief Executive Officer of Reaction Engines Limited since May 2015. In this role he is leading development of the SABRE engine concept, a new class of aerospace propulsion system for hypersonic and space access applications, and building a successful technology business. During his first two and a half years Mark has grown the company from 65 to over 150 employees, secured investments from BAE Systems, the UK Government and DARPA, and expanded operations in the UK and US. Before joining Reaction Engines, Mark graduated from Cambridge University with an Engineering degree and spent over 25 years working in the Defence and Civil Aerospace businesses of Rolls-Royce plc. During this time he led a number of key programmes for Rolls-Royce, working closely with customers and partners worldwide. Notable roles included Chief Development Engineer for the EJ200 (Typhoon) engine, Chief Engineer of multiple military and civil engine programmes Technical Director of the Eurojet Turbo GmbH consortium based in Munich, and Chief Engineer, Civil Aerospace Technology and Future Programmes. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
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About Reaction Engines: Reaction Engines is next-generation aerospace propulsion developers, home of SABRE air-breathing rocket engine.
Simon Ponsford
Chief Executive Officer of YellowDog
To Simon, technology related business problems are like a juicy bone to get his teeth into. He has 16 years of experience in high growth start-up environments working in CIO, CTO and Technical Architect roles in the UK, Europe, Middle East and North America, with several cloud computing related patents to his name. He is passionate about delivering ‘green’ technology and is best known for designing the world’s lowest powered Windows PC in 2008. He is also responsible for KumoWatt, the leading training programme for IT professionals interested in reducing the carbon impact of what they do.
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About YellowDog: Helping businesses power their innovations with the most scalable cloud native scheduling and provisioning technology.
Richard Parker
Founder & CEO of Altitude Angel
Richard is the Founder & CEO of Altitude Angel. He created the company in December 2014, with a singular vision: integrate drones into the airspace, safely, using cloud technology. An experienced software engineer, Richard has a deep technical background with both software and electrical engineering expertise and is currently training to become a private pilot, too.
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About Altitude Angel: Altitude Angel makes drones safer by providing the data and cloud services needed to safely unlock their potential.
Sean Sutcliffe
Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Space Systems
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About Oxford Space Systems: OSS Is a space technology business that provides multi-award winning deployable antennas & structures made from proprietary materials.
Ahmed Elrayes
CEO of SweepTEQ
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About SweepTEQ: SweepTEQ autonomously detects and collects debris at and around airport airfields via smart rovers with AI-enabled cameras.
Michael Dewhirst
CEO | Founder of Evolve Dynamics
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About Evolve Dynamics, Match2One: UAV innovations company, working on computer vision, AI autopilot systems, long flight solutions and rapid ready-to-fly/deploy platforms.
Craig Gallagher
Chief Executive Officer of MB Aerospace
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About MB Aerospace: MB Aerospace is a engine component manufacturer and repair business.
Rafael Jorda Siquier
Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos
As CEO and co-founder, Rafael leads the Open Cosmos team. From leading the team to deliver the first satellite mission within eight months, to managing the expanding team and range of customers today, Rafael has overseen the overall company strategy and directed its execution, all while working towards the original mission of democratizing access to space. After studying aerospace engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona and completing an MBA, Rafael has worked at large corporations, such as Airbus Defence and Space, as well as small, innovative space start-ups. His desire to make space more accessible led him to develop Open Cosmos while at the prestigious Entrepreneur First incubator program in July 2015. For his work leading Open Cosmos, Rafael has been recognized most recently as Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by EuroConsult.
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About Open Cosmos: Open Cosmos provides simple and affordable space missions.
Richard Deakin
Chief Executive Officer of Stratospheric Platforms
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About Stratospheric Platforms: Stratospheric Platforms provides communication links via the stratosphere, complementing and mobile.
Marwan Khalek
CEO of Gama Signature
Marwan Khalek Following a management career in the manufacturing industry Marwan started Gama Aviation Ltd in 1983 in the UK with his business partner Stephen Wright. He has overseen the group’s expansion from its foundation to its current multinational status encompassing many varied markets and areas in the aviation industry. Marwan continues to take a very active and hands on role in all aspects of the group’s development and has also headed the group’s expansion into the US market. Marwan is both Chairman of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) and a board member of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA). Marwan holds an Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence and occasionally flies the Beech 200.
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About Gama Signature: A global business aviation services organization dedicated to aircraft management, executive charter and maintenance support services
Rotimi Alabi
Founder & CEO of RAB Microfluidics
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About RAB Microfluidics, University of Aberdeen: RAB-Microfluidics is a Research & Development company developing cutting-edge microfluidic technology to solve oil analysis problems.
Arnaud Didey
Founder & CEO of Neoptera Aero
Arnaud Dide is the Founder and CEO at Neoptera Aero.
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About Didey Consulting Ltd, Neoptera Aero: Neoptera Aero is developing a patented winged eVTOL aircraft aimed at Public Services, Military Applications and Future Urban Air Mobility
Patrick Margetson Rushmore
CEO of Luxaviation
Patrick is Chief Executive Officer and a founding principal of Luxaviation UK, formerly London Executive Aviation. The company is one of the largest business jet operators in Europe with a wide ranging offering of fleets from transatlantic capability to small, executive four-passenger light jets. Luxaviation UK has aircraft bases in the main UK airports and also Athens, Helsinki, Moscow , South of France and Paris. Its client base covers a broad spectrum, including the arts, entertainment and media sectors, as well as government work. The company has won “Best European Charter Operator in Europe” 5 times in the last 7 years. Further information: www.luxaviationuk.com Luxaviation UK is part of the Luxaviation Group, the 2nd largest operator of corporate aircraft in the world. The Group manages 270 aircraft under the most stringent safety standards and Luxaviation’s commercial fleet is operated under the regulatory umbrella of 14 regional civil aviation issued air-operating certificates (AOCs). Luxaviation manages 25 world-class FBO facilities and 15 maintenance centres worldwide, certified to work on most business jets. Luxaviation currently employs over 1,700 staff worldwide. Patrick co-founded Luxaviation UK in 1996 with George Galanopoulos. They initially operated from a post-war hut in Stapleford with one pilot (George) and one propeller-powered aircraft. Patrick joined the aviation industry following a successful financial career in London during the 1980s and early 1990s.
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About Luxaviation: Luxaviation is setting new benchmarks for service across all customer groups jet owners, charter passengers and air charter brokers.
Richard Stokes
Chief Executive Officer, of Innovative Software SARL
A veteran in technology and aviation Richard has hands on experience in bringing software and services to the global aviation community. He held senior positions at SITA, ICL etc.
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About Innovative Software SARL: Innovative Software’s EDIfly provides a sleek and uncomplicated platform to bring Messaging 2.0 to your process communication.
Gerry Croarkin
Chief Executive Officer/Founder of AircraftEasy
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About AircraftEasy: AircraftEasy develops as a cloud-based solution that managing aviation assets.
Mark Briffa
CEO of Air Partner
Mark started his career with Air Partner as a Commercial Jets broker in 1996 and joined the Board in 2006 as Chief Operating Officer, becoming Chief Executive Officer in April 2010. He has direct experience of air charter broking and wide knowledge of the private aviation sector worldwide, built up over more than 30 years’ experience in the industry.
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About Air Partner: Air Partner is an aviation services group that focuses on aircraft transportation, aviation safety, and security solutions.
Arpana Gandhi
Co-Founder & CEO of Disarmco
Arpana Gandhi is Co-Founder & CEO at Disarmco.
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About Disarmco: Disarmco was formed in 2012 as a services business targeting munitions disposal.
Joyce A. Losi
Co-founder & CEO of Sia Aerospace
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About Sia Aerospace: The company produces the first products line in the world that reduces flight-crew injuries in helicopter crash, without aircraft’s changes.
Rajan Bedi
CEO & Founder of Spacechips
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About Spacechips: Spacechips is a global space-electronics company.
Mark Webster
CEO of Gooch & Housego
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About Gooch & Housego: Gooch & Housego is a global leader in photonics technology.
Graeme Bond
CEO (Technical Director) of FDM Digital Solutions
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About FDM Digital Solutions: FDM Digital Solutions manufactures thermoplastic functional parts for modeling, prototyping, manufacturing tools, and end-use parts.
