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 Chairman operating in the Advertising space. If you think a Chairman 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.
Chris van der Kuyl
Chairman of TVSquared
Chris van der Kuyl is a highly experienced Chief Executive and Non-Executive Director whose expertise combines the start-up, development and market listed business arena in the technology, media and entertainment sectors. Van der Kuyl grew his first business, VIS entertainment plc out of a bedroom in Dundee to become a global player in the creation of leading-edge entertainment property for computer, television and video games platforms worldwide. Through the development of VIS, as CEO and President, he took the business through substantive growth by developing and delivering on an acquisition, development and ultimately merger strategy that took the business on to an international stage merging in 2004 with the NASDAQ listed Bam Entertainment company. This experience has equipped him in delivering successful and substantial fundraising exercises in the Private Equity, Corporate Venturing and now Listed Markets. Moreover as a business builder he has an exceptional ability in developing committed employees whilst keeping an ever- watchful eye on the bottom line. Chris is widely recognised as one of the UK’s the leading young entrepreneurs. He is also a regular contributor to the 21st Century business and enterprise agenda through a variety of conference keynote speaking engagements and media coverage. Chris is a member of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow Programme at the World Economic Forum. The young entrepreneur also embraces the spirit of ‘giving something back’ and is fully committed to building the next generation of business people by encouraging enterprise education in Schools, Colleges and Universities. He was Chairman of Young Enterprise Scotland for seven years and is a member of the Smith Group advising the Scottish Executive on educational matters. As one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Chris sits as a member of the Scottish Scientific Advisory committee who advise the Scottish government on all areas of science and technology. Chris also Chairs the Creative board of the Education Wing at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow and is a Director of Dundee Science Centre.
Follow Chris van der Kuyl:
About 4J Studios, 4J Studios, Ace Aquatec, Ace Aquatec, Baillie Gifford, Broker Insights, Chroma Developments, Chroma Developments, Chroma Ventures, Chroma Ventures, Parsley Box, Puny Astronaut, Stormcloud Games, TVSquared, University of Abertay Dundee, University of Abertay Dundee: TVSquared is the global leader in TV attribution.
Chris Dobson
Executive Chairman of The Exchange Lab
Follow Chris Dobson:
About The Exchange Lab: The Exchange Lab, a digital media marketplace, delivers campaigns evaluating the audience interactions to help its clients find prospects.
Jim Glover
Deputy Chairman of CSM Sport and Entertainment
Follow Jim Glover:
About CSM Sport and Entertainment: CSM Sport and Entertainment provides sports and entertainment marketing services.
Julian Pullan
Vice Chairman & President International of Jack Morton Worldwide
Julian joined Jack Morton in 2002 as director of operations in London and became managing director in 2005. He joined the Global Executive Team in 2009, became President, EMEA in 2011 and was appointed President, International in 2015. Under his leadership, the International operation has grown significantly in size and reputation, including the foundation of Jack offices in Dubai, Germany, and South Korea. Today, Julian is Vice Chairman of Jack Morton Worldwide, stewarding the creative quality and output of the agency in addition to his continued leadership of the agency outside of the US. In his 30 years in the industry, Julian has led major communications campaigns and projects for most of the world’s leading brands. Julian remains a passionate creative at heart, winning many creative awards during his accomplished career. Teams under his leadership have earned over 500 awards, including well over 100 in just the last 2 years. He has served as a member of the board of the International Visual Communications Association, is a regular commentator within the industry trade press and event circuit and is a member of the Superbrands Council.
Follow Julian Pullan:
About Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton Worldwide is an American multinational brand experience agency.
Charles Vallance
Founder & Chairman of VCCP Group
Charles began his advertising apprenticeship at Burkitt’s, working subsequently at BBH and WCRS. In 2002 he decided to start working for himself and, along with his three partners (Rooney Carruthers, Adrian Coleman and Ian Priest), set up VCCP. Their founding client was O2, to whom they are eternally grateful. Over the last two decades, Charles has worked on and, in some cases, helped launch a diverse range of brands including O2, First Direct, Orange, Sony, BMW, Land Rover, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Dyson, comparethemarket.com, Hiscox and easyJet. Outside of work Charles doggedly pursues a variety of sports including cricket, tennis, football, golf, shooting and snooker, all at a consistently low standard. Charles is a Trustee for Cricket for Change and for the Fred Foundation and he is a Director of Rugby for Change.
Follow Charles Vallance:
About VCCP Group: VCCP Group provides directory for top marketers, agencies, media companies.
Rory Sutherland
Vice Chairman of Ogilvy
Rory Sutherland read Classics at Christ’s College, Cambridge, before joining Ogilvy as a Graduate Trainee. He was appointed Creative Director of OgilvyOne in 1997 and ECD in 1998. In 2005 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the Ogilvy Group in the UK. Sutherland was President of the Direct Jury at Cannes in 2007, and was elected President of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 2009. He is a visiting professor at Warwick University and in 2012 was awarded an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) by Brunel University. He also writes The Spectator’s Wiki Man column.
Follow Rory Sutherland:
About Ogilvy: Global brand Strategy, Advertising, Customer Engagement and Commerce, PR and Influence, Digital Transformation, and Partnerships.
Chris Bell
Chairman of the Board of Directors of XLMedia
Chris Bell Is The CEO At Ladbrokes PLC.
Follow Chris Bell:
About : XLMedia is a provider of digital marketing services. They use proprietary tools and methodologies to drive high value traffic.
Lord Rothermere
Chairman of the Board of Directors of DMG Media
Lord Rothermere has been Chairman of DMGT and a Non-Executive Director of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC since 1998. Lord Rothermere worked at the International Herald Tribune in Paris and the Mirror Group before moving to Northcliffe Newspapers Group in 1995. In 1997 Lord Rothermere became Managing Director of the Evening Standard.
Follow Lord Rothermere:
About : DMG media is a consumer media company engaged in print and online newspaper publishing.
Matt Isaacs
Founder & Executive Chairman of Essence
As one of the founding partners, Matt helped shape Essence into the company it is today. That agency is now the world’s largest independent buyer of digital media with billings in excess of $650MM USD, is 480 people strong, and has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore and Tokyo. Current clients include Google, eBay, Financial Times and Barclays. Matt served as Global CEO of the agency until spring of this year. During his last four years in that role, both billings and headcount doubled every year. Today, as Executive Chairman, Matt oversees the Board, supports the execution of corporate strategy and helps to ensure the legacy of Essence exists well beyond the agency and the industry. Before co-founding Essence Matt was Chief Marketing Officer at Create Services & Goldfish Bank, a subsidiary of Lloyds TSB Group that handled all of the bank’s non LloydsTSB branded retail banking business across 15 brands and with £2B in assets. Matt’s ‘first career’ was in strategy consulting at McKinsey spin-off MMG, where he was part of the core team that built MMG Europe from 14 consultants to 400 across 13 offices. Matt lives on a small farm with his wife, 4 children, 5 hens, lots of sheep and bees in the depths of East Sussex, UK.
Follow Matt Isaacs:
About Essence: Essence, part of GroupM, is a global data and measurement-driven agency whose mission is to make advertising more valuable to the world.
Lester Mordue
Chairman of PromoMii
Follow Lester Mordue:
About : A.I. powered video content creation SaaS platform used by the likes of Disney, NENT, VRT and more
Mike Hedger
Chairman of Conversocial
Mike Hedger has a track record in building market-leading companies. Mike was previously CEO of email archiving company KVS from its inception in 1999 to its successful sale to Veritas for $225 million in 2004 (now Symantec Enterprise Vault). Before that, he served as EVP Worldwide Operations at Forte, building the European business before moving to head up Worldwide Operations which culminated in a successful acquisition by Sun for $700 million. Mike’s earlier career included positions as VP Marketing Operations EMEA for Oracle, Managing Director UK and Northern Europe for INGRES/ASK and successful sales careers at both WANG and IBM. Mike is also the chairman of Mimecast and eCommera.
Follow Mike Hedger:
About : Conversocial is a Customer Experience Platform for Messaging Channels.
Neeshu Lukha
Chairman of the Board of Realeyes
Neeshu chairs Realeyes’ Board and leads business development with key brands. Neeshu comes to Realeyes with over 17 years brand management experience at Procter & Gamble (where he obtained P&G peak advanced level in marketing and advertising) and running Yum! Restaurants in Europe for another 3 years. He has successfully grown businesses over a diverse spectrum, including US, Europe and 15+ years in emerging markets, 50+ brands over 25 categories, and a wide variety of business situations like launching and designing new brands, expanding established brands, entering new geographies and segments, turnarounds, high-growth markets, economic downturns, joint ventures, technology and innovation partnerships and numerous acquisitions. Neeshu has worked across businesses such as Olay, Hugo Boss, Pampers, Pizza Hut, KFC, Gillette, Crest, Braun, Vicks, and in marketing these brands has also lead development of new marketing models and new research & innovation approaches.
Follow Neeshu Lukha:
About : Measuring Human Response At The Speed & Scale Of AI
Vikrant Bhargava
Co-founder and Chairman of KF Beauty
Vikrant Bhargava serves as Managing Partner of Veddis Ventures. Mr. Bhargava founded the firm. Previously, till 2006 he served as the Group Marketing Director of PartyGaming Plc. Mr. Bhargava headed the marketing team during PartyPOker’s explosive growth from a start-up site to one with revenues of almost a billion dollars in 2005. He left PartyGaming in early 2006 to set up Veddis Ventures. Mr. Bhargava served as a Group Marketing Director and Director at iGlobalMedia Entertainment Limited. His experience included positions as a Credit Officer at the Bank of America, responsible for managing credit exposure and revenue for a portfolio of corporate clients and a Business Analyst at British Gas in the business development division. He served as a non-executive Director at SocialGO PLC (formerly Bright Things plc) from January 12, 2010 to February 08, 2012. Mr. Bhargava attended Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (1994) and Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (1996).
Follow Vikrant Bhargava:
About KF Beauty, LetzChange, Veddis: We identify, develop and market innovative products in the Health & Beauty sector.
Vikrant Bhargava
Co-founder and Chairman of KF Beauty
Vikrant Bhargava serves as Managing Partner of Veddis Ventures. Mr. Bhargava founded the firm. Previously, till 2006 he served as the Group Marketing Director of PartyGaming Plc. Mr. Bhargava headed the marketing team during PartyPOker’s explosive growth from a start-up site to one with revenues of almost a billion dollars in 2005. He left PartyGaming in early 2006 to set up Veddis Ventures. Mr. Bhargava served as a Group Marketing Director and Director at iGlobalMedia Entertainment Limited. His experience included positions as a Credit Officer at the Bank of America, responsible for managing credit exposure and revenue for a portfolio of corporate clients and a Business Analyst at British Gas in the business development division. He served as a non-executive Director at SocialGO PLC (formerly Bright Things plc) from January 12, 2010 to February 08, 2012. Mr. Bhargava attended Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (1994) and Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (1996).
Follow Vikrant Bhargava:
About KF Beauty, LetzChange, Veddis: We identify, develop and market innovative products in the Health & Beauty sector.
Scott Lester
Founder and Chairman of EyeKandy
Follow Scott Lester:
About EyeKandy: EyeKandy is your ‘end to end’ partner for digital asset production, point of sale marketing solutions and creative innovation.
Paul Cooper
Chairman of Programmai
Follow Paul Cooper:
About Programmai: Programmai is a predictive marketing technology that radically improves the incrementality of acquiring new and repeat customers.
Jon Wilkins
Executive Chairman of Karmarama
Follow Jon Wilkins:
About Karmarama: Karmarama is a full service communications agency, combining creative excellence with technology-inspired solutions
Vincent Boni
MD Newsquest Dorset, Hampshire, Cornwall, Salisbury, Chairman of NQ Pension Fund, President DCCI of LOCALiQ
Follow Vincent Boni:
About LOCALiQ: LOCALiQ is a local businesses provide navigate the complexities of modern digital marketing.
Michael Greenlees
Chairman of Scoota
Follow Michael Greenlees:
About Abercrombie & Fitch, Scoota: A single programmatic platform that enables advertisers to create, activate, measure and optimise brilliant brand campaigns at scale.
Richard Syme
Chairman of Optimise
Follow Richard Syme:
About Optimise: Global Performance Marketing Company
David Pattison
Chairman of Rezonence
Follow David Pattison:
About Rezonence: Our mission is to fund journalism through high performance advertising.
Vedan Choolun
Founder and Chairman of UiTV Connect
Follow Vedan Choolun:
About UiTV Connect: A Global Internet Television Network
Bobby Leach
Chairman of BTP Advisers
Follow Bobby Leach:
About BTP Advisers: BTP is a multi-award winning international communications agency. We deliver campaigns that change hearts and minds.
Bobby Leach
Chairman of BTP Advisers
Follow Bobby Leach:
About BTP Advisers: BTP is a multi-award winning international communications agency. We deliver campaigns that change hearts and minds.
John Beddingtonc
Chairman of Mongoose Sports & Entertainment
John has over 40 years of industry experience. Well known in racquet sports, he has been involved in staging over 200 international tournaments in tennis and squash. For 17 years John was tournament director of the Canadian Open Tennis Championships in Toronto and Montreal and Executive Vice President of Tennis Canada. Returning to the UK, he created the prestigious Masters Tennis tournament at the Royal Albert Hall and brokered the long standing deal between Barclays and the ATP World Tour Finals. John does an excellent Mansour Bahrami impression on the tennis court, and despite being very familiar with his trick shots, Chris falls for John’s cheeky drop shot every time.
Follow John Beddingtonc:
About Mongoose Sports & Entertainment: Mongoose Sports & Entertainment is a specialist agency in sports and entertainment.
John Beddingtonc
Chairman of Mongoose Sports & Entertainment
John has over 40 years of industry experience. Well known in racquet sports, he has been involved in staging over 200 international tournaments in tennis and squash. For 17 years John was tournament director of the Canadian Open Tennis Championships in Toronto and Montreal and Executive Vice President of Tennis Canada. Returning to the UK, he created the prestigious Masters Tennis tournament at the Royal Albert Hall and brokered the long standing deal between Barclays and the ATP World Tour Finals. John does an excellent Mansour Bahrami impression on the tennis court, and despite being very familiar with his trick shots, Chris falls for John’s cheeky drop shot every time.
Follow John Beddingtonc:
About Mongoose Sports & Entertainment: Mongoose Sports & Entertainment is a specialist agency in sports and entertainment.
Guy Whittle
Chairman, Advisory Board of Diginius
Follow Guy Whittle:
About : Diginius is an advertising technology company that turns complex reporting data into improved sales conversions.
Robert Clare
Executive Chairman of Local Puzzle
Follow Robert Clare:
About Local Puzzle: Supporting independent merchants, rewarding shoppers’ loyalty, revitalising the high street
Jeremy Middleton
Non Executive Chairman of Visual Method
Follow Jeremy Middleton:
About Visual Method: Visual Method is a creative agency that offers innovative solutions for image, video, interactive, technical solutions, and marketing.
Gordon Dawson
Founder and Executive Chairman of School Notices
Follow Gordon Dawson:
About School Notices: School Notice is a UK-based parent to parent noticeboard and school fundraising platform,
Clare Parsons
Founder & Chairman of Lansons
Clare Parsons is Founder & Chairman @ Lansons.
Follow Clare Parsons:
About Lansons: Lansons is a full service strategic consultancy, specialising in corporate, media and political communications.
