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 Public Relations 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.
Dhruv Ghulati
Co-Founder and CEO of Factmata
Dhruv holds a Distinction in Computer Science and Machine Learning from University College London, and a 1st Class BSc in Economics from the LSE. He was a product manager and co-founder of two London based machine intelligence startups, and is an Entrepreneur First alum and Forbes 30 Under 30 leader in Technology. He wrote his thesis in cost-sensitive classification and distant supervision for statistical claim detection.
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About Factmata: Factmata is an artificial intelligence company for automated content understanding..
Laura Kornelija Inamedinova
Founder and CEO of LKI Consulting
Laura K. Inamedinova is communications and branding expert that has her own PR agency. Laura helps companies understand what are their marketing goals and what kind of communication they seek and later on, if needed, implement it. Her primary focus is technology, fin tech and IT industries. Among her client list there are million dollar valuation companies. Miss Inamedinova also shares her expertise about startups in her columns at Forbes and Huffington Post. Besides that, she frequently appears in local and international conferences where she touches important issues like, advocating for bigger women involvement in the technology sector. She has been quoted in various publications, such as Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Venture Beat, etc. Laura has also been actively involved in various NGOs – she is a member of World Economic Forum Global Shapers Vilnius hub and Lithuanian Marketing Association. Laura holds a Bachelor of Physics from Vilnius University. During her time in the university she was a member of Physics faculty student association.
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About LKI Consulting: International marketing, PR and communications agency focusing on fintech, crypto and ICOs.
Justin Billingsley
CEO, Publicis Groupe DACH and Brazil of Publicis Groupe
Justin Billingsley is Head of Publicis Emil, the agency designed with data and digital at the core to accelerate marketing and business transformation for Mercedes-Benz. During the year-long selection process to find a new global network agency for Mercedes-Benz, Justin led the winning Publicis Groupe response in 2017 and then the subsequent creation of Publicis Emil in 2018. Justin is also a member of the Publicis Groupe Management Committee and is the Publicis Groupe Chairman for DACH and Brazil. Prior to joining Publicis Groupe in 2009 as CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi China, Justin held marketing leadership roles at Unilever, Nokia, Orange, and The Coca-Cola Company. An Australian citizen, he is based between Berlin and London.
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About Publicis Groupe: Publicis Groupe is a digital and interactive communication services provider.
Justin Billingsley
CEO, Publicis Groupe DACH and Brazil of Publicis Groupe
Justin Billingsley is Head of Publicis Emil, the agency designed with data and digital at the core to accelerate marketing and business transformation for Mercedes-Benz. During the year-long selection process to find a new global network agency for Mercedes-Benz, Justin led the winning Publicis Groupe response in 2017 and then the subsequent creation of Publicis Emil in 2018. Justin is also a member of the Publicis Groupe Management Committee and is the Publicis Groupe Chairman for DACH and Brazil. Prior to joining Publicis Groupe in 2009 as CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi China, Justin held marketing leadership roles at Unilever, Nokia, Orange, and The Coca-Cola Company. An Australian citizen, he is based between Berlin and London.
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About Publicis Groupe: Publicis Groupe is a digital and interactive communication services provider.
Mark Read
CEO of WPP
Mark Read is the CEO at WPP Digital. Mark was appointed a director in March 2005. He is chief executive of WPP Digital, and was previously WPP’s Director of Strategy.Mark is a director of CHI&Partners. Mark worked at WPP between 1989 and 1995 in both parent company and operating company roles.Prior to rejoining WPP in 2002, Mark was a principal at the consultancy firm of Booz-Allen & Hamilton and founded and developed the company WebRewards in the UK. Mark is a trustee of the Natural History Museum Development Trust.
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About WPP: WPP creates transformative ideas and outcomes for its clients through an integrated offer of communications, commerce, and technology.
Colin Byrne
EMEA CEO of Weber Shandwick
Colin Byrne is EMEA CEO @ Weber Shandwick.
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About Weber Shandwick: Weber Shandwick is a global public relations firm with offices in major media, business, and government capitals around the world.
Colin Byrne
EMEA CEO of Weber Shandwick
Colin Byrne is EMEA CEO @ Weber Shandwick.
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About Weber Shandwick: Weber Shandwick is a global public relations firm with offices in major media, business, and government capitals around the world.
David Kershaw
Co-Founder ,CEO & Exec Director of M&C Saatchi
David Kershaw is a founding director of M&C Saatchi. He joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 1982 after obtaining an MBA at London Business School. He became managing director in 1990 and was made chairman and chief executive of the UK agency in 1994.
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About M&C Saatchi: M&C Saatchi Group is a creative company that connects specialist expertise, fuelled by data and technology.
Melissa Fernandez
Co-Founder & CEO of Bookalook
Co Founder and CEO of Bookalook.
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About Bookalook, Vibia: Bookalook is the platform for the new generation of fashion professionals.
Jane Brearley
Founder and CEO of Intent Health
Jane has over 17 years’ experience in health communications and employee engagement. She has worked with senior leadership teams to help craft the company vision and translate it for audiences, delivered across multiple channels. Jane has developed creative campaigns which have engaged audiences, generated excitement and driven behaviour change for multiple clients across varied sectors and geographies. She believes in the business value of effective story-telling and recognises the role it has to play in corporate reputation, increased profitability, staff retention and recruitment. Jane has led award winning campaigns for global communications agencies and has a PhD in Biophysics from Imperial College, London.
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About Intent Health: Intent Health creates genuine initiatives that alter people’s minds and enhance their health.
Bradford Paul
CEO of Southern Communications
Bradford Paul is CEO at Southern Communications Ltd.
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About Southern Communications: Southern Communications is a supplier of business-to-business telecoms products and services.
Ben Bilboul
Chief Executive Officer of Karmarama
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About Karmarama: Karmarama is a full service communications agency, combining creative excellence with technology-inspired solutions
Gary Preston
Co-founder and CEO of CoverageBook
Founder of coveragebook.com. A tool we’ve built to stop people wasting precious time designing ugly PR reports. And spend more time doing the important stuff. Like being creative, cultivating influencer relationships etc.
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About CoverageBook: A tool to help in house and agency PR teams to showcase media coverage & measure performance
Nadeem Azam
CEO of Azam Marketing
Nadeem Azam has been at the cutting-edge of entrepreneurship for nearly forty years and generated over £1 billion in sales for clients during his illustrious career. He is also an experienced writer, journalist and sub-Editor, having had his work published in local and national press in the UK as well as several magazines and academic journals. His fiction and non-fiction is studied in schools and universities in the United States, Germany and other countries. Nadeem Azam founded Azam Marketing, an international, full-service digital marketing and design agency in 1997. The company is headquartered in Covent Garden, central London and its corporate website is at https://www.azam.net . Nadeem had been a successful computer programmer as far back as the 1980s in his childhood, and had also enjoyed an acclaimed career as a writer and sub-editor at various British newspapers, magazines and journals in the 1990s. Nadeem foresaw the decline of ‘old media’ and decided to pioneer an internet business. Azam Marketing specialise in search, email, social media and performance marketing, as well as web design, business consulting and corporate training. The multi-award-winning agency’s clients range from the world’s largest corporations such as Disney, Coca-Cola, Hilton, Warner Bros., Nike, Fitness First and BT, to small and medium size companies. Nadeem is often invited to be interviewed on television and radio stations around the world to share his expertise and is highly-rated public speaker.
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About Azam Marketing, Azam Marketing, Azam Marketing: Azam Marketing is a full-service digital marketing and design agency which focuses on results.
Carrie Rose
CEO of Rise at Seven
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About Rise at Seven: The Search-First Creative Agency
Ian Hood
CEO of Babel PR
Ian is one of Babel’s founders and has nearly 30 years’ experience working with both large and small technology brands. He is actively involved in Babel client campaigns providing strategic insight, high-level counsel and crisis management.
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About Babel PR: A public relations agency, with offices in London and Boston, focused on the technology, media and telecoms industries.
Julia Manning
Chief Executive Officer of Relationships Foundation
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About 2020health, Relationships Foundation, University College London (UCL): Relationships Foundation develops relational thinking and engage with policymakers.
Craig Dillon
Founder & CEO of Westminster Digital
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About Westminster Digital: Westminster Digital is a public relations agency working with politicians, organisations, and corporations across the UK.
Tim Grice
CEO of Branded3
Tim joined the Branded3 team in 2010, bringing with him five years of experience in developing and executing online marketing strategies for businesses globally. Regularly quoted by the top industry resources, his unique insights have established him as an SEO thought-leader, and he’s regularly invited to speak at major digital conferences around the world. Tim is responsible for overseeing the strategy of the company; the culture and ensuring Branded3 continue to deliver industry leading results for our clients.
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About Branded3: Branded3 is a search agency helping businesses to understand and influence how people find them.
Kaitlin Zhang
Chief Executive Officer of Oval Branding
Kaitlin Zhang is an award-winning personal branding consultant, helping entrepreneurs, executives and celebrities manage their online reputation. Kaitlin founded Oval Branding in 2016 serving corporate and personal clients in the USA, UK, Canada and China. She blogs about personal branding, corporate branding, digital marketing and reputation management on her website www.ovalbranding.com. She is also the host of the podcast “Personal Branding Success in 10 Minutes”.
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About Oval Branding: Branding Consultancy, Corporate Branding, Personal Branding, Online Reputation Management, Digital Marketing
Sarah Owen
Founder and CEO of Pumpkin PR
Sarah Owen is the Founder and CEO at Pumpkin PR.
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About Pumpkin PR: Pumpkin PR is an independent PR agency specializing in public relations management for creative, tech, and media industries.
Sarah Owen
Founder and CEO of Pumpkin PR
Sarah Owen is the Founder and CEO at Pumpkin PR.
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About Pumpkin PR: Pumpkin PR is an independent PR agency specializing in public relations management for creative, tech, and media industries.
Ramesh Sharma
CEO and Founder of City Road Communications
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About City Road Communications: City Road is a PR firm that specializes in the use of analysis, data and expertly designed content to ensure a better media coverage.
Jacki Vause
Founder and CEO of dimoso
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About dimoso: It’s all changing. In the new world of apps, tablets and social media, the old media world has been turned on its head.
Mike Hunter
CEO of betterlanguages.com
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About betterlanguages.com: Nottingham-based translation company
