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 Association 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.
Stan Polovets
Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Genesis Prize
Stan Polovets is the Co-founder of Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG), a private foundation with offices in Moscow, New York, and Tel Aviv. GPG’s mission is to develop and enhance a sense of Jewish identity among Russian-speaking Jews worldwide, with a particular emphasis on the former Soviet Union, North America, and Israel, where up to three million Russian-speaking Jews reside. He also serves on the boards of various non-profits, including as Vice Chairman of Hillel Russia. Stan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Russian-American Trade Council. He is also the CEO of the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) Consortium, which oversaw $28 billion in oil and gas assets for Alfa Group, Access Industries, and Renova Group. Mr. Polovets is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vnimanie Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Russian children with learning disabilities. A graduate of Stanford Business School, Stan received a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Stanford. He has worked for ExxonMobil in the company’s U.S. operations and in the New York headquarters of KPMG and Ernst & Young. At Ernst & Young, Mr. Polovets was responsible for establishing the company’s consulting business in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Stan also worked for the RAND Corporation, a public-policy think tank in Santa Monica, California. From 2001 to 2006, Stan served in a variety of senior executive positions at TNK and TNK-BP, Russia’s second largest private oil company. In 2002-2003, as Vice President M&A, Mr. Polovets represented TNK in negotiating a $15 billion merger with British Petroleum, the largest merger to date involving a Russian and foreign company. He was later Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to Robert Dudley, CEO of TNK-BP. In 2006-2007, Stan served as Executive Vice President and member of the Board of URALSIB, the second largest financial conglomerate in Russia. He lives in New York, with his wife Erina and three children.
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About The Genesis Prize: The Genesis Prize is a Jewish award given to exceptional people of the Jewish people.
Sherry Coutu
Founder & Executive Chairman of Founders4Schools
Sherry Coutu is an angel investor and serves on the boards of companies, charities and universities.As an entrepreneur, Sherry established and successfully sold two businesses in the financial services industry. The first (acquired by Euromoney plc) has operations in more than 70 countries. The second was floated in 2000 on London and Nasdaq and the company was valued at more than $1 billion before being acquired (by AMP plc). Sherry is active in early stage investing and has raised several rounds of venture capital and public equity totaling more than $200 million. Sherry has decades of experience serving companies which range from fast growth private early stage to public and boards with turnover of more than £ 1 bn.She is a frequent public speaker, a national judge of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and presents regularly at the top business schools. She specialises in consumer, internet, information services and clean energy. Current university affiliations include Cambridge University and Harvard Business School. Charitable / Government affiliations include the Prince’s Trust, Cancer Research UK and NESTA.
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About Cambridge Angels group, Cambridge Assessment, Founders4Schools, London Stock Exchange, PrimeLocation.com, Raspberry Pi Foundation, Silicon Valley Comes to the UK, The Digital Property Group, University of Cambridge, Workfinder: Founders4Schools is a free service that enables teachers to invite founders of successful, businesses to visit schools, to inspire learners.
Robert Courtneidge
Past Chairman and Founder of Prepaid International Forum
Robert Courtneidge is the Firm’s Global Head of Cards & Payments. Robert is noted for his knowledge and experience in the e-money area, where he has acted on matters for major financial institutions around the world, as well as for internationally well-known technology providers. He has more than 26 years of experience in the cards and payment systems and is skilled in all aspects of consumer finance issues, including consumer protection, banking regulation and compliance and data protection. Robert works closely with The Payments Services Regulator, HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Association and other compliance and industry bodies to ensure compliance for his clients. He places special emphasis on working with high tech industries and products in the financial services industry, embracing new technological and legislative/regulatory developments. Many of his clients have new products, and he is able to guide them in the process of bringing them to the market.
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About Locke Lord, Prepaid International Forum: The Prepaid International Forum (PIF) is a principal trade association for the prepaid industry.
Nigel Wicks
Chairman of British Bankers Association
Sir Nigel Leonard Wicks GCB CVO CBE is the Chairman of the BBA. Sir Nigel Wicks is the Chairman of the British Bankers’ Association and a Director of The Edinburgh Investment Trust plc. He served as non-executive Chairman of CRESTCo, the settlement system for UK and Irish securities, from 2001 until its merger with Euroclear plc in 2002 when he became Deputy Chairman and Chairman in 2007. He stood down as Chairman of Euroclear on December 31st 2013. Sir Nigel served, on appointment by the UK Prime Minister, as Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life between March 2001 and April 2004. He was a non-executive director of Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited from 2004 to 2006. He was a Commissioner, Jersey Financial Services Commission between 2007 and 2012. He was a member of the EU Committee of “Wise Men” on European Securities Regulation (the Lamfalussy group) from 2000 to 2001. Sir Nigel was a member of the British Civil Service for thirty-two years. From 1989 to 2000, he was Second Permanent Secretary and Director of International Finance at HM Treasury. Before this, he was Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Economic Minister at the British Embassy in Washington DC; UK Executive Director at the World Bank and the IMF; and Private Secretary to Prime Ministers James Callaghan and Harold Wilson.
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About : The BBA is the leading trade association for the UK banking sector with more than 230 member banks headquartered in over 50 countries
Nick Burns
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Capita Employee Benefits
Nick has been a pioneer in the Employee Benefits industry for over 25 years. He created and led Bluefin Corporate Consulting, a new challenger brand in the sector. He then led the merger of Bluefin with Capita Hartshead to create Capita Employee Benefits which is now the world’s largest UK–owned Employee Benefits organisation.
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About : Capita Employee Benefits which is now the world’s largest UK–owned Employee Benefits organisation.
Michael Frenzel
Chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council
Dr Michael Frenzel was born in Leipzig on 2 March 1947. After matriculation, he studied law at Ruhr University in Bochum, and successfully completed his doctorate (Dr. jur.) whilst working at the University as a scientific assistant. Frenzel joined the Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB), Düsseldorf in 1981, where he was promoted to various managerial positions: he became manager of the Industrial Holdings Department in 1983, and overall manager of WestLB’s Equity Holdings Division in 1985 – including holdings in banking, leasing and real estate. In 1988, he became a member of the Preussag AG executive board, being responsible for Trading and Logistics. He was promoted to chairman of the executive board in January 1994. Under his leadership, the multi-business conglomerate Preussag was repositioned into Europe’s leading tourism Group within only a few years. One of the main milestones was the acquisition of a stake in Hapag-Lloyd in 1997. This was followed by the acquisition of leading tourism companies such as TUI/Hanover, Thomson Travel/London, and Nouvelles Frontières/Paris. On 1 July 2002, the annual general meeting passed a resolution to change the name of Preussag AG to TUI AG. On 3 September 2007 Frenzel was appointed Chairman of TUI Travel PLC. Furthermore, on 20 April 2012 Dr Frenzel was appointed Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Executive Committee.
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About TUI Group, World Travel & Tourism Council: World Travel & Tourism Council works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries.
Ken Hanna
Chairman of Shooting Star Chase
Ken Hanna was appointed a Non-executive Director on 1 April 2009 and became Audit Committee Chairman on 5 October 2012. Ken was previously Chief Financial Officer of Cadbury plc from 2004 until 2009 and prior to that an Operating Partner of Compass Partners and CFO and then CEO of Dalgety PLC. Ken has also been CFO of United Distillers and Avis Europe plc. He is currently Chairman of Inchcape plc, Aggreko plc and Shooting Star CHASE. Ken is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
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About : Shooting Star Chase is a leading children’s hospice charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions
Sahel Majali
Chairman of Mid Group
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About Mid Group: The Mid Group is a dynamic construction, investment and development company based in the UK and Middle East.
Tony Collings
Chairman of ECA Group
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About ECA Group: Founded in 1998, ECA’s background is in the protection of UK Government sensitive and classified information.
Constantine Logothetis
Executive Vice Chairman of Libra Group
Based in London, Constantine Logothetis, shares the principal executive responsibility for the Libra Group. He began his career in the Logothetis family’s London based shipping company, Lomar Shipping, in 2000 where he was a key member of the management team before becoming the founding Executive Vice Chairman of the Libra Group when it was formed in 2003. As Executive Vice Chairman, Constantine Logothetis has been at the forefront of the group’s diversification from shipping into other asset classes, notably the finance, hospitality, real estate and renewable energy sectors.
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About : The Libra Group is a privately-owned international business group
Chris Skinner
Chairman of The Financial Services Club
Chris Skinner is an independent commentator on the financial markets and, as Balatro, Chris assists clients as an advisor, as well as sometimes being commissioned to write or speak on their behalf at conferences and tradeshows. As well as being Chief Executive of Balatro, Chris chairs the European networking group the Financial Services Club. The Financial Services Club is a prestigious meeting place, and allows networking between members and regulators, practitioners and futurists. Our guest speakers include Charlie McCreevy, John McFall, Angela Knight and other luminaries shaping the future of banking and insurance. Chris is well-known for his regular columns and for his daily blog, which can be found at The FinanSer. He has also written several books on banking, covering retail and investment banking, payments and the supply chain, and general technology trends. Current titles include “The Future of Banking”, ‘The Future of Finance after SEP’ and “The Future of Investing after MiFID”. Chris is a Judge with the TradeTech Awards and with the Asian Banker’s Excellence in Retail Financial Services program, and a contributor to the World Economic Forum. Chris worked for various technology firms and is a co-founder of the website for strategists www.shapingtomorrow.com. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Management Services, an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Chartered Insurance Practitioner.
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About The Financial Services Club: Aim of FSC is any firm that is interested in understanding and planning for the future operating environment for the UK Financial Services.
Larry Hirst
Deputy Chairman of The Board Of Advisors of The Research Institute in Science of Cyber Security
Larry Hirst joined the Board in January 2011. He is the former Chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa. He retired from IBM in 2010 having previously held a wide range of senior positions since joining the company in 1977. He currently chairs the Imperial College Data Science Institute Advisory Board. He is the Senior Independent Director at MITIE Group plc and an Ambassador to Everywoman and Black British Business. Former roles include being a UK Business Ambassador, a Commissioner for the Commission for Employment and Skills, and Chair of e-skills UK (the UK Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology) and he was also on the International Advisory Board for British Airways. He was awarded a CBE in 2006.
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About The Research Institute in Science of Cyber Security: The Research Institute in Science of Cyber Security is a U.K.-based academic research institute.
Tim Reynolds
Deputy Chairman of The National Museum of Computing
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About Ceravision, The National Museum of Computing: The National Museum of Computing is an independent charity housing the largest collection of functional historic computers in Europe.
Andy Pilley
Chairman of Fleetwood Town Football Club
Andy Pilley is a Blackpool-born businessman. He is the current Chairman of BES Utilities and Managing Director of commercial energy aggregator, Commercial Power and merchant services provider, Card Saver. He is also the Chairman of English Football League 1 Club, Fleetwood Town Football Club and the Owner of Breck Apartments.
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About BES Utilities, Card Saver, Commercial Power, Fleetwood Town Football Club: Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.
Jane Geraghty
Chairman of the Durham Children & Adult Safeguarding Boards of Durham County Council
Jane Geraghty, who lives in Newark, enjoyed a successful 40 year career in Probation and is currently an Associate of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary undertaking inspections of Police Forces. She is also Chair of Durham Children & Adult Safeguarding Boards. In a voluntary capacity Jane works with Framework as a Befriender and holds the position of Chair for the Home Start (Newark) Charity working with parents and pre-school children, having been a Trustee and the Chair since 2011. She has also had roles in the Nottinghamshire Mental Health Care Trust, the Parole Board, the Nottinghamshire Criminal Justice Board, the Nottinghamshire MAPPA SMB, and the Countywide Reducing Reoffending Board throughout her time at Nottinghamshire Probation.
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About : Durham County Council provides news about jobs, events, services, consultations & more.
Mike Prince
Chairman of European Ozone Trade Association
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About European Ozone Trade Association: European Ozone Trade Association
Martin Smith
Chairman and Founder of The Security Awareness Special Interest Group
Martin gained his degree in behavioural psychology and spent 15 years as a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force, employed in counter-espionage and counter-terrorism duties. After being awarded the MBE for this work, he joined Touche Ross Management Consultants before becoming the Senior Director of Corporate Security for Kroll Associates, moving on to Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Information Security and (in 1997) forming The Security Company International Limited. Martin is an internationally recognised author and speaker on his specialist subject of the human factor in security. He is a Fellow of The Security Institute, a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and Chairman and Founder of the Security Awareness Special Interest Group. He is an active member of ASIS International Europe and the Information Assurance Advisory Council, and a member of the Independent Advisory Panel of the Office for Nuclear Regulation. In March 2017, Martin was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural OSPAs ceremony for his work in information security, especially his championing of the human factor in security breaches and raising employee awareness of where threats lie.
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About The Security Awareness Special Interest Group: SASIG is a leading organisation for security professionals worldwide.
