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 Cambridgeshire based CEO’ operating in the Manufacturing 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.
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.
Mike Creedon
CEO of Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI)
Mike Creedon is the Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Board of Directors at Scientific Digital Imaging. Mike joined the Board in May 2010. A Chartered Certified Accountant, Mike brings to SDI considerable experience of working within quoted companies and technology businesses, and of fundraisings, mergers and acquisitions. Mike has served as Finance Director at Innovision Limited, a subsidiary of the NASDAQ listed company, Leitch Technology Corp and as Finance Director of Ninth Floor plc, a company formerly on the Official List. In 2002 Mike was appointed as Finance Director to the board of Ideal Shopping Direct plc, an AIM listed television shopping and mail order catalogue company. In 2006 Mike was appointed as Interim Finance Director at NextGen Group plc, an AIM listed company focusing on the design, manufacture and sale of services and equipment to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, following which Mike acted as Chief Financial Officer at Durham Scientific Crystals Limited, a company whose principal activity is the development, manufacture and sale of products for the x-ray imaging market. Mike earned his MBA from Henley Management College.
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About Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI): Scientific Digital Imaging designs and manufactures digital imaging technology.
Jean de La Verpilliere
CEO and Co-founder of Echion Technologies
CEO @Echion Technologies.
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About Echion Technologies: Echion Technologies develops superfast-charging Li-ion batteries
Steve Barber
CEO of Sepura
Steve joined Sepura in 2002 to manage the company’s portfolio of TETRA products, later expanding his role to encompass management of interoperability and standardisation across the whole group. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the analogue and digital PMR industry and over 13 years in digital fixed line communications. Prior to joining Sepura, Steve held a variety of technical and operational positions at Simoco, ACIS, GEC-Marconi and British Telecom.
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About Sepura: Sepura is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of digital radio products
Gordon Watling
CEO of Sepura
Gordon was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2008, having joined the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2006. He has over 20 years’ international experience leading operations and development teams at Schlumberger and Agilent. He has also held directorships at Invensys and Honeywell.
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About Sepura: Sepura is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of digital radio products
Don Arnone
Founder & CEO of TeraView
Don became CEO when TeraView was founded in 2001. He has over 16 years’ experience in the field of terahertz technology, first at the Cavendish Laboratory (Department of Physics) at the University of Cambridge and then for nine years at the Toshiba Research Europe Laboratory in Cambridge UK where he was head of the Terahertz Technology Programme. He was responsible for liaison with Toshiba, Japan on commercialization of the technology, as well as customer relations and marketing of the technology within Toshiba. He was also responsible for all aspects of business development of Terahertz technology outside Japan, which involved liaising with potential customers in the US and EU. He brought funding into the business from the European Commission, DTI and DARPA in the US as well as various companies. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds.
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About TeraView, University of Leeds: TeraView develops terahertz instruments which can generate, detect and manipulate radiation to characterize a wide range of materials.
Hamish Watson
CEO of Polysolar
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About Polysolar: Polysolar is a developer and installer of photovoltaic glazing solutions.
Pritesh Hiralal
CEO, Co-Founder of Zinergy
Pritesh Hiralal, CEO/CTO, studied Physics and completed his Ph.D. in Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He has spent time in business in Spain and set up Casa Hiralal S.L. and Zendal Backup. He has spent time in industry at the Nokia Research Centre working on high power energy storage, and has published 30+ papers and 8 patents in the field. He has consulted for materials as well as energy storage device companies. He spent time as a Research Associate as well as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Cambridge and is now a founder and CEO at Zinergy.
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About Zinergy: ZInergy UK is aiming to manufacture thin, printed and flexible batteries at low cost which could power wearable devices.
Pritesh Hiralal
CEO, Co-Founder of Zinergy
Pritesh Hiralal, CEO/CTO, studied Physics and completed his Ph.D. in Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He has spent time in business in Spain and set up Casa Hiralal S.L. and Zendal Backup. He has spent time in industry at the Nokia Research Centre working on high power energy storage, and has published 30+ papers and 8 patents in the field. He has consulted for materials as well as energy storage device companies. He spent time as a Research Associate as well as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Cambridge and is now a founder and CEO at Zinergy.
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About Zinergy: ZInergy UK is aiming to manufacture thin, printed and flexible batteries at low cost which could power wearable devices.
