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 London based Managing Director operating in the Digital Media space. If you think a Managing Director 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.
Maximilian Bleyleben
Managing Director and Chief Privacy Officer of SuperAwesome
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About SuperAwesome: SuperAwesome offers kid-safe tools and technology for the children’s digital media ecosystem.
Barry T. Whyte
FT Strategies, Managing Director of Financial Times
Ever since he was given a Nintendo Virtual Boy in the late 1990s, Barry has been obsessed with Virtual Reality. Inspired by the endless stream of people coming to his apartment to play around on his HTC Vive, he founded Veero, a location-based virtual reality centre focusing on immersive independent cinema. It will be London’s first VR cinema when it opens in 2018. Prior to Veero, Barry was a furtive entrepreneur in the corporate world, firstly in advertising at Ogilvy & Mather then in consulting at Bain & Company. In 2013 he joined Decoded as COO in early 2013, leading growth from 7 people in a cupboard to a global team of over 100 in three years, scaling through international expansion to New York, Sydney and Amsterdam. Decoded delivers technology education that changes the way businesses behave. Tens of thousands of business people now have digital skills thanks to their signature product “Code in a Day”. Barry is also a co-founder of Series Q, a non-profit with a mission to empower LGBT entrepreneurs; and sits on advisory board of EurOut at London Business School. He speaks at conferences, including Cannes Lions, London Tech Week and SXSW. Barry holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, blogs for the Huffington Post, and makes seriously good homemade soup. More important than all the above, he also spent a fabulous six months as a Starbucks barista. So if you ask him really nicely, he might make you a coconut flat white.
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About Financial Times, Series Q: Financial Times is a business news organization providing essential news, comments, data, and analysis for the global business community.
Ken Friar
Club Secretary & Managing Director of Arsenal Football Club
Arsenal Football Club’s longest-serving director, Ken Friar OBE has been a mainstay of the Club for more than 60 years. During this time, Mr Friar, as he is affectionately known by all, has done just about every job at the Club including working as Club Secretary and Managing Director. He was a driving force behind the Gunners’ move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium and continues to lead the Club’s activities in the property sector.
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About Arsenal Football Club: Arsenal Football Club is a multi media production company representing a diverse & exciting international talent roster including Director.
Julian Childs
Managing Director UK and Europe of Business Insider
Julian Childs is SVP and Regional Managing Director at Insider and also Managing Director for UK and Europe of Business Insider, the London-based division of the popular online financial publication that was launched last November. Childs’s background covers over 15 years in digital media on the publisher side, encompassing various leadership, business and commercial roles across Europe and internationally. Prior to Business Insider, his more recent roles have included VP of EMEA for Business Technology sites including ZDNet and TechRepublic and VP of Partnerships for CBS Interactive where he helped build and deliver their international monetization and data strategy.
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About Business Insider, Business Insider, Insider: Business Insider is an online platform that offers the latest business, celebrity, and technology news.
Michael Buchen
Managing Director of Polar Light Ventures
Michael is the Founder & Managing Director of Polar Light Ventures AG, an investment firm based in Switzerland, focusing on early-stage technology ventures. Previously he was the Managing Director of Dhabi Holdings, a principal investment firm of senior members of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. He joined Dhabi Holdings from Mubadala Investment Company, where he worked in the Special Situations Team. Before Mubadala, he worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Europe, China and the Middle East. Michael currently serves or served on the Boards of a number of companies in the MedTech, Software, AdTech, Financial Services, Food & Beverage, Energy, Telecom and Venture Capital space.
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About Polar Light Ventures: Principal Investment Company focusing on early stage technology ventures.
Grant Burke
Client Managing Director of Carat
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About Carat: Carat is a media agency that specializes in media planning and buying, and providing digital and non-traditional media solutions.
Alex White
Managing Director, Food and Parenting of Immediate Media Co.
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About Immediate Media Co.: Immediate Media Co. is a special interest content and platform company.
Jonathan Lewis
Managing Director of Outdoor Plus
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About Outdoor Plus: Outdoor Plus is a digital advertising business.
Patrick Ponsford
Managing Director of Bonhill Group
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About Bonhill Group, Intelligent Partnership: Bonhill Group operates as a B2B media company.
Emily Shelley
Managing Director of Alamy
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About Alamy: Alamy is the world’s largest online photo agency for stock, video and live news.
Nick Wakefield
Founder & Managing Director of inAsia Media
Nick has over 18 years of experience in technology, media and finance. He started his first tech business in 1999 building an e-commerce platform. He spent 7 years in London focusing on financial sales in the risk management and derivatives market, before moving to Asia to help build Euromoney’s portfolio of conferences across emerging markets. Over this period he ran teams in New York, London and Hong Kong. In 2010 he setup inAsia Media and in 2013 launched Regulation Asia, the leading regulatory information service. He still plays an advisory role in the business. His passion for technology and experience working within the financial markets partner well for Bambu in the role expanding into Europe. He holds a Diploma in Economics and is currently studying a Software Engineering MicroMasters at University of British Columbia.
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About : Online publisher headquartered in Singapore. Publishes market leading titles Regulation Asia & ESG Investor
Patrick Herridge
UK Managing Director of MikeWorldWide Integrated Public Relations
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About MikeWorldWide Integrated Public Relations: One of the top mid-sized public relations firms & one of the 5 largest independent agencies in the US, with European headquarters in London.
Jamie Byng
Publisher and Managing Director of Canongate Books
Jamie Byng is Publisher and Managing Director @ Canongate Books.
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About Canongate Books: Canongate Books is one of the most dynamic independent publishing houses in Britain.
James Carter
Managing Director – Digitalbox Publishing Ltd. of Digitalbox
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About Digitalbox: Digitalbox have created a ‘push media’ publishing model able to deliver large, high quality audiences in a brand-safe environment.
Stuart Parish
Managing Director UK & Middle East of Jacobs Media Group
Stuart Parish has been promoted to the new role of managing director of Travel Weekly. Parish was formerly chief operating officer of Travel Weekly’s parent company, and will now take on full responsibility for all editorial and sales across Travel Weekly’s portfolio of magazines, websites and events. He will also have responsibility for agent information and advice website Gazetteers.com. The appointment allows group chief executive Duncan Horton to focus primarily on Travel Weekly’s sister company Caterer and Hotelkeeper following its acquisition in 2012. In another change, Travel Weekly account director Mary Rega has been promoted to become head of sales, reporting to sales director Kieron Dodd.Travel Weekly Group chairman Clive Jacobs said: “Since joining the business full-time in December 2010, Stuart’s involvement, influence and passion have been evident for all to see. “I have great faith that he will continue to develop the Travel Weekly business as we integrate Caterer and Hotelkeeper into the group and expand our unrivalled portfolio of travel and hospitality media brands.” Parish added: “Since becoming an independently owned business in 2009 Travel Weekly has been revitalised, and has rightly established itself as the undisputed market leader in print, digital and face-to-face events. “We have outstanding people throughout the company who are committed to innovating, supporting, and delivering the best products and services for our readers and commercial partners.” Prior to joining Travel Weekly Group, Parish held a range of positions including head of marketing for lastminute.com and general manager of Travelocity.
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About Jacobs Media Group, Travel Weekly Group: Jacobs Media Group develops a portfolio of brands based in London but with a truly multinational footprint spanning five continents.
Megan Falconer Taylor
Managing Director of Influencer Intelligence
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About Influencer Intelligence: Influencer Intelligence is a prominent provider of celebrity contacts, events, and data.
Zoe Steventon
Managing Director of Infectious Media
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About Infectious Media: Infectious Media is an international programmatic agency that partners with global brands to deliver effective & efficient media campaigns.
Steven Weller
Managing Director of Comparison Services of Zoopla Property Group Plc (ZPG)
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About Zoopla Property Group Plc (ZPG): Zoopla Property Group Plc is a company that uses digital media to assist in property searches.
Peter Green
Managing Director of AlphaGalileo
Peter Green has worked with the media and information technology for almost 20 years. He combines his technology experience with an understanding of public relations that he has developed as a practising UK government press officer. Latterly he has led an Internet start-up that has delivered a service to the media and research communities for over 15 years. He is an innovator who is also sensitive to the need for good resource and staff management, if the full potential of change is to be delivered. He has extensive experience of international collaboration including chairing a European agricultural publishing group, acting as a publicity consultant to the European Space Agency and producing an educational film in Romania. He has managed media training in the UK, Russia and Scandinavia. Peter established the AlphaGalileo news service in 1998 and has led it to become the world’s leading independent source of research information for the media. In 2003 he created the AlphaGalileo Foundation to manage the delivery of the news service and in 2014 he transferred the Foundation to full commercial operation as AlphaGalileo Ltd. AlphaGalileo operates on income from news contributors. These include leading research bodies from around the world.
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About AlphaGalileo: AlphaGalileo delivers an online breaking news service to the media for the world’s research communities.
Matthew Eaton
Managing Director, EMEA of GrayMeta
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About GrayMeta: GrayMet dramatically improves efficiencies by automating the creation of metadata with an innovative approach to extracting rich metadata.
Maureen Corish
Managing Director of Pumpkin PR
Maureen Corish is a Managing Director of Pumpkin.
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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.
Jade Warrington
Managing Director of HIROLA Group
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About HIROLA Group: HIROLA Group is a design driven digital agency based in London.
