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 CEO’ operating in the Leisure 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.
Michelle Kennedy
Co-Founder & CEO of Peanut
Michelle joined Badoo originally as lead counsel over 4 years ago. Prior to joining Badoo she was a successful corporate lawyer at leading international law firm, Mishcon de Reya, before being poached by the firm’s successful biotech client, Quotient Bioscience to head up their legal team. During her time at Badoo, she built the legal, compliance, HR and talent teams before moving into a more operationally focused role, including a position on the board. Today, Michelle is responsible for most key areas of the business, and works closely with founder and CEO Andrey Andreev, on the existing product, and exciting ‘special projects’ coming soon….
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About Peanut: Peanut is an online platform that provides a safe space for women to connect across fertility and motherhood.
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David K. Dingle
Chief Executive Officer , P&O Cruises (UK) of Carnival Cruise Line
David Dingle was appointed CEO of Carnival UK in June 2007. In this capacity, he has full operating responsibility for the UK-based brands P&O Cruises and Cunard, and also is responsible for the UK sales and marketing of Princess Cruises. He is also Chairman of the Carnival plc Management Committee responsible for Carnival Australia. Dingle joined P&O Cruises (UK) in 1978 where, after holding a series of commercial positions, he became managing director in 2000. At the time of the merger of P&O Princess Cruises plc and the Carnival Corporation in April 2003, he became managing director of Carnival UK. Dingle is past chairman of The UK Chamber of Shipping and the European Cruise Council and continues to serve on the boards of both groups. In 2009, he joined the board of the European Community Shipowners Association. He has previously served as a director of the Association of British Travel Agents and The UK Passenger Shipping Association. He is a Younger Brother of Trinity House and was awarded a CBE in the 2009 New Year’s Honours. Dingle attended Jesus College, Cambridge, where he attained a Master of Arts in Classics.
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About Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line offers an online platform that enables travelers to plan and book cruise tours from a range of packages.
Michael Thamm
Chief Executive Officer , Costa Crociere S.p.A. of Carnival Cruise Line
Michael Thamm has been chief executive officer of Costa Crociere S.p.A. since July 2012. In this capacity, he has full responsibility for the following brands: AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises and Ibero Cruises. He previously served as president of AIDA Cruises from 2004 to 2012 and Senior Vice President Operations of AIDA Cruises from 1993 to 2004. Prior to joining AIDA Cruises, he held various management positions within the cargo shipping division of Deutsche Seereederei (DSR). Thamm, who holds a master’s degree in Economics, is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Cruise Council (ECC), which represents the interests of the world’s most important shipping lines in Europe. He was named North European Cruise Personality of the Year 2011, an award selected by Seatrade and V. Ships. In March 2012, the international cruise associations ECC and Cruise Lines International Association appointed Thamm spokesman for the cruise industry in Germany.
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About Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line offers an online platform that enables travelers to plan and book cruise tours from a range of packages.
Arnold W. Donald
President and Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Cruise Line
Arnold W. Donald has been a director of Carnival Corporation since 2001 and a director of Carnival plc since 2003. Mr. Donald has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Corporation & plc since July 2013. He is also Principal of AWDPLC LLC, a private investment company. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of The Executive Leadership Council, a professional network of African-American executives of major U.S. companies, from 2010 to June 2012. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International from 2006 to 2008. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Donald was the Chairman of the Board of Merisant Company, a manufacturer and marketer of tabletop sweetener products, including the Equal® and Canderel® brands. From 2000 to 2003, he was also the Chief Executive Officer of Merisant Company. From 1998 to 2000, he was Senior Vice-President of Monsanto Company, a company which develops agricultural products and consumer goods, and President of its nutrition and consumer sector. Prior to that, he was President of Monsanto Company’s agricultural sector. He has been a member of the boards of directors of Bank of America Corporation since January 2013 and Crown Holdings, Inc. since July 1999. He was a member of the board of The Laclede Group, Inc. from January 2003 to January 2014, Oil-Dri Corporation of America from December 1997 to January 2013 and The Scotts Company from March 2000 to January 2009.
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About Carnival Corporation, Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line offers an online platform that enables travelers to plan and book cruise tours from a range of packages.
Stein Kruse
Chief Executive Officer , Holland America Group of Carnival Cruise Line
Stein Kruse has been Chief Executive Officer of the Holland America Group since December 2013. In this capacity, he has full operating responsibility of Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and Holland America Princess Alaska Tours. He was president and chief executive officer of Holland America Line from 2004 to November 2013. Kruse joined Holland America Line in 1999 as senior vice president, fleet operations with overall responsibility for all Holland America Line’s operations. Kruse joined Holland America Line from “K” Line America, where he was senior vice president and chief financial officer. He also oversaw financial activities in seven U.S. subsidiary companies for the global Japanese shipping company and served on the company’s board of directors. Prior to that, Kruse held several executive positions in the cruise industry. He was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Radisson Seven Seas Cruises and president and CEO for Seven Seas Cruise Line. He is a former vice chairman of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and presently serves as a director on the board of the United States Coast Guard Foundation and on the board of governors of the World Trade Center Seattle. Kruse, a native of Oslo, Norway, holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
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About Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line offers an online platform that enables travelers to plan and book cruise tours from a range of packages.
Gerald R. Cahill
President and Chief Executive Officer, Carnival Cruise Lines of Carnival Cruise Line
Gerald R. Cahill joined Carnival Cruise Lines’ parent company, Carnival Corporation, in 1994 as vice president – finance and in January 1998 was promoted to senior vice president – finance and chief financial officer. In December 2003, Cahill was named executive vice president and chief financial officer for Carnival Corporation & plc. In July 2007, he was appointed to his current position, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. Before joining Carnival, Cahill spent six years with Safecard Services, Inc., a NYSE-listed company, where he served first as chief financial officer and then as chief operating officer. From 1979 to 1988, Cahill held financial posts at Resorts International, Inc., and, prior to that spent six years with Price Waterhouse. Cahill graduated from the University of Miami, earning his B.B.A. degree in 1973.
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About Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line offers an online platform that enables travelers to plan and book cruise tours from a range of packages.
Ann Sherry
CEO , Carnival Australia of Carnival Cruise Line
Ann Sherry was appointed CEO of Carnival Australia in July 2007 following a diverse career in banking and public sector. Sherry has played a leadership role in the expansion of the Australian cruise industry including the growth of P&O Cruises’ fleet and the Australian customer base across all Carnival brands. Recruited to Westpac in 1994, Sherry commenced a 13-year career with the organization. Her first eight years with Westpac spanned senior leadership roles within the HR and public affairs functions, and working through key acquisitions (including Challenge Bank and Bank of Melbourne). Sherry’s success as Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Melbourne led to her appointment as Chief Executive of the New Zealand and Pacific banking business. Sherry made a powerful impact in the New Zealand operation, resuscitating the brand in business and retail sectors, as well as turning staff morale around and delivering a real and highly visible Westpac presence in a tightly congested, diverse and participant-rich financial services market. In addition to her business contributions, Sherry instituted some major cultural initiatives at Westpac. In particular, Westpac became an industry leader as a result of the paid maternity-leave policy and the focus on women in business. She has also been instrumental in initiating and delivering an internationally renowned CSR program at Westpac. Sherry was awarded a Cententary Medal in 2003 by the Australian Government and then awarded an Order of Australia in 2004.
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About Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line offers an online platform that enables travelers to plan and book cruise tours from a range of packages.
Timothy Davis
CEO and Co-founder of Butter.co.uk
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About Butter.co.uk, MassChallenge: Butter lets you spread the cost of shopping from any online store with a simple monthly instalment plan. Download the app now!
Martin Higginson
Co-founder & CEO of Immotion Group plc
Martin is recognised as a seasoned Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) entrepreneur, and was awarded North West Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. He has started, sold, and listed numerous businesses. His first business was sold to IPC Magazines in 1982. Following three years with IPC he left to set up his own publishing and telecoms business, this was subsequently sold to Scottish Power plc. During his time with Scottish Power he joined their subsidiary Scottish Telecom, as Managing Director of their Internet and Interactive division, including Internet ISP Demon Internet. Following the flotation of Thus plc (formerly Scottish Telecom) he left to start Monstermob, a company he went on to list on AIM in 2003; growing it to a Top 50 AIM listed business. Monstermob Group plc was sold to Zed Worldwide in 2006. Martin has subsequently founded Cityblock plc, a luxury student accommodation business, and NetPlayTV plc, an interactive TV gaming business where he formed exclusive partnerships with Virgin Media, Channel Five, and ITV. Martin has held Non-Executive Director positions with Legend plc, Cupid plc and CMG Media. Martin is the Founding Partner at M Capital Investment Partners. Formed in 2010, M Capital Investment Partners manages multiple real estate investments across the UK, with a focus on delivering above average returns for investment cash with minimal risk. He also holds the position of Non Executive Director at Digitalbox Group – which was listed in The Sunday Times HISCOX Tech Track 100 in 2015 and 2016, placing it amongst Britain’s top 100 fastest growing private tech companies, and is Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer at Immotion Group Plc – an award-winning animation and multi-directional motion platforms to deliver mind-blowing immersive VR experiences.
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About Crash Media Group, Digitalbox: Immotion combine award-winning content & multi-directional motion platforms to deliver immersive VR solutions for high-traffic destinations.
Pieter-Bas Jacobse
Chief Executive Officer of Rhubarb
P.B. has over 20 years’ experience in the food and beverage industry and is a respected figure in the community. After completing a Bachelor Degree of Business Administration at Maastricht Hotel Management School in the Netherlands, P.B. left for the US where he completed the Hospitality Summer Program at Cornell University. Upon graduation P.B. worked at the world-renowned Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York for 5 years. In 2005 P.B. was appointed as the first Managing Director and board member of rhubarb. In his tenure at rhubarb P.B. has been instrumental in developing and implementing rhubarb’s business strategy, driving the portfolio development from a single channel events business to a multi-channel business incorporating events and locations, significantly increasing the group’s revenue. As CEO, P.B. has an unwavering commitment to driving the company vision.
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About Rhubarb: Rhubarb is a food company that creates and delivers culinary services.
Tom Valentine
Marketplaces CEO & Co-Founder of Secret Escapes
Secret Escapes has seen explosive growth since its formation in 2010, with turnover forecast to hit £100m in 2014. Tom Valentine, alongside his co-founder and CEO Alex Saint, has catapulted Secret Escapes into a well-known and respected brand in the UK, with a 60% net promoter score and 95% post-stay satisfaction. Much of the company’s success is down to a robust digital and TV acquisition framework, built and managed by Tom, which has allowed the company to confidently spend over £10m annually at a consistent, predictable and positive ROI. This has led to a profitable UK business and huge confidence in international expansion. Tom has scaled the team from less than 30 to over 100 across the UK, Germany, Sweden, Poland and the USA and recently secured GBP39m from Google’s venture arm to fuel global expansion plans.
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About Secret Escapes, Smart Pension: Secret Escapes is a members-only travel club offering discounted rates on luxury hotels and holidays in the UK.
Ben Simpson
Founder & CEO of Easol
Ben Simpson is the Founder & CEO at Easol
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About Easol: The all-in-one platform to manage your experience business, on your terms.
Christopher Cowdray
CEO of The Dorchester Collection
Mr. Christopher Cowdray became Dorchester Collection’s chief executive officer in 2007, prior to being general manager of The Dorchester since 2004. Brought up in Zimbabwe, his 30 years of extensive international hotel management experience, across four continents, gives him an exceptional understanding of the luxury hotel market and the significant impact that cultural differences have when doing business around the world Mr. Cowdray firmly believes that the success of any organisation comes from its employees, with every single member of the team playing a vital role in delivering exceptional service. He has been instrumental in establishing Dorchester Collection’s Vision & Values and ensuring that these are articulated through all teams in the hotels. This has led to the entire company being visibly aligned to his vision of passion for excellence and innovation.
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About The Dorchester Collection: The Dorchester Collection provides one of the world’s largest selections of luxury hotels.
Thanos Kokkiniotis
CEO of SMARTIFY
Thanos Kokkiniotis has 7 years experience managing Royal Dutch Shell’s mobile strategy, including a portfolio of 3 apps used by over 4 million customers across 31 countries. Thanos will hold a workshop about “make meaningful connections with art” at the Communicating the Museum conference in Berlin.
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About Shell Oil Company, SMARTIFY: SMARTIFY provides instant access to inspiring art commentary, straight to your smartphone.
Jacob Wedderburn-Day
Co-Founder & CEO of Stasher
Entrepreneur, co-founder & CEO of Stasher.com. Studied at Oxford & UCL. Passionate about startups, economics, the sharing economy, game theory and football.
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About Stasher, Treepoints: Stasher is the world’s first luggage storage network.
Chris Adams
Chief Executive Officer of OTHERWORLD
Chris Adams is the Chief Executive Officer at The Dream Corporation.
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About OTHERWORLD: The brick-and-mortar metaverse. An island paradise in the cloud reached through a growing network of multi-sensory immersion pods.
Ryan McElroy
CEO & Co-Founder of Travel Agency Tribes
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About FunAdvice, Travel Agency Tribes: Saas For Travel Agencies in North America
Samuel Rason
Co-Founder and CEO of Viva City
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About Viva City: Viva City offers guest experience, discovery, and analytics software to help businesses thrive with the Chinese Inbound market.
Edward Orr
Co-founder & CEO of Mr & Mrs Smith
Co-founder and CEO Edward Orr has been working in investment banking, and managing companies in their early stage for more than 10 years. As a result he has had to stay in many hotels across five different continents – and generally, he doesn’t like them. This makes him qualified not only to look after the finances of Mr & Mrs Smith but also to have penned one of the team reviews – and he can confirm that Mr & Mrs Smith hotels really are special enough to be a treat, even for the most jaded corporate traveller.
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About Mr & Mrs Smith, SubTv: Mr & Mrs Smith is a hand-picked collection of the most special boutique hotels in the world.
Clare Julie McKeeve
Founder & CEO of Luxcite Limited
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About Eaton Gate Capital Partners, Luxcite Limited, TLNT Holdings SA: Investor – Luxury and Premium Brands
Jean Michel Petit
Co-founder and CEO of VizEat
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About EatWith, VizEat: VizEat is a European startup that operates a “social dining platform.
Adrian Wong
Founder & CEO of MOXI AI
Founder & CEO at MOXI AI, the personal butler for your social life. Building the future of socialising by being the fastest and easiest way to plan a group activity that everyone wants, and make it happen. Multi-disciplinary leader having led UX, creative, agile IT & business relationship management teams, cross-industry for tech start-ups, digital agencies & major corporates. 20 years building products, brands and experiences. Launched a global online gaming product in a saturated market securing one million users in 15 months. Hands on expertise in UX/UI Design, Marketing & Branding.
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About MOXI AI, Venture Agenda: MOXI is an AI butler for your social life. The fastest way to achieve group consensus.
Nishul Saperia
CEO and Founder of Beachfix
Co-Founder of $5bn financial services firm Markit, launching multiple products across London and New York. Currently launching www.beachfix.co.
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About Beachfix: BeachFix helps you find and plan your next beach holiday.
Nicolas Huss
Chief Executive Officer of Hotelbeds
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About Hotelbeds: Hotelbeds is a travel technology company that operates a hotel distribution platform.
Vanessa Boz
founder, CEO of moodAway
Vanessa Boz Founder, CEO – moodAway Ltd
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About BozAround, moodAway: Picture your next trip moodAway is an early-stage startup built to help people visualise their trips.
Thomas Ableman
Founder & CEO of Snap
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About Freewheeling, Snap: Snap is a technology marketplace that aggregates and fulfils travel demand
Jamie Reece
Founder and CEO of Booking Spaces
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About Booking Spaces: Booking Spaces Disruptive venue booking platform, connecting those looking for spaces with the spaces available for hire.
Matti Fruhman
Co Founder & CEO of Azooki
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About Azooki, Unbound Global: Azooki helps you book & discover amazing things to do in South East Asia’s most enchanting destinations
Gregory Geny
Co-Founder & CEO of BeRightBack
Gregory is the Founder & CEO of BeRightBack, the world’s first travel subscription service billed as the ‘Netflix for Travel’ by The Telegraph. BRB is an early stage travel start up whose mission is to remove all the hassle for travellers by delivering 3 surprise trips per year to Europe, with flights and hotel included, for a fixed monthly cost. The company was voted by Skift as one of the ‘Top 25 Startups to Watch in 2019’, was featured on the CNBC documentary ‘The Edge’ about the ‘Future of Travel’ and made it to the final of the PITCH competition at Web Summit in 2019. Originally from France, Greg has spent the last 17 years building and growing start-ups in a range of dynamic industries including Sports & Fitness, Media / Publishing, Music Publishing, Financial Services, Fintech, Education and has spent over 10 years in Travel tech.
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About BeRightBack: The world’s first fixed price travel subscription service.
Mauricio Villamizar
CEO of Pop & Rest
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About Pop & Rest: Our platform connects local workers and travellers with sleep & meditation pods. Book by the hour to recharge
Richard Sinclair
CEO of Sno
Founder and entrepreneur building SNO to win the World Snow Awards in its third winter. Passion for Customer experience born of producing flagship consumer journalism programme “Watchdog”, and love of Travel fed while running BBC “Holiday”. Love of technology indulged while making “Tomorrows World” and building SNO. Talent for Editorial judgement and devotion to excellence ingrained over a decade making factual programmes for the world’s leading broadcaster.
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About Sno: SNO is the UK’s fastest growing travel company.
Gordon Hamilton
Founder & CEO of Torszo
Gordon Hamilton developed the concept for the Torsorest, or mini flight bed He was inspired, firstly, by years of observing international travelers struggle during the one part of their journey when they should have reasonably expected to sleep (…in the seated and passive part of their journey). And, finally, by the personal focus that one 24 hour coach journey to ski in the Italian Dolomites can bring. In 2012 Gordon completed the acquisition of the global IP for the Torsorest, setting the scene for the introduction of a standalone version of the product to the market. This will be the first step towards the longer term objective of integrating the torsorest into the multi-billion dollar hand-luggage market. Previously, Gordon has enjoyed a successful 22 year international career spanning shipping & logistics in the UK, Canada and USA. He was deputy MD and Chief Accountant within the P&O group, and held a variety of senior management roles with Canadian Pacific, leading the implementation and global role out of a number of groundbreaking projects. Gordon’s educational background is in Pure Maths, Natural Philosophy and Accountancy at Glasgow University and Caledonia University.
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About Torszo: Torszo designs, develops, and commercializes the Torsorest mini flight bed.
Tara Benson
CEO of Here & Now
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About Here & Now: UK’s first mobile-centric Entertainment Leisure & Tourism business, transforming access to the £37 billion family activities market.
Tara Benson
CEO of Here & Now
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About Here & Now: UK’s first mobile-centric Entertainment Leisure & Tourism business, transforming access to the £37 billion family activities market.
