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 Non Profit 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.
John O’Nolan
Founder & CEO of Ghost
Founder at @TryGhost. Tweets about open source, startup life, non-profits, and publishing platforms. Travels the world with a bag of kites.
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About Ghost: Professional, modern, open source publishing
Sacha Deshmukh
Interim Chief Executive Officer of Amnesty International
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About Amnesty International: Amnesty International is a global charity organization of people fighting injustice and promoting human rights.
Adrian Lovett
President & CEO of World Wide Web Foundation
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About World Wide Web Foundation: Organization for Web Advancement
Helen McEachern
Chief Executive Officer of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
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About Cherie Blair Foundation for Women: The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women is a charity that supports women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging markets
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.
David Goldberg
Co-founder and CEO of Founders Pledge
David is the co-founder and CEO of Founders Pledge a new international charity through which tech entrepreneurs commit to donate a small percentage of their personal exit proceeds to high impact social causes. Since launching in June 2015, Founders Pledge has raised $575 million for high impact charities through more than 1300 pledges in 30 countries. Having run the gauntlet of finance, start-up, and academia, David started Founders Pledge to make it absurdly easy for entrepreneurs to do good through their work and in lives. David moved into the non-profit sector from an eclectic commercial background. Immediately following high school, David joined one of the largest privately held mortgage banks in the U.S., where he launched the secondary marketing department, after which he worked as an investment banker Los Angeles. David also founded and ran a boutique real estate firm in Germany. David is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Cambridge.
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About Founders Pledge, Wayra: Founders Pledge is a global community of entrepreneurs finding and funding solution’s to the world’s most pressing problems.
Phil Andrew
Chief Executive Officer of StepChange Debt Charity
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About StepChange Debt Charity: StepChange Debt Charity is a registered charity offering free, confidential advice and support about debt
Mark Wilson
CEO of The Cochrane Collaboration
Mark Wilson is CEO at The Cochrane Collaboration.
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About The Cochrane Collaboration: Cochrane exists so that healthcare decisions get better.
Jodie Ginsberg
Chief Executive Officer of Internews Network
Jodie Ginsberg is CEO @ Index on Censorship.
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About Internews Network: Internews Network is a non-profit news providing organization.
Jeanette Carlsson
Founder & CEO of Tech Nordic Advocates
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About newmedia2.0, Tech Nordic Advocates: Tech Nordic Advocates is Northern Europe’s largest and only pan-Nordic/Baltic tech/startup community.
Elena Sinel
Founder and CEO of Teens in AI
Elena is the founder of Acorn Aspirations, an education start-up which designs learning experiences where young people across the globe interact with leading experts in artificial intelligence, virtual, augmented and mixed realities, entrepreneurs, designers and marketeers to create solutions that solve real life problems. Prior to this, she worked as international specialist consultant with 9 years of experience in poverty reduction strategies, rural livelihood development and poverty alleviation with a specific focus on creation of small and medium enterprise development, product design, marketing and fundraising in Central Asia, the Balkans, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
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About Teens in AI: Teens in AI empowers young people to change the world through artificial intelligence for social good.
Dinah Caine
CEO of Creative Skillset
Dinah is responsible for the strategic direction and overall leadership of Creative Skillset’s work. She is the organisation’s principal spokesperson and takes the overall lead on lobbying and policy matters across the UK. Dinah is a member of Creative Skillset’s Executive Team.
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About Creative Skillset: Creative Skillset is the creative industries’ sector skills council that works across film, television, fashion, games, and many more.
Germán Bencci
Founder & CEO of CodeYourFuture
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About CodeYourFuture: CodeYourFuture is a non-profit organisation supporting refugees with the dream of becoming developers.
Jacqueline Geis
Chief Executive Officer of Videre
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About Videre: Videre is a global network that equips oppressed communities
Anne-Marie Imafidon
Co-Founder, CEO and ‘Head Stemette’ of STEMettes
Anne-Marie Imafidon Is A Woman On A Mission. A Child Prodigy Who Had Received Degrees From Prestigious Universities On Both Sides Of The Atlantic By The Time She Was 20, She Is Campaigning To Get More Women Into Science, Technology, Engineering And Maths (Stem).
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About STEMettes: They’re showing that girls do STEM (Sci, Tech, Eng & Maths) too.
Paul Simpson
CEO & Co-Founder of CDP
Paul Simpson is the CEO and co-founder of CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project. Founded in 2000, CDP is a non-profit organization which created and operates the global disclosure platform for companies, cities, states and regions to measure, manage and share vital data on their environmental performance. Voted number one climate research provider by investors, CDP works with 827 institutional investors with assets of US$100 trillion and 89 purchasing organizations with a combined annual spend of over US$2.7 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. Paul sits on the board of We Mean Business, and is a council member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Global Stranded Assets Advisory Council for the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Prior to CDP, Paul worked with Chesham Amalgamations & Investments Ltd, the International Society for Ecology & Culture and is a former director of the Social Venture Network. He was previously on the Board of EIRIS, a member of the Global Agenda Council on Measuring Sustainability at the World Economic Forum and a High Level Panel Member for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Policy Dialogue. Paul holds a BSc in Business and Finance from City University, London and an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice at the University of Bath (with distinction).
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About CDP: CDP aims to transform the way the world does business in order to prevent dangerous climate change and protect natural resources.
Cristina Gamboa
CEO of World Green Building Council
Cristina Gamboa is the CEO of the World Green Building Council. She’s a passionate advocate for green buildings and cities as one of the most effective solutions to climate change, and as a means to deliver on social justice and other environmental goals, such as stopping biodiversity loss. She previously worked as the CEO of Colombia Green Building Council and also has expertise in the fields of economic research, journalism, and international affairs. Thanks to her active, committed, and participatory leadership and thorough knowledge of sustainable development, the Colombia GBC met significant milestones that enabled sustainability in construction to become mainstream.
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About World Green Building Council: The World Green Building Council is a non-profit organization and a coalition of national Green Building Councils.
Diane Lightfoot
CEO of Business Disability Forum
Diane joined Business Disability Forum as Chief Executive Officer in February 2017 after moving from her former role as Director of Policy and Communications for United Response, a leading national disability charity. During her 13 years at United Response, Diane led and developed the charity’s campaigning, public affairs and lobbying activity, with a particular focus on promoting employment for disabled people. She subsequently took on the strategic leadership of the organisation’s employment services as a whole and is passionate about the role that good work has in transforming people’s lives. Diane meets regularly with Business Disability Forum Partners and Members and also works closely with Government to help shape disability employment policy. She is a member of the Department of Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident Professional Advisers Group and the Disability Expert Advisory Panel for the Civil Service.
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About Business Disability Forum: Business Disability Forum is a not-for-profit member organisation.
Antonio Zappulla
Chief Executive Officer of Thomson Reuters Foundation
Antonio Zappulla is the CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the world’s largest news and information provider. An outspoken supporter of the business case for human rights, Antonio is the founder of Openly, the world’s first global platform dedicated to coverage of LGBT+ stories with distribution to one billion Reuters clients daily. Prior to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Antonio was Executive Producer at Bloomberg Television in charge of news, factual programming and documentaries for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, developing programming for a global audience. He holds a Degree in Journalism, and a Master’s Degree in Islam and Middle East studies.
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About Thomson Reuters Foundation: Thomson Reuters Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides an international audience with information and free legal assistance.
Arthur Hanna
Senior Advisor & CEO of World Energy Council
Board member Copenhagen Institute of Future Studies. Visiting Professor of Energy Economics at Loughborough University. Fellow, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines. Responsible for supporting a number of agendas focusing on the development of strategies to promote energy transition across multiple energy sources. Arthur retired from Accenture in 2016 after 26 years working in the Energy consulting sector. He was a Senior Managing Director, leading the Global Energy Strategy business. Prior to joining Accenture in 1990 he spent 10 years with BP in a variety of international roles spanning the Middle East and Europe.
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About World Energy Council: World Energy Council is a UN-accredited global energy body dedicated to delivering a sustainable energy system worldwide.
Lyndon Wood
CEO & Creator of SunZu
Many businesse’s start and then spend their time and money on doing things that everyone else is doing, assuming it must be right or why are they doing it. The fact is the masses are not maximising or generating leads and opportunities, so if you follow them you could be or are falling into the same trap. Being social all over the place is fun, and of course you may generate the odd lead or opportunity, however for the time you spend versus the return, you should question why you do it from a business and commercial point. I have Created SunZu because I too was fed up of wasting my time posting content, and more, in a hope to get noticed and create new customers. Now everyone can create landing pages, distribute content and manage leads, all in one place, on SunZu. More importantly SunZu is your tool to generate new leads and opportunities. I believe in you getting a return on time (ROT). Enjoy and make sure you use and refine everyday to maximise your benefit.
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About Cardiff University, SunZu: SunZu, the network for people doing business that lets you meet, share, learn, trade and grow with other business owners.
Alix Zwane
Chief Executive Officer of Global Innovation Fund
15+ years of experience advancing the agenda of evidence-based public policy, with a primary focus on effective philanthropy, service delivery at scale, and value for money. Track record of executive leadership, entrepreneurship, impact investing, change management, and consensus building to increase impact and pursue comparative advantage at Global Innovation Fund, Evidence Action, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Google. Experienced in strategic grantmaking, fundraising, complex partner relationships to deliver development outcomes. 2015 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
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About Global Innovation Fund: GIF invests in social innovations that aim to improve the lives and opportunities of millions of people in the developing world.
Sandra Schembri
Chief Executive Officer of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy
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About Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy: Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy is a non-profit organization that offers music therapy services for free to reduce anxiety and comfort.
Anna Laycock
CEO of The Finance Innovation Lab
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About The Finance Innovation Lab: The Finance Innovation Lab is a financial system that is democratic, responsible & fair – one that works for people & planet.
Ned Mortimer
CEO of Ally Chatbot
Ned Mortimer is the Chief Executive Officer at Ally Chatbot.
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About Ally Chatbot: Ally Chatbot is a civic and social organization that features a software platform that utilizes artificial intelligence.
Ned Mortimer
CEO of Ally Chatbot
Ned Mortimer is the Chief Executive Officer at Ally Chatbot.
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About Ally Chatbot: Ally Chatbot is a civic and social organization that features a software platform that utilizes artificial intelligence.
Vidhya Alakeson
CEO of Power to Change
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About Power to Change: Power to Change is an independent charitable trust
Richard Loat
CEO & Founder of Five Hole For Food
The intersection of creativity and disruption – that’s where you find Richard creating change. The MBA grad with a Silicon Valley upbringing is pioneering disruptive philanthropy worldwide. Richard is also a humanitarian aid worker deploying to disaster zones, an active mentor for young entrepreneurs, marathoner, and street art photographer.
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About Five Hole For Food: Five Hole For Food is organization which hosts hockey events to benefit food banks across Canada.
Craig Bennett
Chief Executive Officer of The Wildlife Trusts
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About The Wildlife Trusts: The Wildlife Trusts is a non-profit organisation that organizes events to spread awareness to save wildlife & bring people closer to nature.
Shelley Taylor
Founder & CEO of trellyz
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About Digital Fan Clubs, trellyz: trellyz, a cloud-hosted platform, powers the public services supply chain across diverse networks at scale
Peter Ackland
Chief Executive Officer of The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
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About The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness: IAPB is the coordinating membership organisation leading international efforts in blindness.
Ahmed Shamso
Founder and CEO of SchoolX
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About SchoolX: SchoolX is an online platform that facilitates the education process for out-of-school children in vulnerable areas.
Catherine McCarthy
CEO of Medical Aid Films
Catherine brings a wealth of senior experience from the BBC where she was for many years, a commissioner and TV exec. She has a background in educational broadcasting, she set up and ran BBC Learning Zone and co-commissioned many award winning BBC series, including some of the biggest BBC landmark programmes. She is passionate about using media to make a difference. She previously worked for BBC Media Action, the BBC’s International Development Charity, where she was a Senior Adviser supporting teams around the world to produce high quality content. She worked in Bangladesh as Head of an innovative award winning multimedia project which has transformed the lives of millions. Prior to the BBC she worked for VSO and SHELTER. She is originally a trainer teacher. Catherine has been a mentor for Documentary Campus, a global project to develop new talent in film-making, an Advisory Member to the European Broadcasting Union, a Governor at the Evelina School in St Thomas’s Hospital and an Adviser to Sheffield Documentary Film Festival and Global Health Films initiative. She served on the steering group of the initial Nominet Trust’s 100 most innovative social tech projects world-wide.
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About Medical Aid Films: Medical Aid Films uses innovative media to transform the health and wellbeing of women and children around the world.
Rory Byrne
CEO and Founder of Security First
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About Security First: Securing human rights defenders. Simply. Comprehensively.
Meike Ziervogel
Chief Executive Officer of Alsama Project
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About Alsama Project, Peirene Press: Alsama aims to educate refugee children and empower refugee women in the Middle East.
