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 Director operating in the Recruiting space. If you think a 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.
John F. Ferraro
Board Of Director of ManpowerGroup
Mr. Ferraro became a member of the Advance Auto Parts Board of Directors in February 2015 and was appointed Lead Independent Director in November 2015. Mr. Ferraro served as Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ernst & Young (EY), a leading professional services firm from 2007 to December 2014. In addition, Mr. Ferraro served as a member of EY’s Global Executive board for more than 10 years. Prior to his COO role, Mr. Ferraro served in several senior leadership positions at EY, including Global Vice Chair Audit. He joined EY in 1976 and has served a variety of global companies. Mr. Ferraro is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He currently serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees of Marquette University.
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About : ManpowerGroup is a multinational human resource consulting firm, providing recruitment and assessment, training and development, and more.
Ciara Jordan
Global Operations & Professional Services Director of SHL
Ciara Jordan is the Senior Vice President, Global Operations at Cision. Jordan has more than 20 years of business operations and process expertise. She is responsible for Cision’s global influencer research teams, monitoring production, distribution editorial ops and client services for EMEA and India. Prior to joining Cision, Ciara held leadership roles at Dell, Durrants and Gorkana Group. Ciara has a Bachelor of Commerce and Master in Business Studies from University College Galway, Ireland.
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About SHL: SHL, the global leader in talent innovation, helps companies transform productivity through deeper people insight.
Stephen Britto
Finance Director of Syft
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About Syft: Syft is the UK’s market leading flexible staffing platform.
Ben Broughton
Owner and Director of Primis
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About Primis: Primis is a provider of talent solutions to the technology sector.
Patrick Wehrmann
Group Managing Director & CEO, StepStone UK of StepStone
Patrick Wehrmann joined StepStone 2012 as member of the supervisory board. In February 2014 he was appointed to his current role as Group Managing Director with specific responsibilities for the group businesses (Totaljobsgroup, Jobsite, SAON UK) in the UK, Mergers and Acquisitions and international HR. Before joining StepStone as Group Managing Director, Patrick served as Managing Director of Axel Springer Digital Classifieds. In this position he held several supervisory and advisory board positions in the digital classifieds businesses of Axel Springer worldwide. Previously, he was Commercial Publishing Director / CFO of the BILD Group and the Axel Springer Magazine Division as well as COO/CFO of the Axel Springer Magazine and International Division. In the beginning of his career he held several positions in the French, German, US and UK businesses of Axel Springer. Patrick graduated in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) at European Business School (EBS) in Oestrich-Winkel. He also studied at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Dijon (France) and at the University of Colorado.
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About StepStone: StepStone is a leading international provider of software and services for the human capital management sector.
Lord Rothermere
Chairman of the Board of Directors of DMG Media
Lord Rothermere has been Chairman of DMGT and a Non-Executive Director of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC since 1998. Lord Rothermere worked at the International Herald Tribune in Paris and the Mirror Group before moving to Northcliffe Newspapers Group in 1995. In 1997 Lord Rothermere became Managing Director of the Evening Standard.
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About : DMG media is a consumer media company engaged in print and online newspaper publishing.
Grant Altson
Director of Technology & Operations of DMG Media
Grant Altson is Director of Technology & Operations at DMG media.
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About Daily Mail, DMG Media: DMG media is a consumer media company engaged in print and online newspaper publishing.
Bradley Bartlett
Founder and Director of LMRE
Brad spent 8 years at one of London’s leading independent agencies as Director of Corporate Services. In 2017 he joined the highest funded VC backed property startup in Europe leading their leasing and corporate strategy teams. Brad wants to link the strongest talent in property with the most innovative ideas in PropTech.
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About LMRE: LMRE is placing talent into the proptech sector within UK and international real estate.
Louisa Dickins
Founder and Director of LMRE
Lu Lu started her career in property working at a well-known estate agency in London. Realising her people skills, she moved over to Lloyd May to pursue a career in recruitment. She now is a Director and oversees their 5 core areas. Louisa now has co-founded LMRE, and provides a constructive recruitment platform to the new disruptors in real estate.
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About LMRE: LMRE is placing talent into the proptech sector within UK and international real estate.
Alex Fourlis
Managing Director UK of CareerBuilder
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About Broadbean, CareerBuilder: CareerBuilder is an online platform specialized in HR Software-as-a-Service to help companies with the recruitment process.
Mark Brewer
Non Executive Board Director of The SR Group
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About Brewer Morris, Frazer Jones, The SR Group: The SR Group consists of specialist recruitment consultancies.
Anthony Davies
Executive Director – Operations & Client Services of The SR Group
Anthony joined The SR Group in April 2012 from Hudson, where he was Head of Bid Management for the UK & Ireland agency business and global RPO division. Prior to this he worked with a global remit at Advantage Professional, managing all bids and corporate projects including technology and process roll out, overseas expansions and integration of new business acquisitions. Anthony was promoted to Commercial Director in January 2014 and is responsible for all pitch and PSA activity within The SR Group, corporate responsibility and diversity.
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About The SR Group: The SR Group consists of specialist recruitment consultancies.
Mark Elwig
Co-Founder and Commercial Director of Staff Heroes
Proven Commercial leader with a track record of driving growth through technology sales with Enterprise customers across multiple sectors including Hospitality, Retail, Travel and Entertainment. Experienced go-to market strategist and sales leader. Deal brokering at a global level. International experience within EMEA and US. Focus, drive and great people skills having lead several sales, business development and client account teams for both Fortune 500 and start-up organisations. Experience in setting up and building out sales and marketing teams from scratch and most recently co-founding and running the commercial arm of an innovative staffing marketplace start-up, operating within the Hospitality sector in the UK. Specialties: Business development, Sales, business strategy, account management, client services, licensing, white label, B2B partnerships, European & Global sales, SaaS software sales, launching a start-up.
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About eBay Advertising, mydeco, Staff Heroes: Staff Heroes is an on demand & AI technology marketplace reinventing the world of work, connecting businesses and workers more efficiently.
Stephen Edwards
Group Marketing Director & Chief Marketing Officer of Robert Walters
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About Robert Walters: Robert Walters is a global, specialist professional recruitment consultancy.
Andrew Lavelle
Co-Founder & Managing Director of TalentPool
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About Alvius, TalentPool: TalentPool is a Talent Matching Platform connecting talented recent graduates.
Tom Davenport
Director of TalentPool
Tom Davenport is a Co-Founder at TalentPool.
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About Alvius, British Army, TalentPool: TalentPool is a Talent Matching Platform connecting talented recent graduates.
Marc Mapes
Executive Director of HiringSolved
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About HiringSolved: HiringSolved makes hiring faster and easier through smart software tools. Automating inbound and outbound recruiting with AI based tech.
Donna Carolan
Client Solutions Director of Hunted
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About Hunted: The biggest hurdle to growth for recruitment companies is finding and hiring recruitment talent.
Ana Jantolic
Business Development Director of XML International
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About XML International: XML International (est. 2004) is a global staffing group, with our global HQ in London.
Nathan Elstub
Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director of GetMyFirstJob
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About GetMyFirstJob, Nesta Impact Investments, The Big Consulting: GetMyFirstJob is a web-based platform that improves the speed and quality of matching young people to the right apprenticeship.
Owanate Bestman
Founder and Director of Bestman Solutions
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About Bestman Solutions: Bestman Solutions is a cyber security staffing resource firm that aids security and technology leaders.
Helena Sullivan
Group Marketing Director of Trinnovo Group
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About Trinnovo Group: Trinnovo is a recruitment firm that brings together three market experts to promote diversity, inclusion, and workplace innovation.
Samm Green
Co-Founder and Director of Few&Far
Samm Green is the co-founder and director at Few & Far.
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About Few&Far: Few&Far helps companies stand out, build teams, and set the foundation for growth.
Nicolas Jacquier
Managing Director of Leyton France
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About Leyton France: Leyton France is a consulting firm specializing in cost optimization consulting.
Stephen Herniman
Finance Director of Meet
Stephen Herniman serves as finance director at Meet, a recruitment company focused on the life science industry.
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About Meet: Meet is a recruitment solutions provider in the life sciences industry.
Geoffrey Banda
Co-Founder & Director of Myjobo.com
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About Myjobo.com: Myjobo.com is Malawi’s leading online site for jobs, recruitment and careers. It covers both the formal and informal employment marketplace.
Nick Cochrane
Director & Founder of Zebra People
Nick Cochrane is the Director of Zebra People and Founder of UX People.
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About Zebra People: Zebra People is a digital recruitment agency bringing together the smartest Digital talent.
Ben Clarfelt
Director of Zebra People
Ben Clarfelt is a Director and User Experience Recruiter at Zebra People.
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About Zebra People: Zebra People is a digital recruitment agency bringing together the smartest Digital talent.
Luke Rehbein
Director, Patent and Trade Mark Recruitment Specialist of Dawn Ellmore Employment
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About Dawn Ellmore Employment: Dawn Ellmore Employment is a market leading legal and intellectual property recruitment agency.
Dawn Ellmore
Director, Patent and Trade Mark Recruitment Specialist of Dawn Ellmore Employment
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About Dawn Ellmore Employment: Dawn Ellmore Employment is a market leading legal and intellectual property recruitment agency.
Daniel Richard
Managing Director – EMEA of Sonru.com
Sonru.com, an automated online video interview solution, replaces first round phone and on-site interviews. Interviewers create and send interviews to candidates. The candidate completes the interview in their own time, do not see the questions in advance and recorded answers are saved for review when suits the interviewer. HR departments and Recruiters globally use the product to radically save time and money in their recruitment process.
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About Sonru.com: Automated Video Interviewing Solution for Screening Candidates
Michaela Reaney
founder and Managing Director of Gradvert
Michaela is the founder and MD of Gradvert. She drives the company’s strategic direction and commercial focus as well as staying close to many of our clients and universities. Michaela has a decade of experience in global talent management and recruitment with FTSE100 organisations. An authoritative figure in the news on education, employability and and policies effecting young people, she takes great pride in driving a brand and organisation that supports the development of professional skills and behaviours in our future leaders.
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About Gradvert: UK’s leading graduate recruitment and training companies
Rachael Moss
Marketing Director of Tempbuddy
Marketing Directr at Tempbuddy.
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About Tempbuddy: Contingency workforce management solutions.
Afsor Miah
Director of Ciesco
Director | Corporate Finance | Advisory Services
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About Ciesco: Corporate finance advisors to technology-enabled media and marketing businesses
Tony Restell
Director, Social Media Marketing of Social Hire
Tony Restell is the Founder of Social-Hire.com and works with SMEs around the world to generate tangible business results from social media marketing. He was recently ranked by Brand24 as the 40th most influential marketer worldwide, with a social media reach of 15 million people. He’s also a guest speaker at business schools across Europe and has been a featured expert on the BBC, Business.com and Fox Business News
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About Social Hire: Social-Hire.com using social media to drive sales, generate leads or make hires for your business.
David Courreau
Director & Co-Founder of find’m
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About find’m, Signal AI: find’m is the first hybrid recruitment business with a video proposition. find’m brings a unique methodology that goes far beyond a job spec
Edward Farquhar
Director of Grace Personnel
With over 15 years of City experience specialising in SMEs, Ed has invaluable experience in guiding and working with management teams.
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About Grace Personnel: Grace Personnel provide recruitment for permanent and temporary office support personnel throughout Maidenhead.
Lee Walker
Partner & Director of Digital, Mobile and Adtech of Expand Executive Search
Lee Walker is Partner & Director of Digital, Mobile and Adtech at Expand Executive Search. He heads the digital team with extensive experience across the digital ecosystem working with senior leaders within Adtech, Martech and emerging digital trends.
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About Expand Executive Search: Expand Executive Search is recruitment services provider that dedicates to find specialist individuals for international clients.
Joel Gill
Director of The Human Centered Design Society
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About The Human Centered Design Society: The Human Centered Design Society a not-for-profit organisation created to promote Human Centered Design (HCD) as a community of practice.
Karen Smith
Education & Training Committee Director of The Human Centered Design Society
Specialising in education management, widening participation, positive student experience including public events, work related learning, quality enhancement, management, and student achievement, CPD, curriculum development and validation, research, consultancy and enterprise strategies, promotion and recruitment including events and social media, digital teaching and learning, equal opportunities, health and safety, DDS, teaching Foundation, UG and PG in Media and Arts. Teaching and research specialities: World cinema, contemporary European and British cinema, film marketing, heritage, epic, cult and exploitation film and television, media exhibition and distribution, film festivals and media audiences. Audience research and marketing. Participant observation and oral histories.
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About : The Human Centered Design Society a not-for-profit organisation created to promote Human Centered Design (HCD) as a community of practice.
Neil Dickins
Co-Founder and Director of IC Resources
Neil Dickins is the founder and director of IC Resources.
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About IC Resources: IC Resources develops and delivers insightful and relevant recruitment solutions to the technology community.
Kirsty Trafford-Owen
Co-Founder and Managing Director of Druthers Search
Kirsty has 18 years’ experience of recruiting senior to board-level executives across a number of different industries, including technology, banking and FMCG. She has over a decade’s experience in executive search, as well as extensive experience in talent acquisition, for business including Barclays and Coca Cola. Kirsty is passionate about diversity and inclusion and regularly hosts and attends events and training sessions across the UK and Europe.
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About Druthers Search: Druthers helps candidates and companies with diversity & inclusion recruitment in the workplace.
Be Kaler
Founder and Director of Futureheads
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About Futureheads: We are Futureheads, a recruitment business that is all about digital media and all about being specialist
Darryl Mydat
Managing Director of TLTP Education
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About TLTP Education: Education and Medical Recruitment Specialists
Minesh Patel
Operations Director of Abalon
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About Abalon: IT Services company specialising in the supply of on-demand resource, project management and recruitment services
Alan Scott
Managing Director of Abalon
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About Abalon: IT Services company specialising in the supply of on-demand resource, project management and recruitment services
James Pinniger
Business Development Director of Student Nannies Ltd
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About Student Nannies Ltd: Student Nannies connects local students and families to offer a smart solution to term-time and school holiday childcare.
