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 Events 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.
Justyn Trenner
Corporate Development Director of QA Media
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About QA Media: QA Media connects buyers and sellers in the marketplace for software quality assurance services.
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Harry Hardisty
Commercial Director of OnSerro
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About OnSerro: OnSerro provides community management software for companies to engage with customers and clients.
Peter Seldon
Director of OnSerro
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About OnSerro: OnSerro provides community management software for companies to engage with customers and clients.
Mike Sealy
Customer Experience Director, EMEA of Informa Markets
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About Informa Markets: Informa Markets creates global platforms and opportunities for industries, specialist markets and communities to trade, innovate and grow.
Hugo Drayton
Independent Non-Executive Director of Future
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About Future: Future creates high-quality multi-media products which reach their audiences online, on mobile and in print.
Marian Gazdik
Director, Europe of Startup Grind
Marian has over twenty years of business experience, having worked in different marketing and product management roles with fast growing technology businesses. He is Director at Startup Grind Europe, world’s largest organisation for entrepreneurs, based in 150 countries. Marian is a founding partner at IPM Growth, a venture capital company that invests in high growth companies from Central and Eastern Europe with world class technology. In 2015 he co-founded Braintrust, a think-tank of top entrepreneurs based in the Central & Eastern Europe region. Marian is an advisory board member at Tachyum and is a member of Acquisition Committee (REEAC) at TATE Gallery. He was featured in New Europe 100 (organised by the Financial Times, Google, Respublica and Visegrad Strategy), a list of outstanding leaders in world class innovation from Central and Eastern Europe. Marian holds an MBA from ESCP, the oldest business school in the world.
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About BrainTrust, InfraPartners Management, IPM Growth, Startup Grind, Tate: Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs.
Hugh Hudleston
Commercial Director & Co-Founder of FIXR
Hugh is a founding Director of FIXR. He most recently spent a year doing his MBA at Cambridge University before joining FIXR full time in June 2014. Hugh started his financial career at Matrix Corporate Capital in equity sales. Following Matrix, Hugh became a partner of a corporate advisory boutique, Hawkwood Capital, raising money for private companies. He is also Director of a fast growing visual recognition company, WeSee. Past exploits included launching 2 magazines. He is a keen sailor.
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About FIXR: FIXR is a leading ticketing and event management platform built for fans and organisers.
Tim Cobbold
CEO & Executive Director of UBM Plc
Tim is the CEO & Executive Director of UBM, an event services platform.
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About UBM Plc: UBM is a global events-led marketing and communications services business.
Zach Butler
Portfolio Director, IoT World Series of Informa
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About Informa: Informa is a business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group.
Emma Wilson
Director of Client Operations of First Protocol
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About First Protocol: First Protocol is an international events agency.
Sophia Petrides
Global Account Director of First Protocol
Sophia has over 18 years’ experience working in events within investment banking and is highly regarded within the industry for her operational and team development expertise. Sophia has built a strong international network throughout her career, which has proven invaluable in her role as Global Account Director at First Protocol, where her objective is to develop a global strategic approach to enhance the client experience and align best practice across the regions.
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About First Protocol: First Protocol is an international events agency.
Marco Contadin
Director Business Development of Coras
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About Coras: The world’s tickets through one API.
Torsten de Riese
Director of Strategy & Operations of Dods (Group) plc
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About Dods (Group) plc: Dods is a global political information, publishing, training, events and communications business
Luke Mason
Director of Virtual Futures
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About The New Bionics, Virtual Futures: Virtual Futures is an events series that works in cyberculture conferences.
Colin Stacey
Finance Director of Kleek
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About Kleek: Kleek offers access to high-end venues, clubs and events.
Alberto Masetti-Zannini
Development Director of Impact Hub
Alberto leads the organisation’s programmatic work in the areas of incubation, acceleration, scaling and development. He is also the Founder and President of Impact Hub Milan, Italy’s first centre for social innovation and the impact economy. He coordinates on behalf of the Impact Hub Network a large EU-funded project called BENISI, which aims to scale social innovation in Europe and create the foundations of a network of incubators for social innovation, a project and consortium that he co-designed. Prior to the Impact Hub Network, Alberto worked for large international NGOs in various capacities, including project financing, programme development and fundraising. He holds a BA hons from Bologna University in Contemporary History and an MSc from the LSE in Global Politics.
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About Impact Hub: Impact Hub provides a workspace that connects entrepreneurs for environmental and sustainability initiatives.
Maria Trindade
Global Network Development Director of Impact Hub
Maria Trindade is a professional with a track record of experience in project and operational management with a solid knowledge in human resources and team management.
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About Impact Hub: Impact Hub provides a workspace that connects entrepreneurs for environmental and sustainability initiatives.
Mike Thompson
Director and Co-Founder, London of Impact Hub
Mike is Director of Goodbrand and has been with them since it began. Mike is responsible for the stewardship of the Goodbrand community and its resources. He is also chairman of AddVenture, a Romanian social enterprise and another GoodBrand Idea and co-founder of Good Leaders Online (www.glo-china.com). Mike is currently based at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, from where he writes, travels and speaks on sustainable enterprise and responsible leadership. Mike’s passions are adventuring and the poetry and song of the Welsh landscape.
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About Impact Hub: Impact Hub provides a workspace that connects entrepreneurs for environmental and sustainability initiatives.
Alex Jenkins
Editorial Director of Contagious Communications
Alex Jenkins is Editor of Contagious I/O – a collaborative research platform featuring the world’s most creative, ingenious and effective brand-funded ideas. Through I/O and the Contagious Insider consultancy division, Alex works with brands such as BBC Worldwide, American Express, Diageo, Red Bull Media House and Universal Music. Alex came to Contagious from the IPA, and prior to that he worked as a business journalist, copywriter, and film coordinator. Outside of office hours, Alex has written web comedy for Channel 4, produced an album which somehow made it into the Billboard staff choices for 2005, and had his first book published in 2008.
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About Contagious Communications: Contagious helps brands and advertising agencies understand and adapt to shifts in marketing, consumer culture and technology.
Dan Southern
Strategy Director of Contagious Communications
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About Contagious Communications: Contagious helps brands and advertising agencies understand and adapt to shifts in marketing, consumer culture and technology.
Paul Robertson
Co-Founder & Editorial Director of Contagious Communications
Paul Kemp Robertson is the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Contagious Communications. After graduating with a masters degree in Film and Television from Goldsmiths College in London, Paul started his career at corporate communications firm Maritz before helping launch shots magazine in 1990. After a spell in commercials production, Paul returned to shots and became editor in 1994. Subscriptions trebled under his tenure. In 1998 Paul was appointed worldwide director of creative resources at Leo Burnett in Chicago. In 2004, Paul co-founded Contagious with shots founder Gee Thomson and media entrepreneur John Gordon. Paul has written for publications including Business 2.0 and The Guardian, as well as co-editing D&AD’s The Commercials Book. He has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and his talk on alternative currencies has been viewed more than 438,000 times at ted.com.
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About Contagious Communications: Contagious helps brands and advertising agencies understand and adapt to shifts in marketing, consumer culture and technology.
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.
Paul Davies
Group Client Director (interim) of Econsultancy
Paul Davies is the Group Client Director (interim) at Econsultancy.
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About Econsultancy: Econsultancy publishes research, analysis and advice on digital marketing, social media, e-commerce, SEO, mobile and tech for businesses.
Simon Derungs
Global Client Director of Econsultancy
Simon Derungs is the Global Client Director at Econsultancy.
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About Econsultancy: Econsultancy publishes research, analysis and advice on digital marketing, social media, e-commerce, SEO, mobile and tech for businesses.
Scott Witters
Founder & Executive Director of Glownet
Scott is the skipper of the Glownet crew. The leader and visionary, he is passionate for good design and innovation. You rarely get to see much of Scott sitting down. His time is split between Madrid, London, and sleeping on airplanes. A family man, with two vibrant young daughters. Soon after graduating with an MBA from IE Business School in 2003, he shortly became a serial entrepreneur. Just prior to Glownet, Scott was the Festival Director/CEO of Rhythm Group. Rhythm is the producer to New Zealand’s premier music festivals including the 30,000 capacity Rhythm and Vines now in its 12th year. Scott always makes time to mentor business students and support them with their own plans and ambitions. Scott was never cured after being infected by electronic music back in rave scene of the early 90’s. He loves working in the live event industry. He seems to feed off the adrenaline of the show. To him, it’s all about the people you work with.
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About Glownet: Glownet transforms the event landscape through RFID innovation, developes world-class technology that delivers and inspires.
Kieran Alington
Managing Director of Eventcube
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About Eventcube: A full service, feature rich event management platform empowering Event Organisers| through beautiful technology.
Ed Ethelston
Director of etc.venues
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About etc.venues: etc.venues operates, and hires conference, training, meeting, exhibition, and event venues in London and Birmingham.
Nigel Hilditch
Director, Head Of Content, Europe & Asia of Sotheby’s
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About Sotheby’s: Sotheby’s conducts auctions and private sales of fine art, antiques, and decorative art, jewelry, and collectibles.
Emma Howe
Sales Director of The Advanced Sales Network
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About The Advanced Sales Network: The Advanced Sales Network is a recruitment agency and consultancy that provides a practical sales solution.
Liam Dowd
Managing Director of Reuters Events
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About Ethical Corporation, Reuters Events: Reuters Events is a global B2B events specialist that provides thought leadership, learning, and networking for senior executives.
Ruthana Foulkes
Managing Director – Supply Chain of Reuters Events
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About Reuters Events: Reuters Events is a global B2B events specialist that provides thought leadership, learning, and networking for senior executives.
Patrick Lewis
Commercial Director of Maddox Events
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About Maddox Events: Maddox Events is the world’s only B2B company exclusively dedicated to creating large-scale conferences.
Freddie Lewis
Creative Director of Maddox Events
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About Maddox Events: Maddox Events is the world’s only B2B company exclusively dedicated to creating large-scale conferences.
Linus Birtles
Managing Director of Situation Publishing
Linus Birtles is Managing Director of Situation Publishing, the independent digital publisher behind global technology titles The Register and The Next Platform. He has led the business for more than 18 years and its publications are revered for their fearless reporting and loyal readership.
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About Situation Publishing: Situation Publishing brings you the latest news and views on the global tech scene from its offices.
Louise Benson
Executive Festival Director, Lions Health, Lions Innovation, Lions Entertainment & eurobest of Cannes Lions
Louise Benson leads CLX, the two-day summit for industry VIPs designed around immersive and interactive experiences with some of the world’s most exciting creators. She is also Festival Director for Lions Health, and for eurobest. Her job covers industry engagement and onboarding, value proposition development for new customer segments, and new commercial product development and execution. In addition to her festival responsibilities, Louise oversees “See It Be It,” the yearly talent scheme for high-potential creative women at Cannes Lions, as well as the new D&I initiative being launched as part of Inkwell Beach. She is the Cannes Lions lead for the Unstereotype Alliance. Louise has worked events for the creative industries for 15 years, most recently as Festival Director for the Edinburgh International Television Festival. She was also Festival Director for the World Architecture Festival, in addition to creating the Media Festival and the Media Festival Arts.
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About Cannes Lions: Cannes Lions is an eight-day programme of creative inspiration, celebration, education and networking.
Louise Benson
Executive Festival Director, Lions Health, Lions Innovation, Lions Entertainment & eurobest of Cannes Lions
Louise Benson leads CLX, the two-day summit for industry VIPs designed around immersive and interactive experiences with some of the world’s most exciting creators. She is also Festival Director for Lions Health, and for eurobest. Her job covers industry engagement and onboarding, value proposition development for new customer segments, and new commercial product development and execution. In addition to her festival responsibilities, Louise oversees “See It Be It,” the yearly talent scheme for high-potential creative women at Cannes Lions, as well as the new D&I initiative being launched as part of Inkwell Beach. She is the Cannes Lions lead for the Unstereotype Alliance. Louise has worked events for the creative industries for 15 years, most recently as Festival Director for the Edinburgh International Television Festival. She was also Festival Director for the World Architecture Festival, in addition to creating the Media Festival and the Media Festival Arts.
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About Cannes Lions: Cannes Lions is an eight-day programme of creative inspiration, celebration, education and networking.
Evelina Zemziulina
Divisional Director of Worldwide Business Research
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About Worldwide Business Research: Worldwide Business Research is an event management company that runs annual conferences with marketing solutions and events worldwide.
Phil Poore
Technical Director of Bullet News
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About Bullet News: A mobile app and platform delivering smart fast news in bullet points from news providers.
Stephen Worn
CTO & Managing Director of DatacenterDynamics
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About DatacenterDynamics: DatacenterDynamics is a full service B2B information provider tailored to professionals that design, build, and operate data centers.
Ryan Nicol
Managing Director of Ceres Productions Ltd
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About Ceres Productions Ltd: A video production company based in London, offering high quality video & event filming services direct to the corporate market.
Roger Atkins
Founder & Managing Director of Electric Vehicles Outlook Ltd
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About Electric Vehicles Outlook Ltd: Electric Vehicles Market Business Services
Stuart Knight
Commercial Director of Quintessential Promotions
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About Quintessential Promotions: Quintessential Promotions focuses on events production, experiential, events, branding, and conferences.
Rachel Bridge
Founder and Managing Director of Froglet Productions
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About Froglet Productions: Froglet Productions is a consulting firm that provides digital and offline content, events and advice for all sizes of businesses.
Julie Lake
CEO, Founding Director of FinTechCity – The FinTech50
Julie is CEO and Founding Director of The FinTech50 launched in 2013 to recognize the European game-changers transforming financial services. Published annually, the list is now helping FinTech companies to raise profile globally, connect with influencers, investors and funders and generate business. In 2017, the FinTech50 will announce the first FinTech50 Asia and a new Financial Inclusion 50 which will showcase innovators worldwide who are delivering greater access to financial services.
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About FinTechCity – The FinTech50: FinTechCity London is the home of The FInTech50 – 50 game-changing businesses across Europe.
Matthew Funge
Managing Director & Founder of Your Stand Builder
Matthew is the Managing Director & Founder of event technology company Your Stand Builder, and currently lives in London. He is a graduate from the University of Manchester who already has valuable experience of living and working in both the USA and France, in addition to various parts of the UK, which has provided him with valuable international exposure already. He is responsible for building and launching the Your Stand Builder platform in March 2019, following more than 5 years’ in an exhibition project manager role preparing 25+ worldwide events annually for his previous employer – an experience which directly led to the YSB idea being born. Matthew is passionate about making a difference in the global events industry, and is committed to continually exploring technological innovation. He has taken YSB from concept all the way through to execution and plans to build upon this in the future through gradually developing the service further.
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About Your Stand Builder: SaaS, online marketplace, web platform
Guy Rothwell
Director, Waverley Learning of Twenty Something London
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About : We recommend the best independent places and events in London, and provide small businesses with a platform to advertise affordably.
Guy Rothwell
Director, Waverley Learning of Twenty Something London
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About : We recommend the best independent places and events in London, and provide small businesses with a platform to advertise affordably.
Charlie Lines
Events Director and Founder of The Ecommerce Club
Charlie Lines is the director and founder at Mixing Digital and The Ecommerce Club. She used to work as a freelance Marketing & Sales manager for CleanTech magazine. Charlie is a graduate of Thomas Bennett Community College & Crawley College of Technology.
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About The Ecommerce Club: The Ecommerce Club is a member-led group dedicated to encouraging and supporting retailers in developing e-commerce expertise.
Charlie Lines
Events Director and Founder of The Ecommerce Club
Charlie Lines is the director and founder at Mixing Digital and The Ecommerce Club. She used to work as a freelance Marketing & Sales manager for CleanTech magazine. Charlie is a graduate of Thomas Bennett Community College & Crawley College of Technology.
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About The Ecommerce Club: The Ecommerce Club is a member-led group dedicated to encouraging and supporting retailers in developing e-commerce expertise.
Petra Johansson
Founder/Director of TwistedTree
Event management and event sales professional working across business to business events in the digital, technology, creative and financial sectors. Petra runs events company TwistedTree since 2007, and is a co-founder of 2Pears. Petra holds a MBA from Lund University from Lund University in Sweden and has more than 11 years experience from the business to business events industry ranging from delegate, media and sponsorship sales at organisations including IIR Conferences, Incisive Media, and Financial News. She has managed profitable events from the concept stage researching a topic, through speaker recruitment, sponsorship sales, marketing and on-the-day event management and execution, to post-event follow up and rebookings.
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About TwistedTree: TwistedTree Limited is a business to business event solutions company specialising in sponsorship sales and event management in digital,
Petra Johansson
Founder/Director of TwistedTree
Event management and event sales professional working across business to business events in the digital, technology, creative and financial sectors. Petra runs events company TwistedTree since 2007, and is a co-founder of 2Pears. Petra holds a MBA from Lund University from Lund University in Sweden and has more than 11 years experience from the business to business events industry ranging from delegate, media and sponsorship sales at organisations including IIR Conferences, Incisive Media, and Financial News. She has managed profitable events from the concept stage researching a topic, through speaker recruitment, sponsorship sales, marketing and on-the-day event management and execution, to post-event follow up and rebookings.
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About TwistedTree: TwistedTree Limited is a business to business event solutions company specialising in sponsorship sales and event management in digital,
Mathew Hance
Digital Strategy Director of The Stack
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About The Stack: The latest breaking news and innovations in Cloud, Security, IoT, the data centre scene and all the latest scientific and academic research.
Paul Budd
Business Development Director of Salus Digital
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About Salus Digital: Salus Digital is a leading media property for healthcare technology industry.
