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 Business Development 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.
Lionel Assant
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Lionel Assant is Senior Managing Director and European Head of Private Equity for Blackstone, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Lionel Assant has been involved in various European investments and investment opportunities. Before joining Blackstone, Lionel Assant worked for seven years at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Asset Management and Private Equity divisions. Lionel Assant graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique with a Master’s degree in Economics. He serves as a Director of Tangerine, Intertrust and Alliance Automotive Group. Lionel Assant served on the boards of Gerresheimer, Mivisa and United Biscuits. He is also a Trustee of Impetus-PEF, a charitable foundation which provides resources to improve the lives of children and young people living in poverty.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
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Kenneth Caplan
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Group
Kenneth A. Caplan is a Senior Managing Director and Global Chief Investment Officer of the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Kenneth Caplan has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in the United States, Europe and Asia. These include major acquisitions such as Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels, Trizec Properties and La Quinta. Prior to his current role, Kenneth Caplan was Head of Real Estate Europe. Before joining Blackstone, he was at Lazard Frères & Co. in the real estate investment banking group. Kenneth Caplan received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a John Harvard Scholar. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Caroline Hill
Managing Director, Real Estate ESG of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Nick Tansley
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Nick Tansley is the Managing Director at PJT Partners.
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About Blackstone Group, PJT Partners: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Karen Brade
Director of Augmentum Fintech
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About Aberdeen Japan IT, Augmentum Fintech, HeiQ Materials: Augmentum Fintech is a FinTech fund that invests in early and later-stage FinTech companies.
David Haysey
Director of Augmentum Fintech
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About Augmentum Fintech, Marylebone Partners: Augmentum Fintech is a FinTech fund that invests in early and later-stage FinTech companies.
Antony C. Clavel
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Antony C. Clavel joined Summit Partners in 2013. He is a Swiss national and speaks English and Italian. Prior to Summit, he worked for Allen & Company. Based in Summit’s London office, Antony is active in the firm’s investment activities in Europe. Antony holds a BA in mathematics from Oxford University with First Class Honors and an SM in computer science from Harvard University.
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About Summit Partners, Tech Nation: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Matthias Allgaier
Managing Director of Summit Partners
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Gregg J. Nardone
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Gregg J. Nardone joined Summit Partners in 2010. Prior to Summit, Gregg worked for Guggenheim Investment Management as a member of the leveraged credit investing team, and later assumed a trading role. Before that, he worked at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and Banca IMI Securities. Based in Summit’s Boston office, Gregg is active in the firm’s credit investment activities. His investments include Cal Dive International, Newtek Business Services and Whistler Energy. Gregg received a BBA in finance from The College of William & Mary. In addition, he holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Scott Collins
Managing Director and COO of Summit Partners
Scott Collins is the Managing Director at Summit Partners. Scott joined Summit Partners in 1996. Scott manages the firm’s London office, which he founded in 2001. Scott is active in Summit’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. During his 17 years with Summit Partners, Scott has served on the board of directors of more than 25 companies. Currently he is a director of 360T Group, Acturis Limited, AVAST Software, Bigpoint, vente-privee.com and Welltec International. His prior directorships include Dorn Technology Group (acquired by Policy Management Systems Corporation), Elumen Solutions (acquired by Computer Task Group), Hittite Microwave Corporation (NASDAQ: HITT), Jamba! AG (acquired by VeriSign), Ogone (acquired by Ingenico), SafeBoot Holdings (acquired by McAfee) and Web Reservations International (acquired by Hellman & Friedman). Prior to Summit, Scott worked as a Strategy Consultant with McKinsey & Company in the financial institutions group. Scott also served in a variety of U.S. federal government positions, including at the White House and Department of Justice. Scott holds an A.B. degree in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, Scott was captain of the varsity football team and later served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. Scott is a former director of the Harvard Alumni Association and remains active in Harvard-related activities. Scott was a founding Trustee of the Private Equity Foundation, a leading venture philanthropy in the U.K. dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged youth and he served on the board from 2007 to 2012. Scott holds British and U.S. dual citizenship. Scott’s personal interests include sport and fitness, the arts, and spending time with his children.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Christian R. Strain
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Christian R. Strain joined Summit Partners in 2005. He is a French and U.S. national, and is bilingual in French and English. Prior to Summit, he worked for Apax Partners in Paris where he was a member of the technology team. Based in Summit’s London office, Christian is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. His board directorships and investments include Bigpoint, Ogone (acquired by Ingenico), Peak Well Systems and vente-privee.com. Christian holds a BA in history from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is active with City Year London.
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About Bigpoint, Ogone, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Han Sikkens
Managing Director and Head of Summit Partners Europe of Summit Partners
Han Sikkens joined Summit Partners in 2004. He is a Dutch national and speaks Dutch and English. Prior to Summit, he worked for Scotia Capital and IBM Corporation. Based in Summit’s London office, Han is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. His board directorships and investments include 360T Group, Acturis Limited, AVAST Software, Flow Traders, Multifonds (IGEFI Group), SafeBoot Holdings (acquired by McAfee) and Welltec International. Han holds a BS in business administration from the University of Groningen, an MSc in international business from the University of Groningen, and an MSc in international finance from the CERAM Graduate School of Management & Technology.
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About IBM, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Thomas M. Tarnowski
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Thomas M. Tarnowski joined Summit Partners in 2013. He is a Danish national and speaks Danish, English, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish. Prior to Summit, he worked for Triton, Credit Suisse First Boston and Citigroup. Based in Summit’s London office, Thomas is active in the firm’s investment activities in Europe. Thomas received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA in finance from Valdosta State University.
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About Salomon Smith Barney, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Johannes N. Grefe
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Johannes N. Grefe joined Summit Partners in 2012. He is a German national and speaks English, German, and Spanish. Prior to Summit, he worked for Vitruvian Partners, TA Associates and Lazard. Based in Summit’s London office, Johannes is active in the firm’s investment activities in Europe. His investments and board directorships include Peak Well Systems. Johannes received an MSc in industrial engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany and an MS in engineering management from Portland State University.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Peter Preisler
Managing Director, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Europe & Africa of Oaktree Capital Management
Peter Preisler is the Managing Director, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Europe & Africa at Oaktree Capital Management.
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About Oaktree Capital Management: Oaktree Capital Management is a privately owned investment manager specializing in alternative investment strategies.
Karim Tabet
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Karim Tabet is a managing director based in our London office. He is currently a director of Digital Platform İletişim Hizmetleri (Digiturk) and Galileo Global Education. Prior to joining Providence in 2002, he was an associate in the principal investment area at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. He received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of École Polytechnique.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Andrew Tisdale
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Andrew Tisdale is a managing director based in our London office. Mr. Tisdale is currently a director of Canal Digitaal Satelliet and HSE24. Prior to joining Providence in 2008, Mr. Tisdale was global co-head of the media and communications group and a member of Morgan Stanley’s management committee for investment banking. During his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Tisdale held various roles within investment banking, including co-head of the media and communications group for North and South America and, subsequently, the same role for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He also led Morgan Stanley’s investment banking activities in Brazil. Mr. Tisdale received a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Roderik Schlosser
Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Roderik Schlösser is a vice president based in ther London office. Prior to joining Providence in 2006, he was an analyst in the telecommunications corporate finance group at Deutsche Bank. He received a Master of Science in Business Administration from Tilburg University.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
John Hahn
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
John Hahn is a managing director based in our London office and leads the firm’s European private equity investment activities. He is a director of Digital Platform İletişim Hizmetleri (Digiturk), Grupo Corporativo ONO and UFO Moviez India (UMI). Prior to joining Providence in 2000, he was a managing director at Morgan Stanley. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he worked with Price Waterhouse and Federal Data Corporation. He received a Master of Business Administration from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Charles Vernudachi
Managing Director and head of European business development of Providence Equity Partners
Charles Vernudachi is a managing director based in their London office, where he focuses on business development activities in Europe. Prior to joining Providence in 2014, he was a managing director with Eaton Partners in London, where he oversaw the EMEA distribution of private equity funds and hedge funds. Previously, he was a senior client executive with SEB in London where he was responsible for the distribution of alternative solutions in Europe. From 2007 to 2008, he co-founded a London based placement agent of alternative funds. Prior to that, he was an executive director in the securities division of Goldman Sachs where he was responsible for the distribution of liquid and structured credit products. He started his career with Natixis in Paris. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University Paris Dauphine. He is a CAIA Charter Member and co-founder of the Paris chapter.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Karim Tabet
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Karim Tabet is a managing director based in our London office. he is currently a director of Bitė and Galileo Global Education. Previous boards include Digiturk (Turkey), Com Hem (Sweden), Casema (Netherlands) and Crown Media International. Prior to joining Providence in 2002, he was an associate in the principal investment area at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. He received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of École Polytechnique.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Ailsa Williams
Managing Director of Teneo
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About Teneo: A New York-based corporate advisory firm
Charmaine Eggberry
Managing Director & Partner of McKinsey & Company
Appointed to the Board in January 2014. Charmaine is a Partner at BCG Digital Ventures (an arm of The Boston Consulting Group), a role which involves leading the creation of completely new ventures and businesses for the world’s biggest brands. Charmaine is also a Non-Executive Director of Avanti plc and software robot specialists, Blue Prism plc as well as Chairperson of Buzzmove. She is also the CEO of Plan B Consulting and undertakes advisory work for several early stage startups. Charmaine previously held international senior executive roles with Research in Motion (Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer from 2002–2008) and Nokia (Global Senior Vice President from 2010–2012). Before joining RIM in 2002 as Marketing Director for Europe she worked for Lucent Technologies where she held several positions including the roles of Global Business Partner Marketing Director and Marketing Director, EMEA. Charmaine led Wayra UK, one of the world’s largest digital business accelerators and was a non-executive director of Wayra UnLtd, a joint venture between the UK Government and Telefónica. Charmaine is also a board member and trustee of The Marketing Academy. Charmaine holds an MBA and attended Wharton Business School to study Global Marketing
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About Blue Prism, McKinsey & Company, Plan B One‑Step: McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm and trusted advisor by businesses, governments, and institutions.
Thomas Pinks
Investment Director of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities
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About AURELIUS Equity Opportunities: Aurelius Equity Opportunities is an investment firm that provides equity, growth, debt and real estate investments.
Karun Dhir
Investment Director of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities
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About AURELIUS Equity Opportunities: Aurelius Equity Opportunities is an investment firm that provides equity, growth, debt and real estate investments.
Beth Pickens
Managing Director of TSG Consumer Partners
Beth is responsible for originating new investment opportunities, diligencing new business opportunities, structuring transactions and working with our partner companies. Beth is based in TSG’s London office.
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About TSG Consumer Partners: TSG Consumer Partners is an investment firm that focuses on the branded consumer sector.
Claire Cherry
Investment Partner/UK Director of Social Starts
Claire covers the consumer sector across Europe and the US. Prior to Social Starts, she ran the seed and pre-seed consumer fund at True, backing businesses across beauty, femtech, sexual wellness, mental health, and many more. With almost a decade of experience in venture, Claire is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs breaking new ground. Outside of investing, she can be found hiking the cliffs of Guernsey with her dog, or attempting to grow vegetables (sometimes successfully) in her garden.
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About Social Starts: Social Starts is a set of early-stage venture funds that uses analytics to uncover and invest in the strongest companies in the strongest segments. Based on a uniquely data-driven methodology, Social Starts has discovered and backed companies with huge value in e-commerce, employment platforms, digital brands, next-generation food, and education. The current fund, “Social Starts Health and Happiness,” focuses on startups that help people live longer, live better, or both.
Jean-Paul Petranca
Principal, Managing Director & Partner of The Boston Consulting Group
Managing Director and Partner at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) London
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About The Boston Consulting Group: The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and an advisor on business strategy.
Antoon Schneider
Senior Partner and Managing Director of The Boston Consulting Group
Antoon is a Managing Director and Senior Partner in the Principal Investor and Private Equity practice at Boston Consulting Group. Antoon has advised most of the 50 largest private-equity firms globally on topics that include deal sourcing, due diligence and firm strategy, as well as working with their portfolio companies on 100-day plans and operational-improvement. He also has extensive experience in corporate M&A. Before joining BCG in 2011, Antoon spent nearly 14 years with McKinsey&Co, where he led the private-equity practice in the UK. Prior to that he worked in M&A at Hambros Bank and as a Chartered Accountant.
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About The Boston Consulting Group: The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and an advisor on business strategy.
Nathalie Gaveau
President & Director of Tailwind Acquisition
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About Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Tailwind Acquisition: Tailwind Acquisition is a $334M Purpose-Built SPAC.
Samuel Rickard
Finance Director of GMG Ventures
Samuel Rickard is the finance director at GMG Ventures. He joined GMG Ventures in July 2019 from Sovereign Capital where he served as a financial controller. Previously, Samuel spent 5 years at Ashmore plc, firstly as the financial accountant during Ashmore’s tenure in the FTSE 100 and then in operations as head of fund accounting. Samuel also sat on the board of the Ashmore Foundation. Samuel has a first class degree in management and finance from the University of Nottingham.
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About GMG Ventures: GMG Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund that invests in companies related to media-tech.
Melanie Hayes
Managing Partner and Investment Director of Bethnal Green Ventures
Melanie leads on our operations and helps our ventures raise further investment. She was previously an investment manager at Octopus Investments and Channel 4’s Innovation for the Public (4iP)
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About Bethnal Green Ventures: Bethnal Green Ventures (BGV) is Europe’s leading early stage tech for good VC.
Alexander Dale
Client Director of Oystercatchers
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About Oystercatchers: Oystercatchers are accelerating marketing performance; provide a wide range of specialist consulting services.
Gary Stewart
Director of Wayra
Gary Stewart is the Director of Wayra UK and Telefónica Open Future_ (UK). He is also an associate professor and the Entrepreneur-In-Residence at IE Business School in Madrid. Gary co-founded Nuroa.es, a Barcelona start-up that raised over €4M in funding before being sold to an Australian competitor. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Gary worked as a lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in London, and Freshfields Brackhaus Deringer in Spain. Gary graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University and was the Executive Editor of The Yale Journal at Yale Law School.
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About Nuroa, Wayra: Wayra is a globally connected and technologically open innovation hub.
Shawn Cabral
Global Marketing Director of Cint
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About Cint: The technology backbone of the world’s most successful insights companies.
Ben Brabyn
Non Executive Director of Global Fund Media
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About Global Fund Media: Global Fund Media connects all the institutional investment sectors with actionable market intelligence.
Chris Pieroni
Operations Director of Workspace Group
Dr. Christopher Pieroni joined Workspace Group as Operations Director in 2007. He was previously in the real estate corporate finance team at KPMG. He began his career teaching economics at Cambridge University. Chris was a Non-Executive Director of Workspace Group between 2000-2006. Chris is responsible for business development, corporate and customer technology and the marketing of a portfolio of 65 business centres in London comprising circa. 3.9 million sq. ft. Workspace is home to thousands of businesses including some of London’s fastest growing brands, as well as more established companies, across a wide range of sectors.
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About Workspace Group: Workspace are dedicated to giving our customers the perfect working environments to help them grow their business.
Andrew Fisher
European Managing Director of Blucora
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About Blucora, Chairman Mentors International, Marks & Spencer, RightMove, Thomson Directories Business Ventures: Blucora is a provider of Internet-related services that operates a diverse group of internet businesses.
Kev Emery
Director of Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
Kev Emery is the Head of Optimization and Certification within the Chip Centre of Excellence at Discover. In this role, Kev is responsible for certification, outsourcing and managing various products within the Chip Centre of Excellence. Kev has spent nearly 15 years working in the payments Industry and has had various roles for payment schemes and technology vendors supporting Acquirers, Issuers and Merchants.
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About Underwriters Laboratories (UL): UL is a global independent safety science company offering expertise across five key strategic businesses: Product Safety, Environment,
Kev Emery
Director of Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
Kev Emery is the Head of Optimization and Certification within the Chip Centre of Excellence at Discover. In this role, Kev is responsible for certification, outsourcing and managing various products within the Chip Centre of Excellence. Kev has spent nearly 15 years working in the payments Industry and has had various roles for payment schemes and technology vendors supporting Acquirers, Issuers and Merchants.
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About Underwriters Laboratories (UL): UL is a global independent safety science company offering expertise across five key strategic businesses: Product Safety, Environment,
Denis Lonergan
Director & Co-Founder of Somnus Scientific
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About Somnus Scientific: Somnus Scientific develops a suite of products to measure blood propofol concentration in real-time and without blood sampling.
Jon Mitchell
Director of Sales EMEA/APAC of Castellan Solutions
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About Castellan Solutions: Castellan Solutions provides business continuity software solutions to businesses.
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.
Jonathan Cutler
Managing Director, UK of 3si
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About 3si: Ecosystem Optimization for the Operating Room
Tatty Bullard
Co-Founder & Strategy Director of Ginger + Ginger
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About Ginger + Ginger: Ginger + Ginger provides consulting services to improve brand marketing and advertising.
Mark Lee
Non-Executive Director of onkho
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About : onkho helps accountants delight their clients and grow their business
Manfredi Mattei
Executive Director of Partecipazione.AM
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About Partecipazione.AM: Partecipazione.AM provides consultation services on financial and investment management.
Tom Betts
Group Data Director of Kingfisher
As Chief Data Officer, Tom oversees the strategic use of customer data and research across the organisation, helps identify growth opportunities, and experiments and tests new ideas with the aim of building audiences and revenues. Since joining the FT in 2009, Tom and his team have spearheaded the use of data to improve business performance, allowing the FT to deliver better services and tools for both readers and advertisers.
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About Kingfisher: Kingfisher PLC is a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London.
Mark Howman
Creative Director of Allen International
Mark has now been with allen international for over 15 years, joining as a Design Director and now performing a diverse role as a board director with a still huge enthusiasm for the creative output and client relationships. During the last three years Mark has played significant role in delivering unique multi-sensory experiences.
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About Allen International: Allen International is a strategic design consultancy.
Laura Newton
Design Director of Allen International
With over 15 years design experience, Laura joined Allen International in 2006 assuming responsibility for projects including: Mauritius Commercial Bank, Banorte (Mexico), TDB Bank (Mongolia), AmBank (Malaysia), Bac A Bank (Vietnam) and TBC Bank (Georgia). Laura has an MA and BA (Hons) in Interior Architecture and Design from the Institute of Art & Design, Surrey.
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About Allen International: Allen International is a strategic design consultancy.
Richard M Benson
Creative Managing Director of Allen International
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About Allen International: Allen International is a strategic design consultancy.
James White
Design Director of Allen International
James is an experienced member of the allen international team who has worked with clients all over the world, from Brazil all the way to Kazakhstan. James loves the challenge of delivering innovative solutions that simplify the complex and deliver tangible results.
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About Allen International: Allen International is a strategic design consultancy.
Rob Withagen
Managing Director of Asoko Insight
Rob Withagen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Asoko Insight.
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About Asoko Insight: Africa’s leading corporate information platform, providing market mapping solutions to investment firms, banks, corporates and governments.
Obi Ejimofo
COO & Operations Director of Asoko Insight
Obi is an experienced technologist and entrepreneur now focused on implementing new business models in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is the former managing director of Lamudi Nigeria and previously a senior manager at Thomson Reuters and Philips Electronics, designing and delivering global enterprise programmes. London Business School (MBA); University of Nigeria (BEngr)
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About Asoko Insight: Africa’s leading corporate information platform, providing market mapping solutions to investment firms, banks, corporates and governments.
Simon Kelton
Co-Founder & Director of pepperhq
Simon is a relentlessly determined, passionate and ambitious entrepreneur, writer, film producer and angel investor with twenty-five years of broad-ranging creative and business experience. With an exceptional international network of friends, colleagues, investors and commercial contacts, Simon is able to combine his visionary creativity and communication skills as a professional writer to guide and sell his companies strategic goals and products. He has founded, financed and managed eight companies in entertainment, technology, publishing, event management and the snowsports industry. He has Master’s Degrees from Oxford, Stanford and UCLA and is a member of the British Academy of Film and TV. As a professional writer, Simon has published two books, written more than thirty screenplays for Hollywood including the British hit comedy EDDIE THE EAGLE starring Hugh Jackman and produced by Matthew Vaughn, and penned numerous articles for the likes of TIME, the Daily Mail, Sunday Telegraph, Harpers and Queen, and Worth.com. An avid and competitive sportsman, Simon represented Oxford University at golf, is a member of the Royal & Ancient G.C. and the Queen’s Club, has ski guided for the Ski Club of Great Britain, and taken part in the British and World Extreme Snowboarding Championships.
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About pepperhq: The Pepper platform supports white label apps for mobile payment, discovery, digital loyalty, social media marketing, and actionable data.
Tony Fish
Founder/Managing Director of AMF Ventures
I focus on how the future of corporate governance, decision making and judgement will be affected by complex data at the board. My focus leads me to imagine a board meeting in 2025, and the implications and unintended consequences. Tony thrives in complex, ground-breaking & uncertain environments; bringing proven judgement and decision-making skills with cross-sectorial experience. He has a track record of sense-making and foresight; his enthusiasm and drive are contagious & inspiring – definitely a maverick and unintentional rule breaker. He has founded, co-founded, sold and listed many businesses but remains passionate about new ways of creating value which has the capability of scaling fast, are at an early stage and creates value for many people.
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About AMF Ventures, Mashup Event: AMF Ventures was founded in 2002 by Tony Fish. AMF Ventures work on a variety of intellectually challenging assignments conducted in a
Steven Randell
Publishing Director of Real Business
Steven Randell is Publishing Director at Real Business.
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About Caspian Media, Real Business: Read Business is an online platform that offers news, opinions, guides, interviews, advertising opportunities, and more.
Nick Henderson
Digital Director of Real Business
Nick Henderson is Digital Director at Real Business.
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About Real Business: Read Business is an online platform that offers news, opinions, guides, interviews, advertising opportunities, and more.
Endrit Beqaj
Director & CEO of Cashbook Finance
Endrit Beqaj is an experienced Executive Director with a strong demonstrated history of working in the financial services and banking industry. Skilled in Energy, Minerals, Core Banking, Trading & Leasing, Credit Analysis, and Credit Risk. Mr. Beqaj holds an EMBA in Finance from Sheffield University in the United Kingdom.
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About Cashbook Finance: FCA registered company offering Invoice Finance & Factoring services in the UK.
Bjorn Laku
Director & CMO of Cashbook Finance
Mr. Laku is an experienced Business Development Manager skilled in Project and Brand Management, Strategic Planning, Data Analysis and Digital Marketing. Past industry experiences include “Big 4” Management Consulting, Telecommunications, Specialty Foods, and the Digital Industry.
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About Cashbook Finance: FCA registered company offering Invoice Finance & Factoring services in the UK.
Olgert Koxha
Director & COO of Cashbook Finance
Mr. Koxha is an experienced Business Development Manager with a strong demonstrated history of working in the banking and financial services industry. Skilled in Trading, Management Consulting, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Business Strategy, and Project Management.
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About Cashbook Finance: FCA registered company offering Invoice Finance & Factoring services in the UK.
Sarah Aramesh
Co-Founder, Director of Josla
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About Josla: Work Movement uses power of people and business to create opportunities for everyone to achieve happiness, equality and success from their W
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.
Richard Terblanche
Executive Director EMEA of Fishtank Solutions
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About Fishtank Solutions: Fishtank provides worldwide investment management firms with cloud-based Customer Analytics and Sales Intelligence tools.
Andrew Swartz
Director of Sutherland Labs
Andy is the Director of Design Research at Sutherland Labs, based in London. Andrew began his UX career at Apple in Cupertino. He now designs and runs UX research projects for brand name clients across the globe, and nurtures a team of researchers to do the same. From game consoles to hospital research, he has helped shape the user experience for across generations of devices. He will be speaking about surprising undercurrents in mobile UX — the day-to-day human behaviour that should underly major product decisions and inspire innovation, but is so obvious that it is too often overlooked.
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About Sutherland Labs: Sutherland Labs improves everyday experiences and help businesses grow.
Chris Nixon
Managing Director of CJN Ventures
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About CJN Ventures: CJN Ventures provides consultation services on managing and starting businesses.
Katy Cook
Director of Katy Cook
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About Katy Cook: Katy Cook offers executive coaching, training, education and team development, and organizational consulting.
Blaise Grimes-Viort
Founder & Managing Director of Is The Answer
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About Is The Answer: Is The Answer designs sustainable culture-driven networks and empowers people to deliver revenue, brand value, and product innovation.
Graham Cherrett
Managing Director, Sales Specialist & Master Trainer of The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training
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About The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training: The Longley Sales Academy empowers sales leaders & sales professionals to make the right call, at the right time, to excel in their careers.
Graham Cherrett
Managing Director, Sales Specialist & Master Trainer of The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training
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About The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training: The Longley Sales Academy empowers sales leaders & sales professionals to make the right call, at the right time, to excel in their careers.
Stuart Nyman
Financial Director of Teknov8
Stuart Nyman is the financial director at TEKNOV8.
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About Teknov8: Teknov8 provides managed IT services to help businesses accelerate business activity and boost efficiency.
Laure Claire Reillier
Co-founder and Director of Launchworks & Co
Laure Claire Reillier is a Director at Launchworks Ventures and specialises in marketing, product development and e-commerce. She has 20 years experience in developing, managing and marketing products and services for e-commerce, telecom and software companies. Laure Claire has deep expertise in B2B, B2C and C2C marketing. Before joining Launchworks, Laure Claire worked for 4 years at eBay where she was head of proposition development for sellers in Europe. She was in charge of product strategy and roadmap, positioning, customer experience (online and off-line), pricing and marketing communications. Before eBay, Laure Claire managed the P&L and development of VoIP and e-commerce services at BT Retail in the UK. She was responsible for the commercial development and launch of new services as well and the management (strategy, marketing and pricing) of existing services. She was previously Marketing and Business Development Director, at Goodman Blue, a VoIP software start-up, where she repositioned the company and its suite of products prior to its acquisition by American investors in 2006.
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About Launchworks & Co: Launchworks provide strategy and innovation advisory services to companies of any size.
Benoit Reillier
Managing Director of Launchworks & Co
Launchworks Ventures’ Managing Director, Benoit Reillier, specialises in strategy, training and innovative business models and ecosystems such as multisided platforms. He has been advising the boards and top management teams of many blue chip companies as well as regulators and Governments for the past 20 years. Prior to founding Launchworks Benoit was Director of Economics and Regulation at KPMG where he focused on strategic assignments for Telecommunications, Media and Technology clients globally. Benoit was previously Director of the TMT practice of expert firm LECG Europe (now FTI) and also worked as business development director of Telia Mobile International UK, the leading Nordic telecommunications group. Throughout his career Benoit has had the opportunity to work on and lead key strategic assignments that shaped the communications sector. He was instrumental in the development of regulatory frameworks in a number of countries and participated in large scale strategic assignments leading to the separation (or merger) of activities. Benoit also provided expert advice in the context of several multi billion dollar litigations and arbitrations. Benoit started his career under the aegis of the French government as a special advisor on telecom-related issues and was part of the team preparing the liberalisation of the French telecom sector in the 1990’s.
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About Launchworks & Co: Launchworks provide strategy and innovation advisory services to companies of any size.
James Cooper
Director of Soko Media
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About Soko Media: Soko Media is a specialist B2B media company serving the app industry.
