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 CIO’ operating in the Finance space. If you think a CIO’ 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.
Zishan Cheema
CIO of Apsara Capital
Zishan manages Apsara Capital’s investments in publicly listed water companies. Prior to joining Apsara, he spent 6 years at PineBridge Investments as an investment analyst covering utilities and technology, and 3 years at Global Wealth Allocator, an investment firm developing smart beta products. Zishan holds a BSc in Chemistry from UCL and MSc in operational research from Warwick University.
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About Apsara Capital: Apsara Capital is a UK-based investment firm with a focus on the water sector.
Gareth Jones
Chief Information Officer of Visa
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About Visa: Visa is a multinational financial services company that facilitates electronic payment systems throughout the world.
Darryl West
Group CIO of HSBC
Darryl West is HSBC’s Group Chief Information Officer and Group General Manager, heading up the bank’s Technology function. He is leading the transformation of HSBC Technology to be the world’s leading financial services technology team, overseeing approximately 43,000 people spread across 53 locations. Darryl has more than 30 years’ experience in financial services, holding senior level positions with global organisations such as JP Morgan Chase, Accenture and National Australia Group Europe.
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About HSBC: HSBC is a banking and financial services organization that offers a comprehensive range of services.
John Seglias
Chief Information Officer at National Grid Electricity Transmission of National Grid Partners
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About National Grid Partners: National Grid Partners makes and manages strategically and financially attractive investments and leads company-wide innovation efforts.
Robert Duncan
Chief Information Security Officer of Direct Line Insurance
Robert Duncan has been Chief Information Security Officer for Direct Line Group since December 2015. Direct Line Group is a FTSE 100 firm that is the UK’s largest retail general insurer, owning brands such as Direct Line Churchill and Green Flag. I am responsible for Cyber Security as well as Technology Risk teams. Prior to this Robert was the Chief Information Security Officer for Euronext, where Robert was responsible for overall Information Security Strategy along with the oversight of various core teams: Threat and Vulnerability Management, Security Architecture, Application Security, Security Operations, and Security Awareness, as well as managing the relationship with the five core European regulators in respect to the firm’s security posture. Robert has extensive international experience, having been based in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Australia. Prior to this he worked for ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia, where he was responsible for Technology Risk and Security for their International Global Markets division. He was also Head of Global Risk and Governance for Prudential plc PGDS division for many years, supporting the division globally with extensive travel of Asia and the USA. He holds an LLB in Law (London), MBA (Cranfield), and a post graduate qualification in Executive IT Management from Columbia University in New York.
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About Direct Line Insurance: Direct Line Group is an organization with a clear mission: to make insurance much easier and better value for customers.
Anthony Woolley
UK CIO of Societe Generale
Anthony Woolley was appointed Head of Innovation for the UK, Societe Generale in September 2017. He previously served for 4 years as the UK Chief Information Officer for the bank and has over 20 years of management experience delivering technology solutions to the Corporate and Investment Banking Industry.
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About Global Digital Finance, Ownera, Societe Generale: Societe Generale is a French multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Paris, France.
Frederic Couderc
Co-CIO of Chenavari Investment Managers
Mr. Frederic Jean Sylvain Couderc is a Co-Chief Investment Officer at Chenavari Investment Managers LLP. Mr. Couderc is a Partner at Chenavari Credit Partners LLP. He is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director at RiverRock Securities Limited. Mr. Couderc is the Managing Director at Chenavari Financial Group Limited. Mr. Couderc was a Managing Director Principal at Bear Stearns. Prior to this, he was employed at Natixis, where he was responsible for originating, structuring, and distributing European structured credit products. Mr. Couderc holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Dauphine University.
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About Chenavari Investment Managers: A group of alternative investment management companies focused on a broad range of credit,structured finance, real estate and private debt
Loic Fery
CEO and Co-CIO of Chenavari Investment Managers
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About Chenavari Investment Managers: A group of alternative investment management companies focused on a broad range of credit,structured finance, real estate and private debt
Michel van Tol
CIO and Co-founder of Huddlestock
Michel is co-founder and CIO of Huddlestock, a financial technology company based in Oslo, Norway and London, United Kingdom. Michel has experience from working at Meditor Capital in London, and UBS O’Connor in Chicago.
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About Huddlestock: SaaS, Fintech, Mobile App, Wealth Management, Asset Management, Trading, Investing
