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 United Kingdom based Managing Director operating in the Search Engine space. If you think a Managing 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.
Jon Buss
Managing Director of Yext
He is a Managing Director, EMEA at Yext.
Follow Jon Buss:
About Yext: Yext is a knowledge engine platform that helps brands deliver official answers.
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.
Follow Patrick Wehrmann:
About StepStone: StepStone is a leading international provider of software and services for the human capital management sector.
Patrick Simpson
Managing Director, Renewals of CPA Global
Follow Patrick Simpson:
About CPA Global: CPA Global provides intellectual property services.
Shane Lake
Co-Founder and Managing Director of hungryhouse
Shane Lake is co-founder and managing director at Hungryhouse.
Follow Shane Lake:
About hungryhouse: hungryhouse is a U.K.-based online platform for takeaway and food delivery that provides a wide range of cuisines and dishes.
Jonathan Nicol
Founder & Managing Director of Stratajet
Jonny Nicol Ranked as one of Aviation Week’s Top 10 Leaders of European Business Aviation (at EBACE 2016), Jonny Nicol has undoubtedly risen to be one of the most prominent and influential figures in the private aviation industry. A military man through and through, Jonny is adamant that preparation is the key to success. This is why his vision to revolutionise the private jet industry took five years to develop. Having trained as a fighter pilot and served as an officer and pilot for a decade with the British Army, Jonny Nicol left the British Armed Forces to pursue a career as a an entrepreneur. A self-taught computer scientist, Jonny developed a passion for using technology to disrupt typically traditional industries, his first two businesses doing precisely that in the recruitment and military sectors. After selling the second business to Hewlett Packard’s EDS Defence, Nicol spent time as a freelance commercial pilot, during which time he was struck by the archaic and inefficient nature of private aviation. Noting that old-fashioned systems, such as the means of booking a private jet over the phone via a broker, were holding back the industry from advancing in line with other travel innovations, Jonny set about building a system that could bring private jets into the modern age. Reinventing the industry was no mean feat, involving five years of highly advanced computer programming and overcoming major hurdles, but Stratajet, dubbed ‘the world’s most sophisticated price comparison site,’ is the result. The first of its kind, Stratajet is the world’s fastest private jet booking service. With a technology sophisticated enough to filter through all the necessary variables that go into calculating the cost of flights, it’s the only platform that gives customers direct access to the private jet market. It returns accurate costs of a large range of aircraft in seconds, all of which can be booked instantly. Streamlining an old-fashioned and time-consuming booking process, Stratajet is solving the major problems hampering private aviation; inefficiency and wastage. By cutting costs for aircraft operators and in turn driving down prices for the passenger, Stratajet is making private jet travel more widely accessible to the mainstream traveller.
Follow Jonathan Nicol:
About Stratajet: Stratajet is a real-time private jet booking platform using the power of technology to give its passengers total control and freedom.
Kevin Gibbons
Managing Director of BlueGlass Interactive
A leading light in the search industry, SEOptimise founder Kevin Gibbons is a web expert with over 10 years’ experience. He has specialised in the field of search engine marketing since 2003, advising a wide range of industry sectors on increasing their online visibility by using the latest search engine marketing techniques. A highly respected expert blogger on the latest developments in search engine marketing, Kevin writes regularly for SEOptimise, Econsultancy and Search Engine Land, plus he is highly followed on Twitter. At SEOptimise Kevin oversees the search marketing team, the strategy of online marketing projects, client account management and promotes the business within the search industry.
Follow Kevin Gibbons:
About BlueGlass Interactive, Re:signal, WeLoveDates: BlueGlass Interactive is a digital marketing agency providing integrated SEO, content marketing, and paid search services.
Diana Campbell
Managing Director of Zoek
Follow Diana Campbell:
About Zoek: Zoek is the new job search site and app that uses state of the art technology to find you the perfect job match.
Steve Shinn
Managing Director of LocallyCompared
Steve is the managing director of LocallyCompared.com, the UK’s local business comparison website.
Follow Steve Shinn:
About Disputed, LocallyCompared: LocallyCompared.com is the first local business comparison site. Business owners don’t have the time to spend hours improving their online
Rachel Cornish
Managing Director of ExtraDigital
Follow Rachel Cornish:
About ExtraDigital, ExtraDigital, Mynurva: Internet Marketing & Development Agency
Mike Brooksbank
Managing Director & VP EMEA of Pingar
As Managing Director, Pingar API Limited, VP EMEA, Mike Brooksbank manages Pingar operations in the United Kingdom Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Mike’s work at Pingar comes after 24 years in the software industry, where he has held senior and executive positions in sales and management. His recent experience includes work as Managing Director UK and Vice President EMEA for Kofax image capture and business process automation solutions. Earlier in his career, Mike held executive and senior management positions at Citadon, Xchange Inc, Serena Software, and Systar Limited. And, before working in the software industry, Mike served as an officer in the Royal Air Force.
Follow Mike Brooksbank:
About Pingar: Pingar offers products and services that enables businesses to find, organize, and manage content.
Sam Rutley
Managing Director of PushON
Sam Rutley is a managing director at PushON.
Follow Sam Rutley:
About PushON: Award winning full-service eCommerce agency with offices in Manchester, Bristol & Edinburgh