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 United Kingdom based Chairman operating in the Industrial space. If you think a Chairman 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.
Lorenzo Simonelli
Founder, Chairman & CEO of Baker Hughes
Lorenzo Simonelli is President & CEO of GE Oil & Gas, an advanced technology equipment and services company that serves all segments of the oil and gas industry from extraction to transportation to end use. The business employs 43,000 people around the world. Before joining GE Oil & Gas, Lorenzo was President and CEO of GE Transportation, a global transportation leader in the rail, mining, marine and energy storage industries. During his five-year tenure, he expanded and diversified GE Transportation by focusing on advanced technology manufacturing, intelligent control systems, and a diverse approach to new propulsion solutions to solve the world’s toughest transportation challenges. Lorenzo has also served as CFO Americas for GE Consumer & Industrial, as well as General Manager, Product Management for GE Appliances, Lighting, Electrical Distribution and Motors. He joined GE’s Financial Management Program in 1994, where he worked on assignments in GE International, GE Shared Services, GE Oil & Gas and Consolidated Financial Insurance. Originally from Florence, Italy, Lorenzo is is a Business & Economics Graduate from Cardiff University in South Wales.
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About Baker Hughes: Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide.
Graham Edwards
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Telereal Trillium
Graham Graham Edwards is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Telereal Trillium. He initiated the transaction which resulted in 6,700 properties being transferred from BT to Telereal in a £2.4bn property outsourcing deal. In January 2009, Graham led the negotiations which resulted in the acquisition of Trillium from Land Securities Group Plc. This transaction firmly established Telereal Trillium as the market leader in property outsourcing and investment, creating a combined business with annual revenues in excess of £1 billion. Prior to Telereal Trillium, Graham was chief investment officer of Talisman Global Asset Management, having established it as the Pears FSA registered asset management arm – today having AUM in excess of £1bn. Before joining Talisman, Graham held positions as a fund manager at Merrill Lynch Investment Management and head of finance for the BT Group Plc’s property department. He read economics at Cambridge University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ACA), the Association of Corporate Treasurers (AMCT), the UK Society of Investment Professionals (ASIP) and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS).
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About Drest, Telereal Trillium: Telereal Trillium provides real estate management services in the United Kingdom.
Simon Taylor
Chairman of PiP IoT
A Business Management graduate, Simon began his working life in product management, firstly at Toshiba Information Systems and then Cable & Wireless where he met Nick Razey, his long-time business partner. In 1995, Simon and Nick were part of the founding team of Interoute Telecommunications. The company was sold in 1999 and Simon went on to found a number of other businesses including Telecom FM, N Quire and Saiph Communications, which focuses on IP telephony and convergence.
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About PiP IoT: PiP IoT is a sensing device provides power to make smarter business decisions faster and at lower cost through real-time information.
Gilo Cardozo
Founder ,Chairman & CTO of Gilo Industries
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About Gilo Industries: Gilo Industries, a Dorset-based aerospace technology startup
Murray Steele
Chairman of Surface Generation
Murray has a proven track record over 40 years of building businesses in the aerospace, automotive and energy sectors.
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About Financial Times, Octopus Apollo VCT, Surface Generation: Surface Generation is a privately-owned high technology and manufacturing company.
Gideon Harbour
Chairman of Optial
Before founding Optial, Gideon Harbour ran the London operations of a private investment trust focusing on technology and real estate. Prior to 1995 he was with the consulting firm McKinsey & Co working in the Sydney and Atlanta offices. At McKinsey he worked with clients in finance, insurance and the steel industry, specializing in change management. Gideon holds an MA from Oxford in PPE (Economics).
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About Optial: Optial is a successful global supplier of Enterprise-wide EHS, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC).
Geoff Westmore
Chairman of Alliance Medical Corporation
Geoff Westmore joined the board of Alliance Medical as Chairman in November 2013. As Chairman, he is responsible for leading the board in setting the group’s strategy, monitoring the performance of the business and liaising with key stakeholders such as shareholders. A key role for Geoff, as Chairman, and the other non-executive directors is to simultaneously challenge and support. Geoff has been a non-executive chairman and director of a wide variety of companies over the last 15 years. He was Chairman of Four Seasons Health Care, the UK’s largest care home business, until 2012 where he was particularly involved in major policy issues of strategic importance to the sector. Geoff’s previous directorships also include the major multi-national hotel group, Le Meridien Hotels; Avery Weigh-Tronix, an international weighing equipment business; Brunner Mond, a leading UK chemical company; and Retail Decisions, a payment processing group. He also likes getting involved in start-up and early stage businesses. As an example, he was founder Chairman, and is still a board member, of Research Now, which is the world’s largest provider of insight to the market research industry. Prior to his non-executive career, Geoff was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 17 years where he rose to become Head of Corporate Finance on the UK and Global Head of M&A.
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About Alliance Medical Corporation: Alliance Medical is a reprocessor of medical devices.
Andrew Wiseman
Chairman of Telford Homes
Andrew Wiseman is a chairman at Telford Homes.
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About Telford Homes: Telford Homes is a residential property developer in East London noted for regeneration projects within public sector partnerships.
Colin Calder
Vice Chairman of Scrabster Harbour
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About : Britain’s most northern mainland port providing services for oil and gas, renewables, cruise, ferries, fishing, property and cargo sectors.
Thomas Pottinger
Chairman of Scrabster Harbour
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About : Britain’s most northern mainland port providing services for oil and gas, renewables, cruise, ferries, fishing, property and cargo sectors.
Mike Reilly
Executive Chairman of ETher NDE
Mike was previously Group Managing Director of Sonatest PLC from 1989 to 2009, during which time the group grew from a $2m to $25m business.
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About ETher NDE: ETher is a manufacturer of Eddy Current Testing (ECT) non-destructive testing NDT equipment.
Barry Gillibrand
Chairman/Founder of Low Power Radio Solutions
Barry founded LPRS in 1985 having worked in electronic component distribution for many years. Barry brings with him a wealth of knowledge of electronics and wireless communications.
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About Low Power Radio Solutions: LPRS is a global leader in low power RF solutions for OEMs.
Chris Dodson OBE DL
Chairman and Founder of Torftech
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About Torftech: Torftech group of companies develop, licence and provide the TORBED Energy Technologies to a wide range of industries.
