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 Executive Director operating in the Retail space. If you think a Executive 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.
Dennis Curry
Executive Director and Deputy CTO, Technology Fellow of Konica Minolta
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About Konica Minolta: Konica Minolta is an Innovative Company and continues to create inspiring products and services in the field of imaging.
Michael Kraftman
Non Executive Director of My 1st Years
Michael Kraftman is an Executive Director at My 1st Years.
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About My 1st Years: My 1st Years offers personalised gifts for babies and children.
Stephanie Mathern
Non Executive Director of Vagabond Wines
Stephanie Mathern is the Non Executive Director at Vagabond Wines.
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About Vagabond Wines: Vagabond Wines is owns and operates wine bars and shops in the United Kingdom.
Alasdair Marnoch
Non-Executive Director of The Post Office
Alasdair Marnoch joined the Board of Post Office Limited as a Non-Executive Director on 23 May 2012. A Chartered Accountant, he chair’s the Board’s Audit, Risk and Compliance Sub-Committee which reviews the statutory accounts and financial controls. Alasdair has had wide experience as Finance Director of a number of FMCG and service businesses, including listed companies. Most recently he served as CFO of the Equiniti Group, a leading provider of complex administration and processing services to the public and private sectors.
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About : Post Office is a retail post office company that provides a wide range of products, including postage stamps and banking to the public.
Tim Franklin
Non-Executive Director of The Post Office
Tim Franklin joined the Board of Post Office Limited as a Non-Executive Director on 19 September 2012. Tim was Chief Operating Officer to the Co-operative Banking Group until the end of 2011, having previously served as Managing Director of the Britannia Building Society. Prior to that, he was Director of Customer Programmes and Loyalty and Managing Director of Savings at Barclays. Tim’s experience extends across the private and public sectors. He is also a Non-Executive Director of HM Land Registry and was previously on the Boards of Reclaim Fund Limited, Mutual Plus Limited and the Link Cash Machines Network.
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About : Post Office is a retail post office company that provides a wide range of products, including postage stamps and banking to the public.
Tom Singh
Founder & Non-Executive Director of New Look
Tom Singh OBE is the Founder of New Look, a leading UK entrepreneur and active private investor with family interests spanning: retail, technology, real estate, renewable energy sectors and private equity. He currently holds the position of Non-Executive Board Member for New Look with over 900 stores worldwide which he founded in 1969. In addition to his responsibilities at New Look, Tom is a founding member of: the Social Investment Task Force, the Chairman of the UK Advisory Council for the British Asian Trust, and is a Trustee of the Pakhar Foundation. Tom is an active philanthropist and social investor and in recent years, has taken an increasing interest in the world of technology.
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About New Look: New Look is a retail seller of mens and womens clothing.
Vince Gunn
Non Executive Director and Shareholder of Pagazzi Lighting
Vince Gunn has served as Managing Director of Crocs Europe since arriving at the company in October 2011. Mr. Gunn currently oversees Crocs’ European business, encompassing the wholesale, retail and e-commerce operations. Prior to joining Crocs, Mr. Gunn held senior roles at The Body Shop International, including Head of Global Retail and Managing Director at The Body Shop UK. He also served on the Board of Thomson Travel Group and Mothercare as Retail Development and Operations Director, developing a number of new retail concepts and brand repositioning projects. At Blackwell UK, Mr. Gunn served as Chief Executive Officer and secured numerous industry accreditations for the company, including Bookselling Company of the Year and Retail Chain of the Year. In addition, Mr. Gunn ran his own consultancy and delivered turnaround and special projects for leading brands including Virgin Group and KRM AG – ECCO Group. Additionally, Mr. Gunn currently serves on the board for Pagazzi Lighting.
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About : Pagazzi Lighting is an online retailer offering lighting and mirrors.
Octavia Morley
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of Card Factory Plc
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About Card Factory Plc: Card Factory Plc is a specialist retailer of greeting cards, dressing and gifts.
David Stead
Independent Non-Executive Director of Card Factory Plc
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About Card Factory Plc: Card Factory Plc is a specialist retailer of greeting cards, dressing and gifts.
Stephen Benzikie
Non Executive Director of Wamo
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About Wamo: Mobile app that connects brands to fans
Chris Li
Non Executive Director of soak.com
Chris Li is Founder & Director at BathEmpire
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About soak.com: soak.com is an online bathroom products retailer which designs and sources its own product.
Simon Devonshire
Non-Executive Director of Local Data Company
Passionate about the success of entrepreneurs he is the co-founder of several businesses – he is an active stakeholder in several ventures and an enthusiastic ambassador of the business community. Simon ran the SME division of O2 UK for five years , a £750m P&L – doubling the number of business customers in that time. Appointed to the position of Director Wayra Europe in 2012 – his dream job. He has previously worked on a diverse range of brands.
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About Coding Cupboard, Local Data Company, O2: Local Data Company is the UK’s most accurate retail and leisure location data business.
Nick Nicolaou
Non Executive Director of Streetlike
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About Streetlike: In-store Digital Interactive Reward Platform for Enterprise Retail
