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 CEO’ operating in the Loyalty Programs space. If you think a CEO’ 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.
Adam Ward
CEO & Co-Founder of Airtime Rewards
Adam is the co-founder and CEO of Airtime Rewards Ltd.
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About Airtime Rewards: Airtime Rewards is an innovative loyalty platform pioneering unique rewards solutions with mobile operators.
David John
Founder & CEO of Loyalize
David has worked for a number of financial organisations, from Private Equity to Commodity Trading. Most recently, he worked as a Financial Services Consultant, focussed on developing and supporting national and international businesses going through strategic change. Outside of business, David is a keen and accomplished rugby player, and attempting golfer!
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About Findr, Loyalize: Loyalize is a white label payment, loyalty and customer engagement platform
Craig Unsworth
Chief Executive Officer of Upgrade Pack
Craig is CEO and Founder of Upgrade Pack, the closed marketplace for airline and hotel upgrades. He has 16 years’ experience adding value to companies through the creation of proprietary technology and innovation. His core strength is building product teams, and new products, that add to the company’s valuation. He has consistently delivered this within corporate, agency, startup and consultancy environments – resulting in MBO, private equity, trade sale, and capital market (AIM IPO) exits. Craig was Chair of ad:tech London from 2012 to 2016, and a Member of its Advisory Board. He is an Advocate for Tech London Advocates (TLA); and served on the Executive Committee of BIMA (British Interactive Media Association), leading the Technology and Inclusion committee groups. He is London-based but has worked globally for the past decade.
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About Upgrade Pack: Upgrade Pack is your key to a better hotel room or airplane seat.
Yannis Piperakis-Papadakis
CEO of DOPE Studio
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About DOPE Studio: DOPE creates [D]ata driven, fully [O]ptimized, top [P]erforming, digital [E]xperiences for local & international brands!
Charlie Casey
Co-Founder & CEO of LoyaltyLion
Charlie sets the company’s vision and strategic direction. He holds a degree in Economics and has worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as an Economist and Deloitte as a Management Consultant. When Charlie isn’t working on LoyaltyLion, you’ll find him training for his next challenge.
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About LoyaltyLion: Social loyalty framework for ecommerce
Ayo Dawodu
CEO & Co-Founder of Loystar
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About Loystar: Loystar is a loyalty and retail platform that helps merchants build customer loyalty and drive repeat sales in their business.
Achille Traore
CEO of White Label Loyalty
Achille Traore is the CEO of TopScreen Media and the founder of White Label Loyalty.
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About White Label Loyalty: We are a cloud-based loyalty platform that empowers businesses to understand, engage and retain their customers.
Marcus Kern
Co-Founder, CEO & Director of Duesday
Kern started as an entrepreneur in 1998 when he founded voiceIT communications, offering voicemail services. Prior to that Kern graduated with distinction in Physics at the University of Hamburg after completing a research year at the Optoelectronics Research Centre in Southampton. Early in the new millenium Kern led the architecture and implementation of O2’s strategic SMS platform. During 2004 Kern worked for T-Mobile International driving technical design and implementation of a £2 million SMS/MMS alerting platform across T-Mobile’s European footprint. In 2005 Kern co-founded Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) and started as CTO. He was imperative to MIGs expansion to 200 employees over six years. In 2008 MIG was ranked No.1 in the Tech Track 100, securing the title of fastest growing technology company in the UK. MIG was acquired by NASDAQ listed Velti plc in November 2011 and Kern then acted as VP of Technology for the corporation. In 2014 Kern co-founded Fonix Mobile and guided the messaging and payments venture throughout its three year growth phase. In early 2016 he co-founded CFT Group, a brand new payments provider re-inventing direct debits through a revolutionary consumer incentive scheme: DUESDAY. In December 2017 Kern was named Digital Entrepreneur of the Year by Cornwall Live,
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About Duesday, Fonix: Duesday is a Payment Institution.
Asaf Rozin
Co-founder & CEO of Stampfeet
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About Stampfeet: Mobile loyalty solutions for retailers and brands
Ebbe Groes
Member of board, Investor, Phd Economics, Harvard, CEO & Founder Everymatrix ltd of Shopbox
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About : Shopbox is a cloud-based checkout system that empowers business owners in hospitality to run their business hassle-free.
William Dawes
Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder & Executive Director of Mkango Resources
William Dawes is a graduate of Bristol University (BSc Geology) and Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London (MSc Mineral Exploration with distinction). Having trained as a geologist in South Africa, he worked as a mining analyst based in London and then for Rio Tinto’s exploration division. Subsequently, he gained significant global mining transaction experience in the metals and mining team of Robert Fleming & Co, Chase Manhattan Bank and JPMorgan. Mr Dawes was a founding director of Mkango’s major shareholder, Leo Mining and Exploration (Leominex) and since 2004 has been involved in the exploration and evaluation of a variety of projects throughout Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. He has 12 years’ experience in exploration and business development and 9 years in mining finance, mergers and acquisitions. He is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
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About Mkango Resources: Mkango Resources Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development company.
Greg Barden
Founder and CEO of Pixie
Greg Barden is the Founder and CEO at Pixie.
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About Pixie: Pixie is a community marketplace for people to discover, pay and earn loyalty across independent businesses
James Brown
Co-founder & CEO of Epic Impact
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About Epic Impact: A mobile app that helps users track their CO2, environmental & social footprint, and rewards them for buying ethical & sustainable products.
Massimo Sirolla
Co-Founder and CEO of Loyalzoo
Loyalzoo is an innovative and super simple loyalty card app for independent merchants. It helps retail businesses increase their revenue by improving repeat business. See www.loyalzoo.com for further details.
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About Loyalzoo: Digital loyalty system for independent retailers and eateries
Anthony Stonham
CEO/CTO of Local Puzzle
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About Local Puzzle: Supporting independent merchants, rewarding shoppers’ loyalty, revitalising the high street
Anthony Stonham
CEO/CTO of Local Puzzle
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About Local Puzzle: Supporting independent merchants, rewarding shoppers’ loyalty, revitalising the high street
Cristóbal Rosa
CEO of PayMet Ltd.
CEO PayMet Ltd.
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About PayMet Ltd.: Secure Mobile Payment and Loyalty
Marlon Bowser
CEO of HTK
Marlon co-founded HTK in 1996, following 5 years at BT Labs working on some of the first commercial applications of advanced speech technology. With a first-class engineering degree from UMIST, Marlon is an active advisor to regional growth of the ICT Sector and proud to be a Suffolk Business Ambassador.
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About HTK: HTK Horizon is a SaaS platform for loyalty program management and CRM
Marlon Bowser
CEO of HTK
Marlon co-founded HTK in 1996, following 5 years at BT Labs working on some of the first commercial applications of advanced speech technology. With a first-class engineering degree from UMIST, Marlon is an active advisor to regional growth of the ICT Sector and proud to be a Suffolk Business Ambassador.
Follow Marlon Bowser:
About HTK: HTK Horizon is a SaaS platform for loyalty program management and CRM
