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 Director operating in the Building Material space. If you think a 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.
Edward Hollands
Managing Director and Founder of DrivenMedia
Ed Hollands is the 23-year- old entrepreneur behind DrivenMedia, the Derby-based advertising agency which creates mobile billboards on commercial trailers for brands, organisations and businesses. Originally from Hertfordshire, Ed graduated from the University of Derby in 2016 with a first-class honours degree in Business Studies and was always ambitious to create his own company. Today DrivenMedia offers companies, brands and organisations the opportunity to advertise on the sides and backs of lorries, trucks and vans as they travel the world delivering goods and services. Ed got the idea of mobile billboards on an early morning walk when he saw traffic – including several large, plain lorries – queuing at a busy roundabout as rush hour traffic began to build. He realised the scope for offering companies a different type of marketing opportunity was huge. Ed grew up in a village called Pitstone near Tring in Hertfordshire with his parents Angela & Graham and his younger brother Will. His mum works for local hospice charity and Graham works for HP. Will is currently studying music at university. It was in primary school (Brookmead Primary School) that the seeds of entrepreneurship were sown when Ed declared he wanted to run a pub called The Happy Inn. He also saw his father being away from his family due to working overseas and felt that he wanted to have some choices around work when he got older. Later when at secondary school in Tring he earned money by carrying bags for small change to the form room. His determination to run his own business became stronger just before selecting his GCSE choices as he already knew he wanted to be the master of his own fate financially. This dictated the subjects he chose at both GCSE and A level. Ed chose to study for his degree at the University of Derby as he felt the campus and the teaching staff had the right ethos around business. Once there he also joined the Business and Entrepreneurship Society and began to be inspired by those who had already walked the walk in business. It was during this time he met Graham Mulholland, a leading local entrepreneur who became his mentor alongside lecturer and friend Bev Crighton Senior Lecturer/Programme Leader BA HRM As part of his studies, he did explore the idea of creating digital billboards on A38 right next to the university. He also set up his own business in the summer of his first year at university but the idea didn’t work mainly because he had not appreciated the important role played by marketing and advertising. It was an early lesson learned. At home, Ed lives with his fiancé Tara and they are childhood sweethearts who met at Scout Camp more than five years ago. Tara is a teaching assistant at a school in Nottingham and also is also an Ofsted-registered nanny currently studying for her level 3 NVQ in childcare. Ed is also a keen dodgeball player and qualified referee. While at university he played for the university team, The Derby Seahawks, and now plays for the Nottingham Sheriffs alongside being an referee. He plays twice a month during the season and referees weekly.
Follow Edward Hollands:
About DrivenMedia, DrivenMedia: The UK’s major road network is one of the most densely populated highways in the world.
Darren Shapland
Non Executive Director of Ferguson plc
Darren is Chairman of Poundland Group plc and was appointed Chairman of Maplin Electronics Limited in August 2014, Chairman of Topps Tiles Plc in March 2015 and Chairman of Notonthehighstreet.com in June 2015. He retired from his position as a Non Executive Director and as Chairman of the Audit Committee of Ladbrokes Plc on 24 September 2015. Between 2012 and 2013 he was Chief Executive Officer of Carpetright Plc. Prior to that, Mr Shapland was J Sainsbury plc Chief Financial Officer from 2005 to 2010 and Group Development Director from 2010 to 2011. He was also Chairman of Sainsbury’s Bank. Previously, Mr Shapland was Group Finance Director of Carpetright plc between 2002 and 2005, Finance Director of Superdrug Stores plc between 2000 and 2002 and held a variety of positions with the Burton Group and Arcadia.
Follow Darren Shapland:
About Ferguson plc: Ferguson plc an international business, operating group’s strength is to operate strong national businesses in home markets.
Christopher Rogers
Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors & Member of the Audit and Nomination Committee of Travis Perkins
Christopher Rogers was appointed as a non-executive director on 1 September 2013. Christopher was Managing Director of Costa Coffee from 2012 to 2016 and a director of Whitbread PLC from 2005 to 2016 where he also served as Group Finance Director. He was Group Finance Director of Woolworth Group PLC from 2001 to 2005 and previously held senior roles in both finance and commercial functions in Comet Group PLC and Kingfisher PLC. He was also a non-executive director of HMV Group PLC from 2006 to 2012. He is a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominations Committee. Christopher is a chartered accountant.
Follow Christopher Rogers:
About : Travis Perkins plc, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the UK’s leading companies in the builders’ merchanting and home improvement market.
Heather McSharry
Member of the Board of Directors of CRH
Heather McSharry has served as a member of our Board of Directors since May 2013.From 2006 to 2009, Heather McSharry was Managing Director Ireland of Reckitt Benckiser, a multinational health, home and hygiene consumer products company. From 1989 to 2006, she held various positions at Boots Healthcare, a leading global consumer healthcare company, most recently as Managing Director of Boots Healthcare Ireland Limited. Heather McSharry serves on the boards of several public and private companies, including Greencore Group plc, an international manufacturer of convenience foods, CRH plc, an international building materials group, and the Industrial Development Agency in Ireland, where she is Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee. From 2007 to 2011, Heather McSharry served on the board of the Bank of Ireland, where she was a member of its Audit Committee from 2009 to 2011.Heather McSharry holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Studies degree from University College Dublin.
Follow Heather McSharry:
About : CRH is an international group of diversified building materials businesses that provides construction services and materials.
Peter Brewin
Non – Executive Director, Owner of Concrete Canvas
Peter Brewin is the Owner of Concrete Canvas.
Follow Peter Brewin:
About Concrete Canvas: Concrete Canvas Ltd. manufacture a ground breaking material technology.
William Crawford
Director, Owner of Concrete Canvas
Will Crawford is the Owner of Concrete Canvas.
Follow William Crawford:
About Concrete Canvas: Concrete Canvas Ltd. manufacture a ground breaking material technology.
Gregory Dewerpe
Managing Director of A/O PropTech
Gregory is a seasoned real estate and technology investor with over 15 years of experience across I-Banking, real estate and venture, a multi-billion deal-making history, and a deep understanding of the financial markets, real estate and venture capital eco-systems. A/O Proptech has emerged from AMD Capital, a dedicated real estate investment company ( direct real assets, public real estate markets, and venture) also founded by Gregory after he left I-Banking where he started his career a decade earlier, at Credit Suisse and Citigroup, looking after investments, structuring and financing for Sovereign wealth funds and other large institutions. Gregory sits on the board/advisory board of a variety of companies in the tech and Real estate space including amongst others Placemake.io, Plentific, Wildstone, Fornova, Residently, Livelike and Tiger Media. Gregory is a Swiss national, fluent in English, French and Italian; he attended HEC Lausanne University, London School of Economics (Masters) and Harvard Business School. Gregory is passionate about sports, travelling, nutrition/food-tech, cancer research and fighting the destructive long-lasting impact of bullying amongst children and younger generations. Gregory currently lives between London and Berlin.
Follow Gregory Dewerpe:
About A/O PropTech: Europe’s largest Proptech VC firm investing in technology companies transforming the real estate industry.
Merrion Edwards
Director, Global Market and Technology Development of Corning
Merrion Edwards is currently the director of market and technology development, optical fibre and cable, for Corning Optical Communications. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of telecommunications and is the author of 60 papers in industry journals, covering a broad range of applications: Core, Metro, Access, DataCenter, Transport and Photonics. During her career at Corning, Dr. Edwards has become a knowledge expert on emerging telecommunications trends and synergetic innovation of optical fibre, cable and components to enable advancement of telecommunications transport systems. Prior to joining Corning, Edwards conducted research into photonic devices for telecommunications and sensing. Edwards holds a PhD from the Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.
Follow Merrion Edwards:
About Corning: Corning is a manufacturer of building materials including glass, ceramic, related materials and technologies, and more.
Jeremy J. Martin
Founder and Director of Medgold Resources
Mr. Martin holds a degree in mining geology from the Camborne School of Mines, and a MSc. in mineral exploration from the University of Leicester. He has worked in South America and in Central America and Europe, where he was responsible for grassroots regional metalliferous exploration programmes through to resources definition and mine development. Jeremy has been involved in the formation of two AIM traded companies and has completed a number of high value mineral project transactions. He has served on the board of Ovoca Gold Plc and is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists and the Institute of Mining Analysts.
Follow Jeremy J. Martin:
About Horizonte Minerals, Medgold Resources: Medgold is a Mediterranean-focused TSX-V listed gold exploration and development company.
Daniel P. James
President and Director of Medgold Resources
Mr. James started his exploration career in 1997 working as an exploration geologist in Tanzania with Ashanti Goldfields. He spent 5 years working in London for Bloomberg and Yahoo on various debt and equity roadshows. In 2005 joined ACA Howe and consulted on various exploration projects across Africa, Europe and Asia. He joined Stratex International in 2007 managing exploration on the Inlice gold deposit in Turkey before establishing operations and exploration projects in Ethiopia, leading teams to the discovery of the Afar Epithermal Province, which is now under a JV agreement with Thani Ashanti (a JV company of Anglo Ashanti). Dan is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists and a fellow of the Geological Society of London.
Follow Daniel P. James:
About Medgold Resources: Medgold is a Mediterranean-focused TSX-V listed gold exploration and development company.
Julie Kennedy
User Experience Director of Saint-Gobain
Julie Kennedy is a user experience director at Saint-Gobain.
Follow Julie Kennedy:
About Saint-Gobain: Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures, and distributes building materials and solutions.
Julie Kennedy
User Experience Director of Saint-Gobain
Julie Kennedy is a user experience director at Saint-Gobain.
Follow Julie Kennedy:
About Saint-Gobain: Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures, and distributes building materials and solutions.
Andrew Harrison
Executive Director of Lords Group Trading
Follow Andrew Harrison:
About Lords Group Trading: Lords Group Trading specializes in the distributor of building, plumbing, heating, and DIY goods.
Huw Poppy
Sales Director of Breathing Buildings
Huw joined the team in 2011. Since 1997, he has been designing and developing ventilation, filtration and evaporative air cooling systems for commercial, industrial and domestic building types. Prior to joining Breathing Buildings, Huw specialised specifically in the design of natural ventilation systems and the development of control strategies to ensure the systems operate at their maximum efficiency.
Follow Huw Poppy:
About Breathing Buildings: Breathing Buildings develops and commercializes low energy e-stack mixing ventilation systems.
Les Dawson
Managing Director of UniBlock
Follow Les Dawson:
About UniBlock: UniBlock is the sole UK Distributor for Polycrete Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF), now known as Thermal Insulating Modular Systems (TIMS).
Sophie Bush
Founder & Director of Warehouse Home
Sophie Bush has over a decade’s experience working in publishing for some of the world’s most renowned magazine titles. As a keen intrapreneur, she launched two successful ventures for Condé Nast Publications; a travel guide in 2006, the company’s first print and digital title, and a consulting business for WIRED magazine in 2012. It was the purchase of her home, in a grade II listed east London warehouse conversion, that offered Sophie the opportunity to pursue her passion for architecture and design and to found a business of her own. Sophie left WIRED in 2014 and launched Warehouse Home, knowing she had spotted a gap in the market.
Follow Sophie Bush:
About Warehouse Home: Warehouse Home is the definitive media brand for urban living, an essential resource for anyone aspiring to the industrial look in any home.
Joe Trueman
Managing Director of Truemans
Follow Joe Trueman:
About Truemans: Truemans is your one stop shop for frames, glass, panels, composite doors, conservatory roofs, trims, silicone, fixings, cleaners and tools.
Oliver Ramsden
Director of Aspen Woolf
Follow Oliver Ramsden:
About : Aspen Woolf is an award-winning property investment company established in 2005 with offices in the UK and the UAE.
Russell Midgley
Director of Aspen Woolf
Follow Russell Midgley:
About : Aspen Woolf is an award-winning property investment company established in 2005 with offices in the UK and the UAE.
Amy Nina Sheldrake
Marketing Director of Carapace Slate
When Amy’s not keeping everyone else in check, she can often be found in the back of the company van/ambulance knocking back glasses of wine. Alongside Martyn, she is the founder of Carapace and has been at the forefront throughout the entire product development journey whilst also running the marketing and in-house design. She spends her personal time, counting down the days till she’s on a yacht with Ramzi, a bottle of whiskey and a big cigar.
Follow Amy Nina Sheldrake:
About Carapace Slate: Carapace Slate is a revolutionary, snap-fit roof tile set to make huge waves within the construction sector.
