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 CFO’ operating in the Medical space. If you think a CFO’ 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.
Adrian Hennah
CFO of Reckitt
Adrian joined the Company in January 2013 as Chief Financial Officer Designate, and was appointed as CFO in February 2013. He joined the Company following six years at Smith & Nephew plc, as CFO. Previously he was CFO for four years at Invensys, the international engineering company. Adrian also spent 18 years at GlaxoSmithKline plc, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, holding a number of senior management and financial roles. He has previously worked at PwC (then Price Waterhouse) for four years in both audit and consultancy, and also for Stadtsparkasse Koeln, the German regional bank. He is a Non-Executive Director of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV.
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About Reckitt: Reckitt Benckiser Group is a consumer goods company makes health, hygiene and home products.
James Abell
Partner and CFO of Abingworth
Jams has more than 14 years of venture capital experience and three years of operational experience in life science companies. His directorships have included Chroma Therapeutics, Clinical Designs and Syntaxin. He joined Abingworth as CFO in 1998, prior to which he was CFO of Prolifix from 1995 to 1998. He trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG. He holds a degree in Biology with Chemistry from the University of Southampton. James handles Abingworth’s finance and administration as well as investment matters, focusing on start-up companies.
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About Abingworth: Abingworth is an international investment group dedicated to collaborating with life sciences entrepreneurs.
Neil Cooper
Chief Financial Officer of Abingworth
Neil is responsible for finance, administration, and investor relations. Before joining Kennet, he was the Financial Controller at Robert W. Baird Group. Prior to that he worked at Advent Venture Partners. He began his career at KPMG where he gained experience in both Audit and Transaction Services. Neil is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a BSc. in Biochemistry from the University of Warwick.
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About Abingworth: Abingworth is an international investment group dedicated to collaborating with life sciences entrepreneurs.
Alex Asquith
General Counsel and Chief Financial Officer of Abingworth
Alex joined Abingworth in 2005 having previously been a member of the UK legal team at The BOC Group plc, where she was responsible for providing legal advice on a wide range of issues to one of BOC’s lines of business. Alex trained as a solicitor at the London offices of Slaughter and May and was an assistant solicitor in the corporate and commercial department from 1994-1999. Alex’s role at Abingworth is to assist the General Counsel and Chief Financial Officer as well as to provide legal support to the life sciences team
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About Abingworth: Abingworth is an international investment group dedicated to collaborating with life sciences entrepreneurs.
Willem Baralt
CFO of Quanta
Willem has almost twenty years of investment banking, executive management, and private equity experience. Amongst his achievements, he was pivotal in the $1.6bn turnaround and public listing of FLAG Telecom and was co-founder and CFO of Arqaam Capital, one of the largest boutique investment banks based in Dubai. Previously, he has worked at the telecommunications firm Ameritech (SBC), as well the investment banks Deutsche Bank and Panmure Gordon. More recently, he led the acquisition and the subsequent merger of the real-estate agency Humberts with Chesterton. As Deputy Chairman of the enlarged Chesterton Humberts he oversaw its growth into one of the largest real-estate agencies in the UK. Willem has undergraduate degrees in business administration and computer science from Lehigh University and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Business.
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About Quanta: Quanta develops an advanced haemodialysis systems for use in the home and clinic.
David Lawrence
Chief Financial Officer (Acting) of Valneva
CFO of vaccine biotech company Acambis, Vice President Finance, Business Development and Strategy at Chiron Vaccines, Vice President Finance GSK, non-executive and advisory experience, 30 years of experience in vaccines and life sciences.
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About Valneva: Valneva is a specialty vaccine company focused on prevention of infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need.
Tom Sawyer
Chief Financial Officer of Cognetivity Neurosciences
Tom Sawyer is the Chief Financial Officer at Cognetivity Neurosciences.
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About Cognetivity Neurosciences: Cognetivity Neurosciences is a Platform technology for early, rapid and easy detection of dementia.
Marcin Gondek
Chief Financial Officer of FutureMeds
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About FutureMeds: FutureMeds is a network of modern, dedicated clinical research sites that conduct clinical trials.
Graham Baker
Chief Financial Officer of Smith & Nephew
Graham holds an MA degree in Economics from Cambridge University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with Arthur Andersen. In 1995, he joined AstraZeneca PLC where he worked for 20 years, holding multiple senior roles, including Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer, North America (2008-2010), Vice President, Global Financial Services (2010-2013) and Vice President, Finance, International (2013-2015) with responsibility for all emerging markets. Most recently, Graham was Chief Financial Officer of generic pharmaceuticals company Alvogen.
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About Jardine Strategic Holdings, Smith & Nephew: Smith and Nephew is a manufactures and markets orthopedic devices, sports medicine and ENT technologies.
Keith Lovell
CFO of Antidote.me
Keith Lovell brings over 15 years’ experience gained from commercial, financial and management positions in a range of blue-chip, entrepreneurial and start-up organisations. Prior to Shazam at Extreme Mobile, Keith played an integral role in formulating commercial and financial plans for an MNVO venture with Vodafone. Previously, he was also responsible for all major network operator and supplier relationships at DX Communications Ltd and played a key role in negotiating the sale of the UK retail business to BT Cellnet, now 02.
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About Antidote.me: Antidote is a digital health company that accelerates and improves medical research by combining technologies, data, and business models.
Gerard Smith
CFO of SERMO
Gerard joined SERMO in 2011 as the Chief Financial Officer responsible for the company wide Finance, HR and Legal functions along with Investor Relations. Previously he was EMEA CFO of Acxiom, a global Marketing Services Company with revenues exceeding $1.1 billion, CFO of Easynet, a former BSkyB Company, with revenues of $400 million and has held several international finance leadership roles in Dell Corporation during a period in which the business grew from one billion to $13 billion. Gerard has over 25 years of finance experience and graduated with a Business degree from City University, London and is a Chartered Marketer and Chartered Management Accountant.
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About SERMO: SERMO is the social network for doctors.
Wendy Britten
Chief Financial Officer of Congenica
Wendy Britten is a Senior Finance professional with an extensive track record of delivering in leadership positions across a range of industries, including numerous M&A transactions. Most recently Wendy headed up the Group Finance Business Performance team at AstraZeneca, working in close partnership with the CEO, CFO and the Senior Executive Team. Prior to joining AZ Wendy progressed her career in a variety of roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers, starting in Audit and culminating as a Director in M&A in London and New York. Wendy holds a BSc in Mathematics from University of Sheffield and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.
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About Congenica: Congenica is a biotechnology company that provides a diagnostic decision support platform.
Duncan Kennedy
Chief Financial Officer of BTG International
Duncan Kennedy joined BTG in December 2005 as Group Financial Controller and in April 2012 he joined the Leadership Team as Group Director of Finance, with management responsibility for the global finance function. Duncan led BTG’s Interventional Oncology business from May 2015 until he began as CFO in January 2018. Prior to joining BTG, Duncan spent six years in the group finance function of Wembley plc, an international leisure group, gaining wide-ranging experience in all aspects of listed company financial reporting and significant involvement in corporate transactions. Duncan qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Arthur Andersen and holds a BSc in Mathematics from Durham University.
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About BTG International: BTG is a global healthcare company focused on Interventional Medicine.
Fiona Stewart
Chief Financial Officer of Cambridge Epigenetix
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About Cambridge Epigenetix, Fusion Global Capital: Cambridge Epigenetix is using epigenetics to reduce several routine & important diagnostic tests for common cancers to a simple blood draw.
Gianclaudio Antonelli
Chief Financial Officer of AchilleS Vaccines
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About AchilleS Vaccines: AchilleS Vaccines is a company that aims to attract some of the industry’s brightest brains.
Thad Huston
Chief Financial Officer of LivaNova
Thad Huston is the Chief Financial Officer of LivaNova. Huston joined LivaNova after more than 25 years of healthcare experience at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) where he most recently served as Group Chief Financial Officer, Medical Devices. While at J&J, Huston was pivotal in accelerating the growth for many of its divisions through focused strategies, calculated investments in innovation and streamlined productivity. Huston held various other senior roles while at J&J, including: President of J&J’s Xian-Janssen Pharmaceuticals division in China; Vice President – Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer in J&J Pharmaceutical Research and Development; as well as Vice President – Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this, he held senior financial roles at various J&J locations in the U.S., China, Belgium, Russia and Hungary. A Certified Management Accountant, Huston holds a Bachelor of Science in finance with an emphasis in accounting from Pennsylvania State University.
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About LivaNova: LivaNova PLC is a global medical technology company built on nearly five decades of experience and a relentless commitment.
Anjum Ahmad
CFO of Touchlight Genetics
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About Touchlight Genetics: Touchlight Genetics, a British bio-pharmaceutical company founded in 2007.
Robin Pakenham
Chief Financial Officer of Kind Consumer
Robin Pakenham is the chief financial officer of Kind Consumer.
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About Kind Consumer: Kind Consumer is a healthcare research and development company focused on inhalation technologies.
Bill Fleming
CFO of Ultromics
Bill’s career spans over 25 years in a broad range of finance positions. Holding a law degree from Cambridge University and as a qualified ACMA, Bill has accumulated international FD/CFO experience in small venture-backed companies, large blue chips and the bio-tech arena. Bill served as European Finance Director for Visible Genetics, a pioneering company in the field of nucleic acid diagnostics, subsequently holding senior finance positions for Bayer Healthcare in Europe and the USA. Bill played a leading role in securing investment for Oxford University spinout Oxitec and in its successful acquisition by Intrexon Corporation. Joining Ultromics in February 2018, Bill brings with him extensive experience in life sciences and technology sectors and holds a non-executive directorship at the leading life sciences network, OBN.
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About Ultromics: Ultromics clinicians and engineers working together to set new standards for world-class cardiovascular diagnostic tools.
Didier Le Normand
Chief Financial Officer of Minoryx Therapeutics
Didier Le Normand graduated from the ESLSCA Paris business school (F) and holds a MBA degree from Pace University NY (USA). After a start of his career in banking, both United States and France, he moved to industrial corporate environments. Now he has a 20 year CFO experience, Finance and Operations, for private equity and venture backed private and listed companies in Europe, particularly in the Technology and Healthcare sectors. Over the past ten years Didier worked for Novagali Pharma (listed ophthalmic Biotech sold to Santen Pharma Japan), Cellnovo (listed Medtech, diabetes management systems) and, in his previous role, for STAT-DX (Spanish private medical diagnostic, successful sale to Qiagen in April 2018).
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About Minoryx Therapeutics: Minoryx Therapeutics offers pharmacological chaperones, which are small molecule drugs used for the treatment of genetic diseases.
Dawn Watson
Chief Financial Officer of AMR Centre
Experienced Financial Director of both high potential start-ups and established businesses across a broad range of industries. Having trained with Ernst & Young and after gaining many years in industry established her own company in 2010, FinStra Ltd, to provide strategic and financial support either as a part time or ad hoc Finance Director together with undertaking specific projects to help companies achieve their full potential.
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About AMR Centre: AMR Centre is a joint private-public initiative to support/accelerate the development of new antibiotics and diagnostics.
Tom Hadfield
Chief Financial Officer of Oxehealth
Tom Hadfield is the Chief Financial Officer at Oxehealth.
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About Oxehealth: SaaS workflow solution gives carers and custodians more time for hands on care where and when it’s needed most.
Peter Worrall
CFO of Rex Bionics
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About Rex Bionics: REX is a hands-free, self supporting, independently controlled, robotic mobility device.
Julien Cotta
CFO of Inion
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About Inion: Inion is a medical devices company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative biodegradable applications.
Martin Cartwright
Chief Financial Officer of Owlstone Medical
Martin is an energetic and commercially oriented Chartered Accountant. He has nearly 30 years’ experience of working in the technology and services sectors. He has worked in a number of SMEs as CFO from start up through to publicly quoted companies. Previous companies include Cadence Design Systems (Electronic Design Automation), GE Smallworld (Geographic Information Systems), Ubisense (Real Time Location Systems). He always strives to be a value added business partner to the management team and has a broad range of management experience encompassing legal and customer contracts, human resources, investor relations, procurement, as well as financial accounting, planning, forecasting, tax and treasury. Martin qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC).
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About Owlstone Medical: Owlstone Medical is a diagnostics company that developed a non-invasive breathalyzer for infectious disease detection.
Darren Millington
Chief Financial Officer of Rayner Surgical Group
Darren joined the Rayner Group Board in August 2014 with 8 years’ experience as a CFO in public and private companies. Following an MSc in Theoretical Physics, Darren worked in new product development for AEA Technology before joining Arthur Andersen (later Deloitte) to become a chartered accountant. Once qualified he worked for IP Group plc as part of a small team helping commercialise innovative university technologies. He then joined one of these spin-out companies, Summit Corporation, which specialises in developing drugs for muscular dystrophy and TB. The company was successfully floated in 2004 on the AIM market. Darren’s most recent position was as CFO at Gama Aviation, an aviation and engineering company with operations around the world and revenues over $200m. In each of his recent roles Darren has helped the companies grow through investment and acquisition. Darren is a keen cyclist who can be found climbing the Sussex hills most weekends.
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About Rayner Surgical Group: Rayner Surgical Group is manufactures Intraocular lenses and associated instruments used in cataract surgery.
Mark Ground
CFO of Cygnet Health Care
CFO at Cygnet Health Care
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About Cygnet Health Care: Cygnet Health Care Limited provides mental health services.
