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 Manager operating in the Travel space. If you think a Manager 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.
Doug Borland
Software Engineering Manager of Skyscanner
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About Skyscanner: Skyscanner operates as a trips meta-search engine company.
Christopher Gent
Senior Engineering Manager of Skyscanner
Christopher Gent is an Engineering Manager leading Skyscanner’s efforts to build a world class unified data platform for all of the company’s data. Chris has been working in the field of big data and distributed systems for 9 years and prior to joining Skyscanner he worked at Yahoo on advertising, personalization and geo platforms.
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About Skyscanner: Skyscanner operates as a trips meta-search engine company.
Tarun Samtani
Data Protection Officer & Privacy Program Manager of International SOS
Tarun Samtani,CISSP is the Information Security Architect for Ebuyer UK (online retailer) and WREN Living (high street retailer). Tarun holds 15 years of experience across various sectors like Telecommunications, ISP’s, Financial Services, Gambling & Retail. Tarun has worked across UK, Europe, Asia & Middle East on different assignments. He has a wealth of experience in Information Security and is passionate about securing enterprise IT landscapes. During the course of his career Tarun has been involved in the strategy & planning, design, architecture and implementation of a significant number of enterprise security solutions. He has a passion for Cyber Security and enjoys sharing his experience. He also has a keen interest in helping out charities and non-profit board organisations fight cybercrime. His specialisations include strategy and planning of security programmes for Cloud Security, DDoS mitigation, Cyber Defence including Threat Intelligence-led Cyber Incident Response.
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About Bookboon, International SOS: International SOS is the world’s leading medical and travel security services company.
Duncan Dallas
Key Account Manager of International SOS
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About International SOS: International SOS is the world’s leading medical and travel security services company.
Jade Price
Manager Consumer Insights, Europe of Intercontinental Hotels Group
Jade Price has been working in research in some capacity since she graduated from university, first as an academic anthropologist, and for the past ten years as a market researcher. She has worked with both public and private sector organisations, on both the agency and client sides, and her work has spanned packaged goods, food and beverage, hospitality, higher education, and public health. She has worked on everything from innovation to brand tracking, but has focused in particular on communications development and evaluation. Jade has a deep interest in psychology and decision-making and in the application of the latest thinking from the social and behavioural sciences to marketing.
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About Intercontinental Hotels Group: IHG is one of the world’s leading hotel companies
Paul Martin
Co-Founder & Sales Manager of Abellio
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About Abellio: Abellio delivers rail and bus services to passengers in Scotland, England, and Germany.
Irena Miroforidu
Data Strategy and Partnerships Manager of GfK
Adventure traveller, surf enthusiast and a Founder of Tribd, a social networking application connecting solo travelling adventure seekers, helping them to find a travel partner from the same tribe. Experienced FinTech Industry professional.
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About GfK, Tribd: GfK is a market research institute in Germany.
Vanessa Wachtmeister
Global Launch & Product Marketing Manager of Hotels
Vanessa Menchaca-Wachtmeister is a B2B Global Launch Manager at Hotels.com and an accomplished travel writer behind the blog: wanderonwards.co. Originally from Los Angeles, Vanessa has spent the last decade bouncing between Beijing, Boston, and London pursuing a career in tech whilst exploring over 40 countries. She has a BA from Boston College, a Masters in International Development from SOAS (University of London), and her real passion is teaching people how to travel farther, longer and for less. When she’s not on a plane, she enjoys learning languages, developing her skills, and cooking with her husband and cat.
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About Hotels: Hotels provides online hotel booking and reservation services intended to ease the travelling process.
Iwan Bricker
Sales Team Manager of Plum Guide
Sales Team Manager at The Plum Guide.
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About Plum Guide: Plum Guide is the definitive list of the world’s best vacation rentals.
Raoul Cooper
Senior Design Manager of British Airways
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About British Airways: British Airways provides international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers and cargo.
Ian Painter
General Manager, Air Operations of Cirium
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About Cirium: Cirium brings together aviation and travel data and analytics to keep the world moving.
Jake Adebayo
Senior SEO Manager of Bucketlist
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About Bucketlist: Bucketlist is a platform for anyone who wants to live a life full of memorable events.
Louise Chawich
Operations Manager of BookingLive
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About BookingLive: BookingLive provides powerful scheduling, reservation and purchasing experiences that create profitable customer relationships.
Paul Brown
Manager of Operations of Inn Collection
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About Inn Collection: The Inn Collection, a hospitality and pub company, owns and operates a chain of pubs and inns in North England.
Gary Turner
Commercial and Compliance Manager of Inn Collection
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About Inn Collection: The Inn Collection, a hospitality and pub company, owns and operates a chain of pubs and inns in North England.
Sam Willan
General Manager, UK of StudentUniverse
Sam Willan is the general manager at StudentUniverse.
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About StudentUniverse: StudentUniverse is an online travel agency providing college students with exclusive discounted deals on airfares and experiences.
Sheila Nazir
Ad Operations Manager of National Rail Enquiries
Sheila Nazir is Ad Operations Manager at National Rail Enquiries.
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About National Rail Enquiries: National Rail Enquiries is the official source for train times and timetables in the U.K.
Lindsay Scholl
Operations Manager of Chic Retreats
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About Chic Retreats: A luxury travel marketplace using the latest in digital technology to connect our collection of independent hotels to affluent travellers
Damian Kysely
Regional Manager, APAC of Skyports
Damian Kysely is the Regional Manager, APAC at Skysports Limited.
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About Skyports: Skyports is an urban air mobility infrastructure provider and drone delivery operator for aviation and managing end to end drone deliveries.
Austin Houghton Bird
Web Product Manager of London North Eastern Railway
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About London North Eastern Railway: London North Eastern Railway provides rail transportation services.
Alejandro Holt
Communications Manager of Fromigo
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About Fromigo: Fromigo is a marketplace of authentic experiences by local people.
Sarah Dullaghan
Client Development Manager of My Favourite Holiday Cottages
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About My Favourite Holiday Cottages: Advertising and marketing UK Holiday Cottages for property owners and affiliate advertising services for holiday cottage agencies.
Andreas Balster
Key Account Manager Rail of Waymate
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About Waymate: Waymate, an online platform, allows intercity travelers to find, compare and book available modes of transport.
Gemma Pyatt
Call Centre Manager of Blue Bay Travel
I have been a part of Blue Bay Travel since 2008, and during my first year I completed my 3rd Year of a Law and Philosophy degree, which although not directly linked to travel, is certainly very helpful. My role as Call Centre Manager ensures that our team runs like clock-work, which ultimately means that our customers get the best possible customer service. I am always finding new ways to look after and surprise our new and existing customers.
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About Blue Bay Travel: Blue Bay Travel is the award-winning online travel agent
Gemma Pyatt
Call Centre Manager of Blue Bay Travel
I have been a part of Blue Bay Travel since 2008, and during my first year I completed my 3rd Year of a Law and Philosophy degree, which although not directly linked to travel, is certainly very helpful. My role as Call Centre Manager ensures that our team runs like clock-work, which ultimately means that our customers get the best possible customer service. I am always finding new ways to look after and surprise our new and existing customers.
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About Blue Bay Travel: Blue Bay Travel is the award-winning online travel agent
Haider Gillani
Product Manager of E Airport Transfers
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About E Airport Transfers: E Airport Transfers is an airport taxi service provider.
Marcus Freeman
Product Manager of Kirker
Marcus Freeman is a product manager for regions including central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey, Greece, and the low countries.
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About Kirker: Kirker is a privately held company that provides travel-related services to various destinations internationally.
