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 Advice 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.
Dave Bailey
CEO of The Founder Coach
Dave Bailey is CEO of The Founder Coach, an organisation that supports venture-backed founders around the world. Dave runs several programs for startup and scale-up CEOs, and works one-on-one with a limited number of CEOs as executive coach and mentor. Dave is editor-in-chief of The Founder Coach blog, and hosts The Founder Coach Podcast, mentors at Techstars in London, and angel invests in areas of his domain knowledge. Previously, Dave co-founded three VC-backed businesses including Delivery Hero, Ezlearn and Spotnight. Dave studied Mathematical Sciences at Oxford University, before going on to Stanford Graduate School of Business and Singularity University.
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About The Founder Coach, The Fund: CEO coaching for venture-backed founders
Dan Garrett
Founder and CEO of Farewill
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About Farewill: Farewill is a provider of an all-in-one financial and legal services platform used to deal with all paperwork after death.
Gerard Grech
CEO of Tech Nation
Gerard is CEO of TechCity UK in London.Prior, he headed up global marketing for Blackberry World (e-commerce store for apps music & film), in New York. Before that, he was with Nokia, where, in New York and London, he led the app store’s marketing operations, ran the app strategy and portfolio development team and, most recently, identified and assessed equity investment opportunities for Nokia Growth Partners, Nokia’s venture arm, with $600M under management in the mobile space. At Orange in Paris and London, Gerard was the content division’s group director of strategy and business development, and group head of music and video, launching multiple pioneering content services with Facebook, Universal Music and Sony Pictures, among others. He was EMEA chapter founder and chair of the Mobile Entertainment Forum and board director of DDEX, the Digital Data Exchange consortium. Before his MBA, Gerard’s career began as a new-media correspondent, covering the digital revolution in the music industry for Music Week and New Media Age, among others. He also co-founded a music label. He read Acoustics Engineering as his first degree.
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About Tech Nation: Tech Nation is focused on accelerating the growth of digital businesses across the UK.
Rob McCombie
Founder & CEO of Titan Capital Advisers (TCA)
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About Titan Capital Advisers (TCA): Titan Capital Advisers is a mergers and acquisition advisory services provider that helps tech and financial services businesses.
Calvin Benton
Founder & CEO of Spill App
During university, Calvin took time out to learn the equivalent of a computer science degree in just a year, funded by a job-matching site and cake delivery firm he’d founded.
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About Spill App: Spill is a startup that offers a message-based therapy app to help improve workplace well-being.
Angus Ward
Partner and CEO, Digital Platform Solutions of BearingPoint
Angus is the CEO of BearingPoint’s digital platform solutions arm, BearingPoint//Beyond, appointed in September 2017. Angus brings 30 years of consulting and solutions experience to his role, supporting organizations across multiple industries in shaping strategies and adopting platform-based business and operating models with differentiating partner ecosystems. Key clients have included BP, BT, Boeing, Ministry of Defence and Tata Communications as well as key ecosystem partners like Amazon Web Services. Angus’ work takes him right across BearingPoint//Beyond’s core markets of APAC, EMEA and Americas. Angus’s extensive experience and knowledge over a range of fields has established him as a thought leader, quoted often by newspapers and prominent industry publications, on the topics of business model reinvention, digital platform business models and the role of the ecosystem in the evolving digital economy. Working closely and collaborating with industry bodies such as TM Forum, analysts, research firms and academic organizations such as MIT and Wharton, he regularly presents on the key trends and issues affecting telecoms and technology.
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About BearingPoint: BearingPoint offers management and technology consulting services that transforms businesses by creating customized solutions.
Benjamin Todd
CEO, Co Founder & Executive Director of 80,000 Hours
In under three years with Ben’s leadership, 80,000 Hours has grown from a student society, to an Oxford affiliated charity, featured on TED, the Washington Post, the BBC Today Programme and more. Ben has a 1st from Oxford in Physics and Philosophy, has published in Climate Physics and speaks Chinese. Before 80,000 Hours, he was the first undergraduate to intern as an analyst at a top investment fund. Rather than taking the job, he persuaded the Chairman to donate £60,000 to 80,000 Hours.
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About 80,000 Hours: 80,000 Hours is an evidence-based advice on careers that make a difference.
Giovanni Dapra
Co-Founder and CEO of Moneyfarm
Giovanni believes that a true culture of innovation begins with the customer experience. As a lover of technology and finance, Giovanni co-founded Moneyfarm with the goal of finding the best solutions to protect and increase an individual’s wealth over time. Prior to Moneyfarm, Giovanni worked in the Global Market Division at Deutsche Bank AG. Giovanni graduated from Bocconi University with a degree in finance and has an MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance from Cass Business School.
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About Moneyfarm: Moneyfarm is a digital wealth manager that offers online financial advisory and investment services.
Paul Dowling
Founder and CEO of Mindstream-AI
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About Mindstream-AI: Mindstream AI is a provider of AI strategy, training, and consulting solutions for enterprise clients, startups, and individuals
Cyrus Kapadia
Chief Executive Officer, UK of Lazard
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About Lazard: Lazard is a financial advisory and asset management firm focused on income strategies, alternative investments, and private equity funds.
Grant Stobart
CEO of Broadstone
Prior to joining Broadstone in January 2017, Grant was Chief Executive of Alexander Forbes International based in London and managed the Alexander Forbes group’s businesses across Europe, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, outside of South Africa. In addition, Grant was responsible for mergers and acquisitions’ activity globally. Grant has over 20 years’ experience, predominantly in regulated financial services. He has worked in businesses spanning distribution, short- and long-term insurance, investment management, banking and consulting across multiple geographies. He has a strong interest in strategy, and improving and building growth-oriented companies through aligning teams, a ‘Higher Purpose’ culture, digital disruption and non-organic growth. Grant started his career with Arthur Andersen in South Africa before moving to Rand Merchant Bank after a stint as a partner in niche advisory business. Grant moved to London in 1999 to help restructure the FirstRand group’s investment bank and wealth management business, before joining Alexander Forbes in 2003.
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About Broadstone: Broadstone provides pensions, employee benefits, actuarial and investment services advice to small and medium sized employers.
Daniel van Binsbergen
CEO and Co-Founder of Lexoo
Daniel van Binsbergen Before founding Lexoo, Daniel worked for over 5 years as a lawyer at an international law firm (De Brauw), first in Amsterdam, then in London. He’s always up for a game of squash, and is easily excited.
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About Lexoo: Lexoo is a lawyer comparison marketplace that helps businesses choose a lawyer with confidence.
Paul Cuatrecasas
Founder & CEO of Aquaa Partners
Paul Cuatrecasas is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aquaa Partners since July 2010. Previously, Paul was the Founder and a Partner of Alegro Capital from 2003-2010. Prior to Alegro, Paul was the Co-Founder and Managing Director of ARC Associates from 1993-2003. (ARC Associates was a leading independent London-based TMT mergers and acquisitions advisory practice with a full range of blue chip and entrepreneurial clients including Sonera, Cable & Wireless, Apax, Marconi, Equant, ICL, KKR, Permira and BT, amongst others). Paul has directly or indirectly completed over 35 M&A transactions around the world worth over $6 billion and over 40 corporate finance advisory and strategic consultancy assignments. Paul has directly or indirectly originated and structured over 15 private placements of equity capital raising over $500 million. Paul also directed the ARC investment programme and achieved a historical professional investment track record over 50% IRR since 1994. Prior to ARC Associates, Paul was a Senior Associate with Arkwright Capital (ex-Bain & Co. partners), an M&A and Corporate Finance advisory firm in London (1991-1993) and with GE Capital in their LBO and Restructuring Group in New York (1989-1991). Paul is a Non-Executive Director of Motive Television plc. Paul holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University where he was awarded the Roswell C. McCrea Scholarship and a B.A. from Wake Forest University. Paul holds dual US and UK citizenship and speaks fluent Spanish.
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About Aquaa Partners: Aquaa Partners is a London-based investment banking firm focused on the Telecoms, Media and Technology (TMT) industries.
Mark O’Connell
CEO of OCO Global
Mark O’Connell is CEO and founder of OCO. Mark has worked in more than 80 countries and has cultivated in depth government, industry and trade association networks across the world. Core experience includes strategy and policy, business, sector and market analysis and evaluation, business planning, project management and performance review. Mark is currently a Board Member of the International Economic Development Council.
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About OCO Global: OCO Global is an economic development advisory firm, working with governments and companies worldwide.
Gareth Hagan
Deputy CEO/Commerical Director of OCO Global
Gareth Hagan is the Deputy CEO/Commerical Director @ OCO Global.
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About OCO Global: OCO Global is an economic development advisory firm, working with governments and companies worldwide.
Mohammed Walji
Chief Executive Officer of CVS Brent
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About CVS Brent, MBW Enterprise: CVS Brent is a non-profit organization that helps non-profit organizations that provide community services.
Gurnek Bains
Founder and CEO of Global Future
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About Global Future: Global Future educates, informs, and helps people understand the benefits of globalization.
Mario Manchester
CEO & Founder of Wealthy Gorilla
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About Wealthy Gorilla: A website created by Dan Western for advice on business, success & life motivation.
Andre Costa
CEO & Co-founder of Advicefront
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About Advicefront: Advicefront is an advice platform for financial advisors that combines algorithmic investing with the human side of financial advice.
Steve Lazarus
CEO of Lazarus Consulting
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About Lazarus Consulting: Lazarus Consulting is an award winning UK-based tech, media and retail focused boutique advisory firm
Christian Huhnt
CEO and Co-Founder of Artwishlist
Christian Huhnt is the co-founder and CEO of Artwishlist. He is also a fine art adviser. He earned his master’s degree at London School of Economics and Political Science.
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About Artwishlist: Artwishlist is a messaging app for the art world, where the user can buy and sell fine art without commissions.
Louise Ainsworth
CEO – EMEA, Media Division of Kantar
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About Kantar: Kantar is the data investment management division of WPP, is a global insight, information, and consultancy network.
Rod Knox
CEO of Virtual College
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About Virtual College: Virtual College supply training advice, resources and online courses to individuals and organisations across the UK.
Mike Morgan
CEO and Founder, Start-up and Scale-up Advisor, NED, Mentor and Angel Investor of Channelsphere
Mike Morgan is the CEO and Founder, Start-up and Scale-up Advisor, NED, Mentor and Angel Investor at Channelsphere.
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About ChannelGrabber, Channelsphere: Channelsphere is a management consulting company that helps startup entrepreneurs develop and execute strategies for businesses growth.
Bruce Hobson
CEO of Corfinancial
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About Corfinancial: Corfinancial is providing software and advice to the financial services sector around the world.
Steven Case
Chief Executive Officer of Finance Box
Steven Case is the Chief Executive Officer at Finance Box.
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About Finance Box: Finance Box provides a range of services, from bookkeeping, payroll and VAT to process integration, management reporting and board advisory.
Richard Sadd
Founder & CEO of MindSauce
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About MindSauce: MindSauce is disrupting the consulting industry by offering world-class expertise on demand
Guy Myles
CEO and Founder of Flying Colours Finance
Guy is the CEO and founder of Flying Colours. He launched the business in early 2016 determined to offer consumers a better value way to access financial advice and investment management. As well as leading the business, Guy acts as Chief Investment Officer, with responsibility for the research and design of our investment portfolios. In 2000, Guy co-founded Octopus Investments, growing the company from start-up to market leader with over 6bn of assets under management for more than 50,000 customers. Prior to that, Guy worked as a fund manager for Mercury Asset Management where he was responsible for over $1 Billion in US Equities.
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About Flying Colours Finance: Flying Colours Finance offers financial planning and investment advice in the UK.
Thomas Goijarts
Founder & CEO of Caro Health
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About Caro Health: Caro Health delivers a digital companion that provides relevant content, guidance and actionable notification to improve patient outcomes.
Dana Denis-Smith
CEO of Obelisk Support
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About Obelisk Support: Obelisk Support is a global 1,000-consultant alternative legal services firm based in London, serving 35 of FTSE 100 companies.
Dana Denis-Smith
CEO of Obelisk Support
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About Obelisk Support: Obelisk Support is a global 1,000-consultant alternative legal services firm based in London, serving 35 of FTSE 100 companies.
