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 Managing Director operating in the Publishing space. If you think a Managing 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.
Jack Fryer
Managing Director – The Square @ Universal Music UK of Universal Music Group
Jack Fryer is the Managing Director – The Square at Universal Music Group.
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About Universal Music Group: Universal Music Group offers music recording, publishing, and merchandising services worldwide.
Barry T. Whyte
FT Strategies, Managing Director of Financial Times
Ever since he was given a Nintendo Virtual Boy in the late 1990s, Barry has been obsessed with Virtual Reality. Inspired by the endless stream of people coming to his apartment to play around on his HTC Vive, he founded Veero, a location-based virtual reality centre focusing on immersive independent cinema. It will be London’s first VR cinema when it opens in 2018. Prior to Veero, Barry was a furtive entrepreneur in the corporate world, firstly in advertising at Ogilvy & Mather then in consulting at Bain & Company. In 2013 he joined Decoded as COO in early 2013, leading growth from 7 people in a cupboard to a global team of over 100 in three years, scaling through international expansion to New York, Sydney and Amsterdam. Decoded delivers technology education that changes the way businesses behave. Tens of thousands of business people now have digital skills thanks to their signature product “Code in a Day”. Barry is also a co-founder of Series Q, a non-profit with a mission to empower LGBT entrepreneurs; and sits on advisory board of EurOut at London Business School. He speaks at conferences, including Cannes Lions, London Tech Week and SXSW. Barry holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, blogs for the Huffington Post, and makes seriously good homemade soup. More important than all the above, he also spent a fabulous six months as a Starbucks barista. So if you ask him really nicely, he might make you a coconut flat white.
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About Financial Times, Series Q: Financial Times is a business news organization providing essential news, comments, data, and analysis for the global business community.
Julian Childs
Managing Director UK and Europe of Business Insider
Julian Childs is SVP and Regional Managing Director at Insider and also Managing Director for UK and Europe of Business Insider, the London-based division of the popular online financial publication that was launched last November. Childs’s background covers over 15 years in digital media on the publisher side, encompassing various leadership, business and commercial roles across Europe and internationally. Prior to Business Insider, his more recent roles have included VP of EMEA for Business Technology sites including ZDNet and TechRepublic and VP of Partnerships for CBS Interactive where he helped build and deliver their international monetization and data strategy.
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About Business Insider, Business Insider, Insider: Business Insider is an online platform that offers the latest business, celebrity, and technology news.
Sheena Barclay
Managing Director, Collins Geo & Deputy Managing Director, Collins Learning of HarperCollins
Sheena runs the cartographic and geo information division of HarperCollins Publishers, overseeing Collins Geo and Collins Bartholomew Ltd, and is now also Deputy MD of the combined Collins Learning division. She received BSc (Hons) Geography from the University of Edinburgh, followed by an MBA from the University of Glasgow and was awarded the RSGS Digital Award in 2004 for outstanding achievement in the field of cartography. She has a wealth of experience in the cartographic field, working first as an editor, then Cartographic and Technical Director before being promoted to run the cartographic business within HarperCollins in 2008.
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About HarperCollins: HarperCollins is an English language publisher that offers a range of Bibles, atlases, dictionaries, and reissued classics.
Sam Finlay
Managing Director, Advertising of Time Inc.
Sam is managing director of Time Inc. UK’s advertising team and oversees all central advertising. Sam joined the business in 1995 and held a number of advertising roles prior to his appointment as advertising director for the men’s and music titles in 2004, launching Nuts Magazine and latterly creating the first specialist digital sales team at Time Inc. (UK). For the past six years, Sam has been the head of digital advertising, leading the online and mobile sales teams, and last year was promoted to head of Digital Advertising & Custom Solutions, taking additional responsibility for creative media and content sales.
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About Time Inc.: Time Inc. is a media company publishing over 90 magazines, including Time, Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and many more.
Craig Ribton
Managing Director of Proactive
Craig co-founded Proactive Investors. He is FCA regulated, an expert in financial media and advanced web design. Formerly a full-time trader, he has a passion for stock picking and a thorough understanding of the financial markets. As managing director, he runs the UK business and sits on the board of the parent company. Day-to-day he helps co-ordinate the media and investor outreach for 300 publicly listed companies. Craig is a member of the Institute of Directors, a director of Fuller Treacy Money Ltd and co-founder of StockTube.com and IScapital.
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About Brighter IR, Proactive: Proactive is an international news and media organization providing coverage of companies in the small to mid-capitalization range.
Paul Dobson
Managing Director of The Chelsea Magazine Company
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About The Chelsea Magazine Company: The Chelsea Magazine Company is an award-winning publisher of specialist magazines.
Alex White
Managing Director, Food and Parenting of Immediate Media Co.
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About Immediate Media Co.: Immediate Media Co. is a special interest content and platform company.
Sam Cooke
Managing Director and Co-Founder of Esports Insider
Sam Cooke heads up Esports Insider, an esports business news platform and events company based in London. Esports Insider is a part of SBC Global and runs B2B events including the ESI Forum Series, the ESI Super Forum and the Betting on Esports Conference
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About Esports Insider: Esports Insider is a platform which covers all news that is of interest to the industry.
Patrick Ponsford
Managing Director of Bonhill Group
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About Bonhill Group, Intelligent Partnership: Bonhill Group operates as a B2B media company.
Emily Shelley
Managing Director of Alamy
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About Alamy: Alamy is the world’s largest online photo agency for stock, video and live news.
Nick Wakefield
Founder & Managing Director of inAsia Media
Nick has over 18 years of experience in technology, media and finance. He started his first tech business in 1999 building an e-commerce platform. He spent 7 years in London focusing on financial sales in the risk management and derivatives market, before moving to Asia to help build Euromoney’s portfolio of conferences across emerging markets. Over this period he ran teams in New York, London and Hong Kong. In 2010 he setup inAsia Media and in 2013 launched Regulation Asia, the leading regulatory information service. He still plays an advisory role in the business. His passion for technology and experience working within the financial markets partner well for Bambu in the role expanding into Europe. He holds a Diploma in Economics and is currently studying a Software Engineering MicroMasters at University of British Columbia.
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About : Online publisher headquartered in Singapore. Publishes market leading titles Regulation Asia & ESG Investor
Manish Malhotra
Group Managing Director of ESI Media
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About ESI Media: The commercial department of the London Evening Standard, The Independent, i and London Live.
Jamie Byng
Publisher and Managing Director of Canongate Books
Jamie Byng is Publisher and Managing Director @ Canongate Books.
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About Canongate Books: Canongate Books is one of the most dynamic independent publishing houses in Britain.
James Carter
Managing Director – Digitalbox Publishing Ltd. of Digitalbox
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About Digitalbox: Digitalbox have created a ‘push media’ publishing model able to deliver large, high quality audiences in a brand-safe environment.
Adam Seogalutze
Managing Director – NetPerform Ltd. of Digitalbox
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About Digitalbox: Digitalbox have created a ‘push media’ publishing model able to deliver large, high quality audiences in a brand-safe environment.
Craig Douglas
Managing Director of Reserve Apartments
With extensive experience in developing directory based web-sites within the travel industry and online booking systems that blow the other guys out of the water – Craig’s here to do the same within the short term rental market.
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About Reserve Apartments: Reserve Apartments provides web-based solutions for the short term letting/self catering market.
Chris James
Managing Director, CEO of Steel Media
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About Steel Media: Steel Media operate one of the largest advertising networks.
Chris James
Managing Director, CEO of Steel Media
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About Steel Media: Steel Media operate one of the largest advertising networks.
Stuart Parish
Managing Director UK & Middle East of Jacobs Media Group
Stuart Parish has been promoted to the new role of managing director of Travel Weekly. Parish was formerly chief operating officer of Travel Weekly’s parent company, and will now take on full responsibility for all editorial and sales across Travel Weekly’s portfolio of magazines, websites and events. He will also have responsibility for agent information and advice website Gazetteers.com. The appointment allows group chief executive Duncan Horton to focus primarily on Travel Weekly’s sister company Caterer and Hotelkeeper following its acquisition in 2012. In another change, Travel Weekly account director Mary Rega has been promoted to become head of sales, reporting to sales director Kieron Dodd.Travel Weekly Group chairman Clive Jacobs said: “Since joining the business full-time in December 2010, Stuart’s involvement, influence and passion have been evident for all to see. “I have great faith that he will continue to develop the Travel Weekly business as we integrate Caterer and Hotelkeeper into the group and expand our unrivalled portfolio of travel and hospitality media brands.” Parish added: “Since becoming an independently owned business in 2009 Travel Weekly has been revitalised, and has rightly established itself as the undisputed market leader in print, digital and face-to-face events. “We have outstanding people throughout the company who are committed to innovating, supporting, and delivering the best products and services for our readers and commercial partners.” Prior to joining Travel Weekly Group, Parish held a range of positions including head of marketing for lastminute.com and general manager of Travelocity.
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About Jacobs Media Group, Travel Weekly Group: Jacobs Media Group develops a portfolio of brands based in London but with a truly multinational footprint spanning five continents.
Michael Boniface
European Managing Director of Reloaded Games, Inc.
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About Reloaded Games, Inc.: Reloaded Games is a publisher of massively multiplayer online games, including War Rock, Sword of the World, and Knight Online.
Linus Birtles
Managing Director of Situation Publishing
Linus Birtles is Managing Director of Situation Publishing, the independent digital publisher behind global technology titles The Register and The Next Platform. He has led the business for more than 18 years and its publications are revered for their fearless reporting and loyal readership.
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About Situation Publishing: Situation Publishing brings you the latest news and views on the global tech scene from its offices.
Ripul Agarwal
Managing Director – Marketing and Digital Sales of Agrawal Group of Publications
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About Agrawal Group of Publications, Snip And Share: Agrawal Group of Publications is a publishing company that produces books for students.
Roy Cooper
Managing Director of Professional Security Magazine
Roy Cooper is Managing Director @ Professional Security Magazine.
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About Professional Security Magazine: Professional Security Magazine provides latest security sector news and views for security professionals.
Jenny Geras
Managing Director of Bookouture
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About Bookouture: Bookouture is a fast-growing digital publisher of commercial fiction.
Tim Williams
Managing Director of Elgar Publishing
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About Elgar Publishing: Edward Elgar Publishing is a leading independent international publisher serving the global academic community.
Dr Liz Durden-Myers
CEO / Managing Director of PE Scholar
Education Consultant, Physical Educator and International Speaker. Co-Founder & Managing Director at Scholary Ltd and PE Scholar Ltd. Senior Lecturer in Physical Education at Bath Spa University, UK and University of Gloucestershire, UK. Chair of the International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA).
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About PE Scholar: PE Scholar is an international publisher of high quality physical education resources, curated research, and sector-wide insight.
Rupert Graves
Managing Director of AdUnity
20 years commercial and product experience in digital media, mobile and advertising, with deep domain experience in programmatic advertising and media trading. Sector Experience in: Advertising, Digital Media, Mobile/Fixed Line Telecoms, Broadcast TV, Consumer Electronics, SaaS. This includes B2C and B2B marketing and product development. Worked extensively with media brands: Disney, Discovery, National Geographic. Product development for BT and Vodafone
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About AdUnity: Pure-play publisher focused ad technology company. Our technology platform includes an SSP and ad exchange.
Paul Scaife
Managing Director & Publisher of Record of the Day
Despite starting working life as a graphic designer, a stint as general manager of the now-defunct Tip Sheet (a UK based music industry publication) led Paul to realise that publishing and music is where his heart is. A couple of years spent at Clickmusic running the contract publishing division and launching the Clickmusicbiz daily news email sparked the arrival of Record of the Day. Over ten years down the line and he is now the owner of the best-loved music industry news and music service.
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About Record of the Day: Record of the Day is an independent company publishing a weekly PDF magazine.
Ed Henderson
Founder / Managing Director of Uni2
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About Uni2: Uni2 is the fastest growing student company in the UK.
Ed Henderson
Founder / Managing Director of Uni2
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About Uni2: Uni2 is the fastest growing student company in the UK.
