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 Asset Management 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.
James Hatchley
Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (Europe) of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
James Hatchley (London) is a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (Europe) for KKR with local responsibility for the operations of KKR’s businesses across the MENA region. Mr. Hatchley joined KKR as Co-Chief Executive of Avoca Capital in 2014 where he has responsibility for business strategy, strategic fund raising and oversight of non-investment functions. He joined Avoca in May 2012. Previously, he spent 23 years working in the City of London as an investment banker with Schroders, Greenhill and Freeman & Co. Mr. Hatchley established Freeman & Co.’s European business in 2006. During his time as a banker he provided independent strategic and financial advice to a wide range of banks, insurance companies and selected institutional investors. Mr. Hatchley qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen. He has a first class B.Sc (hons) Degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Surrey in the UK.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Johannes P. Huth
Managing Director & Head of KKR EMEA of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Johannes P. Huth (London) joined KKR in 1999 and is a Member of KKR and Head of KKR’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He has participated in investments including Wincor Nixdorf, Zumtobel, Demag Holdings, MTU Aero Engines, DSD, Selenia, Kion Group, NXP Semiconductors, Pro7 Sat1, BMG, Wild, and Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik AG (WMF). He is currently a member of the Supervisory Board of Kion. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NXP BV. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WMF, and member of the Board of Hertha KGaA. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Huth was a member of Investcorp’s Management Committee and was also responsible for the firm’s operations in Europe. Previously, he was with Salomon Brothers, where he was a vice president in the mergers and acquisitions departments in London and New York. Mr. Huth holds a B.Sc with highest honors from the London School of Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He is Chairman of the Trustees of the Private Equity Foundation, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Design Museum, trustee of the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt, a governor of the London School of Economics, and trustee of The Education Endowment Foundation.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Valeria Rebulla
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Valeria Rebulla (London) joined in 2009 and heads the Capital Solutions Group in Europe. Since joining KKR Capital Markets, she has played an instrumental role in arranging multiple financings for KKR acquisitions and portfolio companies, including: PortAventura, SBB, Acteon, OEG Offshore, Fotolia, Bond Aviation, Inaer, Versatel, Alliance Boots, Wild Flavours, WMF and NXP. Prior to joining KKR, she was an executive director on Goldman Sachs’ Leveraged Finance Capital Markets desk. She began her career at Goldman Sachs in the late 1990s and developed a broad range of skills in the Advisory Group, and subsequently in the venture capital group (then “GS Ventures”), before moving into the Leveraged Finance Division. She holds an M.Sc., summa cum laude, from L. Bocconi University.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Said Business School, University of Oxford: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Abhishek Kapur
Managing Director – Regional Lead, KKR Capstone of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Mark Howard
Managing Director & Chief Compliance Officer International Markets of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Mark Howard (London) joined KKR in 2011 as a Compliance Officer for Europe and Mid-East. Before joining KKR.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Ludo Bammens
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Ludo Bammens (London) joined KKR in 2009 as the Director of European Corporate Affairs. Before joining KKR, Mr. Bammens was the Director of European Public Affairs at Coca-Cola Company Europe Group. Prior to taking this role he was Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications for the Europe Group of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the largest bottler in the Coca-Cola system. He joined Coca-Cola from Janssen Pharmaceutical (the pharmaceutical branch of Johnson & Johnson) where he was Director of European Public Affairs. From 1986-1991, Mr. Bammens was Deputy Chef de Cabinet of King Baudouin of Belgium. Mr. Bammens is honorary member of the Executive Board of the Belgian Banking and Market Supervisory Authority and former member of the Stakeholder Group of the European Securities and Market Authority(ESMA).
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Franziska Kayser
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Managing Director at KKR & Co. Inc.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Clayton Perry
Managing Director, Client and Partner Group of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Clayton Perry (London) joined KKR in 2014 as part of Avoca Capital and is responsible for the strategic development of KKR’s collateralized loan obligation business. Before joining Avoca in 2010, he worked for Credit Suisse for sixteen years in a variety of roles, most recently running the collateralized loan obligation arranging business. Mr. Perry has a B.A. from Otago University and an M.Sc from the London School of Economics.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
William Needham
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
William Needham (London) joined KKR in 2014 and is European Legal Counsel for KKR Credit.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Paul Roberts
Managing Director, KKR Prisma of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Paul Roberts (London) joined KKR Prisma, which previously conducted business as Prisma Capital Partners LP, in 2008. Mr. Roberts is part of the Client and Partner Group, focusing on customized hedge fund solutions. Prior to joining KKR Prisma, Mr. Roberts was a managing director and co-head of European shares at Goldman Sachs & Co. Previously, he worked in the equity derivatives group of Goldman Sachs & Co. advising institutions on portfolio restructuring and hedging strategies. Earlier in his career, he was the head of derivative sales at SG Warburg, responsible for the distribution of all listed and OTC products. Mr. Roberts holds an M.A. in Economics from Cambridge University.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Nestor Paz Galindo
Managing Director of UBS
Nestor Paz Galindo as managing director and head of sell-side and financial sponsors M&A for EMEA. Paz Galindo will join the bank from JP Morgan in March next year. Paz Galindo has spent all of his professional career to date at JP Morgan. He has held a range of M&A-related roles over 22 years, most recently including managing director of the bank’s European financial sponsors group.
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About UBS: UBS is a global financial services company that engages in the provision of financial management solutions.
Marc Wursdorfer
Managing Director of UBS
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About UBS: UBS is a global financial services company that engages in the provision of financial management solutions.
Enrique Perez Hernandez
Managing Director & Head of EMEA Technology Investment Banking of Morgan Stanley
Enrique Perez-Hernandez is the Managing Director at Morgan Stanley & Co Ltd in London. For the last 20 years he’s been the head of EMEA technology and investment banking at Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm and a market leader in securities, asset management and credit services. In 2010 he was promoted and moved from the Madrid offices to London. He previously advised the Madrid branch on takeovers, share and convertible bond issues, and acquisition financing. Enrique is skilled in investment banking, equities, corporate finance, capital markets, business strategy and financial markets. He holds a BA in business administration from Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
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About Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley is a financial services company that offers securities, asset management, and credit services.
Jessica Alsford
Managing Director of Morgan Stanley
Jessica Alsford is an Executive Director and Head of Morgan Stanley’s Sustainable + Responsible investment research team. Jessica joined the firm in 2005 and spent five years co-heading the Business Services team within Equity Research. In 2010, the team was ranked second in the Institutional Investor and Extel surveys. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Jessica was an equity research analyst at Cazenove. She holds an M.A. in social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge and is a CFA charter holder.
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About Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley is a financial services company that offers securities, asset management, and credit services.
Frederik Wijsenbeek
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Tactical Value of Morgan Stanley
Frederik is a senior private equity investor with fourteen years of experience in Europe and North America. During that time he has been responsible for twelve successful transactions across multiple sectors with equity investments ranging in size from €25m to €250m. From 2010 to 2013, he was the Head of Direct Private Equity in Europe for OTPP, a $130bn Canadian pension plan with a $12bn private equity portfolio. Between 2003 and 2009, Frederik was a Partner at Bregal Capital, a €2.5bn private equity fund backed by the Brenninkmeijer family. He started his career in New York at Securitas Capital, a $600m private equity joint-venture between Swiss Re and Credit Suisse. Frederik graduated from Stanford University with a BA degree with Distinction in Political Science and a minor in Economics. He subsequently completed an executive education program at Harvard Business School. Frederik is a board member of the ChildLine Schools Service at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (“NSPCC”). He is a Dutch national.
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About Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley is a financial services company that offers securities, asset management, and credit services.
Paolo Simonato
Managing Director of BlackRock
Paolo Simonato, Managing Director, is a senior member of the investment team and head of the London office for BlackRock Private Equity Partners (PEP) within BlackRock Alternatives Investors (BAI). He has primary responsibility for the sourcing, diligence and monitoring of private equity funds, secondary transactions and direct co-investments with leading private equity firms across Europe.
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About BlackRock: BlackRock is an investment company that offers its services to institutions, intermediaries, foundations, and individual investors.
Martin Cook
Managing Director of BlackRock
As EMEA Head of Technology & Operations, Cook is responsible for working closely with the Head of EMEA, the Chief Operating Officer and the BlackRock Executive Committee to ensure effective delivery of technology and operations within the EMEA Region. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2006, Cook spent ten years with Wall Street Systems in the design, development, and implementation of a front-to-back integrated trading system for global financial institutions, and two years in a similar role with Calypso Technology, a market-leading Derivatives Technology provider. Other industry roles included that of Assistant Treasurer at the London Office of Credit Agricole Indosuez, and the Derivatives Risk Controller at Foreign & Colonial Investment Management. Cook studied Mathematics, Economics and Physics at Palmers College, and “Institute of Bankers” professional qualifications at Thurrock Management College.
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About BlackRock: BlackRock is an investment company that offers its services to institutions, intermediaries, foundations, and individual investors.
Sandra Boss
Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Investment Stewardship of BlackRock
Sandra Boss has been a director of the Company since November 2015. Ms. Boss has served since September 2014 as an independent director of the Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the Bank of England responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of around 1,700 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms. Ms. Boss was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, from 2005 to 2014, and a Partner from 2000.
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About BlackRock: BlackRock is an investment company that offers its services to institutions, intermediaries, foundations, and individual investors.
Brett Pybus
Managing Director – Head of iShares EMEA Investment and Product Strategy of BlackRock
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About BlackRock: BlackRock is an investment company that offers its services to institutions, intermediaries, foundations, and individual investors.
Eric Kump
Managing Director and Partner of The Carlyle Group
Eric J. Kump is a Managing Director and Partner. He is Head of the Carlyle Sub Sahara Africa Fund and an advisor of the Carlyle European Partners investment committee. He is based in London. Eric Kump has more than 20 years of private equity experience spanning four continents and numerous sectors. Prior to joining Carlyle European Partners in 2010 , Mr. Kump was a Managing Director and Head of the European Private Equity team of Dubai International Capital (DIC). Prior to that, he was a Managing Director with Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (MLGPE) where he was a member of the global investment committee. Mr. Kump is on the Board of Directors of MPS, TiAuto Investments and J&J. Mr. Kump received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and he received a B.A. in finance and accounting from Pace.
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
Katherine Elmore-Jones
Managing Director of The Carlyle Group
Katherine Elmore-Jones is a Managing Director advising on Investor Relations and Fundraising across Europe. She is based in London. Prior to her current role, Ms. Elmore-Jones was Director of European Communications, in charge of managing Carlyle’s public relations in Europe. Before joining Carlyle, she was with Herald Communications and Seed Capital, a U.K. venture capital firm. Ms. Elmore-Jones received her M.A. in biological sciences from Oxford University. She has been registered with the FSA since 2007 for the CF30 controlled function and holds a full Investment Management Certificate.
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About The Carlyle Group, The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
Fernando Chueca
Managing Director of The Carlyle Group
Fernando Chueca is a Managing Director with Carlyle Europe Technology Partners focusing on buyouts, growth capital and strategic minority investments throughout Europe in the technology, telecommunications, software and business services sectors. Mr. Chueca is based in London Since joining Carlyle in 2001, Mr. Chueca has been actively involved and he has advised on 11 major investments and ten completed realizations, across Europe. Mr. Chueca is a member of the Board of Directors of Livingstone Technologies, and was formerly on the Board of Directors of Itconic, Expereo, ITRS Group, Arsys Internet, Bigmouthmedia, Nature Delivered (Graze) and FRS Global.
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
Ted O’Byrne
Managing Director and Co-head of Aviation of The Carlyle Group
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
Alex Wagenberg
Managing Director and Partner of The Carlyle Group
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
David FitzGerald
Managing Director of The Carlyle Group
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
Colin Atkins
Managing Director of The Carlyle Group
Colin Atkins is a Managing Director and Head of the European Structured Credit advisory team based in London. Mr. Atkins joined the firm in 2004 as Head of Credit for the European Leveraged Finance business, a role in which he worked on many notable transactions, before taking on his current position. Mr. Atkins came to Carlyle from Prudential M&G where between 1999 and November 2004, he helped establish Prudential M&G’s Leveraged Finance platform, which became a market leader in the European institutional market. Over the five year period, the business invested over €2.5 billion in leveraged finance assets and Mr. Atkins had responsibility for primary market execution and secondary market loan trading. Mr. Atkins previously worked in Corporate Private Placements at PPM America in Chicago and held positions in Prudential M&G’s Corporate Tax and Treasury departments. Mr. Atkins holds a B.A. (Hons) in accounting & finance from Nottingham Trent University. He is a member of The Association of Chartered Management Accountants (ACMA) and is a CFA charter holder. Mr. Atkins has been registered with the FSA since 2010 for the CF30 and CF4 controlled functions.
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
Martin Glavin
Managing Director of The Carlyle Group
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About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm that caters to early and later stage companies.
George McDonaugh
Co-Founder, CEO and Managing Director of KR1 plc
I’ve been involved in blockchain technology since 2011. Before then I was an advertising copywriter for London based agencies. I have a masters degree in Anthropology and a further degree in Creative Advertising. I helped form one of London’s most popular blockchain meetups and co-founded kr1 in early 2016 and as such it become the first token focussed investment company in the world. We have the longest track record in the space and a global network of funds, developers and investors.
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About KR1 plc: KR1 plc (KR1:AQSE) is Europe’s leading digital asset investment company focused on decentralised and open-source blockchain networks.
Keld van Schreven
Co-Founder and Managing Director of KR1 plc
Keld is cofounder of KR1 UKs leading crypto investment public company. First investors in Melonport, Funfair, Rocketpool and Etherisc. Keld is advisor to IXLedger and previously cofounder of several web startups since 1995. www.kryptonite1.co
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About KR1 plc, MAMA: KR1 plc (KR1:AQSE) is Europe’s leading digital asset investment company focused on decentralised and open-source blockchain networks.
Edward Glyn
Managing Director, Head of Global Markets, Global Head of Relationship Management of Calastone
Edward Glyn joined Calastone in 2014 and is responsible for managing and developing key client relationships across our global markets. Before joining Calastone, Edward spent nine years at SWIFT, most recently heading up the 100m transaction funds business across EMEA and leading the regional sales team managing SWIFT’s investment management, custody and asset servicing offerings. Prior to this, Edward spent a number of years in key commercial and strategic roles at Investia – former parent of JPMorgan FundsHub, ERI Bancaire, Thomson Financial and Tajan.
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About Calastone: Calastone is a global transaction network for the mutual fund industry.
Nick James
Managing Director 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.
Jonathan Dawson
Managing Director 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.
Simon Cullen
Founder and Managing Director of Risksave Technologies
Simon Cullen is a founder of RiskSave, a financial technology and compliance firm. He has a first-class degree in mathematics and a masters in economics from Trinity College Dublin and is a qualified Financial Risk Manager (FRM). Simon worked for over fifteen years in banking and asset management, formerly being Head of Credit for Structured Debt for a large European Asset Manager. Simon has 15 years’ experience dealing with regulatory compliance and risk across banks and asset managers and oversees RiskSave’s compliance platform.
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About Risksave Technologies: Risksave Technologies is a fast-growing provider of regulatory hosting services.
Richard Cruz
Managing Director of CiT Digital
Richard Cruz is the Managing Director at CiT Digital.
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About CiT Digital: CiT Digital is a provider of Digital Asset Management and Image Library solutions.
Jason Cogley
Managing Director of Fiera Infrastructure
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About Fiera Infrastructure: Fiera Infrastructure is an IT infrastructure company located in Toronto.
Harry Mowat
Managing Director of Greentree
Harry’s outstanding track record in developing partner networks across Europe, the Middle East and Africa made him the perfect fit when Greentree went looking for someone to run its UK office. The British market is a tough environment, but Harry is quite at home in the Land of the Giants. “Every partner is different, but having managed relationships with the likes of IBM, down to the smallest of resellers, it all comes down to two things: having a great product to sell and nurturing a close relationship with your partners, based on trust, friendship and team work,” he says.
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About Greentree: Greentree delivers low-cost high performance business software helping medium sized organisations maximize productivity, adapt to
Nigel Minett
Managing Director of McLarens Aviation
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About McLarens Aviation: McLarens Aviation is a privately held company that operates as a provider of claims, risk, and asset management services.
Trehane Oliver
Managing Director of McLarens Aviation
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About McLarens Aviation: McLarens Aviation is a privately held company that operates as a provider of claims, risk, and asset management services.
