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 Business Development 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.
Lionel Assant
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Lionel Assant is Senior Managing Director and European Head of Private Equity for Blackstone, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Lionel Assant has been involved in various European investments and investment opportunities. Before joining Blackstone, Lionel Assant worked for seven years at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Asset Management and Private Equity divisions. Lionel Assant graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique with a Master’s degree in Economics. He serves as a Director of Tangerine, Intertrust and Alliance Automotive Group. Lionel Assant served on the boards of Gerresheimer, Mivisa and United Biscuits. He is also a Trustee of Impetus-PEF, a charitable foundation which provides resources to improve the lives of children and young people living in poverty.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
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Kenneth Caplan
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Group
Kenneth A. Caplan is a Senior Managing Director and Global Chief Investment Officer of the Real Estate Group. Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Kenneth Caplan has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in the United States, Europe and Asia. These include major acquisitions such as Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels, Trizec Properties and La Quinta. Prior to his current role, Kenneth Caplan was Head of Real Estate Europe. Before joining Blackstone, he was at Lazard Frères & Co. in the real estate investment banking group. Kenneth Caplan received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a John Harvard Scholar. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Caroline Hill
Managing Director, Real Estate ESG of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Nick Tansley
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Nick Tansley is the Managing Director at PJT Partners.
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About Blackstone Group, PJT Partners: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Antony C. Clavel
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Antony C. Clavel joined Summit Partners in 2013. He is a Swiss national and speaks English and Italian. Prior to Summit, he worked for Allen & Company. Based in Summit’s London office, Antony is active in the firm’s investment activities in Europe. Antony holds a BA in mathematics from Oxford University with First Class Honors and an SM in computer science from Harvard University.
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About Summit Partners, Tech Nation: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Matthias Allgaier
Managing Director of Summit Partners
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Gregg J. Nardone
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Gregg J. Nardone joined Summit Partners in 2010. Prior to Summit, Gregg worked for Guggenheim Investment Management as a member of the leveraged credit investing team, and later assumed a trading role. Before that, he worked at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and Banca IMI Securities. Based in Summit’s Boston office, Gregg is active in the firm’s credit investment activities. His investments include Cal Dive International, Newtek Business Services and Whistler Energy. Gregg received a BBA in finance from The College of William & Mary. In addition, he holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Scott Collins
Managing Director and COO of Summit Partners
Scott Collins is the Managing Director at Summit Partners. Scott joined Summit Partners in 1996. Scott manages the firm’s London office, which he founded in 2001. Scott is active in Summit’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. During his 17 years with Summit Partners, Scott has served on the board of directors of more than 25 companies. Currently he is a director of 360T Group, Acturis Limited, AVAST Software, Bigpoint, vente-privee.com and Welltec International. His prior directorships include Dorn Technology Group (acquired by Policy Management Systems Corporation), Elumen Solutions (acquired by Computer Task Group), Hittite Microwave Corporation (NASDAQ: HITT), Jamba! AG (acquired by VeriSign), Ogone (acquired by Ingenico), SafeBoot Holdings (acquired by McAfee) and Web Reservations International (acquired by Hellman & Friedman). Prior to Summit, Scott worked as a Strategy Consultant with McKinsey & Company in the financial institutions group. Scott also served in a variety of U.S. federal government positions, including at the White House and Department of Justice. Scott holds an A.B. degree in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, Scott was captain of the varsity football team and later served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. Scott is a former director of the Harvard Alumni Association and remains active in Harvard-related activities. Scott was a founding Trustee of the Private Equity Foundation, a leading venture philanthropy in the U.K. dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged youth and he served on the board from 2007 to 2012. Scott holds British and U.S. dual citizenship. Scott’s personal interests include sport and fitness, the arts, and spending time with his children.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Christian R. Strain
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Christian R. Strain joined Summit Partners in 2005. He is a French and U.S. national, and is bilingual in French and English. Prior to Summit, he worked for Apax Partners in Paris where he was a member of the technology team. Based in Summit’s London office, Christian is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. His board directorships and investments include Bigpoint, Ogone (acquired by Ingenico), Peak Well Systems and vente-privee.com. Christian holds a BA in history from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is active with City Year London.
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About Bigpoint, Ogone, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Han Sikkens
Managing Director and Head of Summit Partners Europe of Summit Partners
Han Sikkens joined Summit Partners in 2004. He is a Dutch national and speaks Dutch and English. Prior to Summit, he worked for Scotia Capital and IBM Corporation. Based in Summit’s London office, Han is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. His board directorships and investments include 360T Group, Acturis Limited, AVAST Software, Flow Traders, Multifonds (IGEFI Group), SafeBoot Holdings (acquired by McAfee) and Welltec International. Han holds a BS in business administration from the University of Groningen, an MSc in international business from the University of Groningen, and an MSc in international finance from the CERAM Graduate School of Management & Technology.
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About IBM, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Thomas M. Tarnowski
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Thomas M. Tarnowski joined Summit Partners in 2013. He is a Danish national and speaks Danish, English, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish. Prior to Summit, he worked for Triton, Credit Suisse First Boston and Citigroup. Based in Summit’s London office, Thomas is active in the firm’s investment activities in Europe. Thomas received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA in finance from Valdosta State University.
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About Salomon Smith Barney, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Johannes N. Grefe
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Johannes N. Grefe joined Summit Partners in 2012. He is a German national and speaks English, German, and Spanish. Prior to Summit, he worked for Vitruvian Partners, TA Associates and Lazard. Based in Summit’s London office, Johannes is active in the firm’s investment activities in Europe. His investments and board directorships include Peak Well Systems. Johannes received an MSc in industrial engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany and an MS in engineering management from Portland State University.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Peter Preisler
Managing Director, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Europe & Africa of Oaktree Capital Management
Peter Preisler is the Managing Director, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Europe & Africa at Oaktree Capital Management.
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About Oaktree Capital Management: Oaktree Capital Management is a privately owned investment manager specializing in alternative investment strategies.
Karim Tabet
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Karim Tabet is a managing director based in our London office. He is currently a director of Digital Platform İletişim Hizmetleri (Digiturk) and Galileo Global Education. Prior to joining Providence in 2002, he was an associate in the principal investment area at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. He received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of École Polytechnique.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Andrew Tisdale
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Andrew Tisdale is a managing director based in our London office. Mr. Tisdale is currently a director of Canal Digitaal Satelliet and HSE24. Prior to joining Providence in 2008, Mr. Tisdale was global co-head of the media and communications group and a member of Morgan Stanley’s management committee for investment banking. During his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Tisdale held various roles within investment banking, including co-head of the media and communications group for North and South America and, subsequently, the same role for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He also led Morgan Stanley’s investment banking activities in Brazil. Mr. Tisdale received a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Roderik Schlosser
Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Roderik Schlösser is a vice president based in ther London office. Prior to joining Providence in 2006, he was an analyst in the telecommunications corporate finance group at Deutsche Bank. He received a Master of Science in Business Administration from Tilburg University.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
John Hahn
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
John Hahn is a managing director based in our London office and leads the firm’s European private equity investment activities. He is a director of Digital Platform İletişim Hizmetleri (Digiturk), Grupo Corporativo ONO and UFO Moviez India (UMI). Prior to joining Providence in 2000, he was a managing director at Morgan Stanley. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he worked with Price Waterhouse and Federal Data Corporation. He received a Master of Business Administration from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Charles Vernudachi
Managing Director and head of European business development of Providence Equity Partners
Charles Vernudachi is a managing director based in their London office, where he focuses on business development activities in Europe. Prior to joining Providence in 2014, he was a managing director with Eaton Partners in London, where he oversaw the EMEA distribution of private equity funds and hedge funds. Previously, he was a senior client executive with SEB in London where he was responsible for the distribution of alternative solutions in Europe. From 2007 to 2008, he co-founded a London based placement agent of alternative funds. Prior to that, he was an executive director in the securities division of Goldman Sachs where he was responsible for the distribution of liquid and structured credit products. He started his career with Natixis in Paris. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University Paris Dauphine. He is a CAIA Charter Member and co-founder of the Paris chapter.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Karim Tabet
Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners
Karim Tabet is a managing director based in our London office. he is currently a director of Bitė and Galileo Global Education. Previous boards include Digiturk (Turkey), Com Hem (Sweden), Casema (Netherlands) and Crown Media International. Prior to joining Providence in 2002, he was an associate in the principal investment area at Goldman Sachs. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. He received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of École Polytechnique.
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About Providence Equity Partners: Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments.
Ailsa Williams
Managing Director of Teneo
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About Teneo: A New York-based corporate advisory firm
Charmaine Eggberry
Managing Director & Partner of McKinsey & Company
Appointed to the Board in January 2014. Charmaine is a Partner at BCG Digital Ventures (an arm of The Boston Consulting Group), a role which involves leading the creation of completely new ventures and businesses for the world’s biggest brands. Charmaine is also a Non-Executive Director of Avanti plc and software robot specialists, Blue Prism plc as well as Chairperson of Buzzmove. She is also the CEO of Plan B Consulting and undertakes advisory work for several early stage startups. Charmaine previously held international senior executive roles with Research in Motion (Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer from 2002–2008) and Nokia (Global Senior Vice President from 2010–2012). Before joining RIM in 2002 as Marketing Director for Europe she worked for Lucent Technologies where she held several positions including the roles of Global Business Partner Marketing Director and Marketing Director, EMEA. Charmaine led Wayra UK, one of the world’s largest digital business accelerators and was a non-executive director of Wayra UnLtd, a joint venture between the UK Government and Telefónica. Charmaine is also a board member and trustee of The Marketing Academy. Charmaine holds an MBA and attended Wharton Business School to study Global Marketing
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About Blue Prism, McKinsey & Company, Plan B One‑Step: McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm and trusted advisor by businesses, governments, and institutions.
Beth Pickens
Managing Director of TSG Consumer Partners
Beth is responsible for originating new investment opportunities, diligencing new business opportunities, structuring transactions and working with our partner companies. Beth is based in TSG’s London office.
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About TSG Consumer Partners: TSG Consumer Partners is an investment firm that focuses on the branded consumer sector.
Claire Cherry
Investment Partner/UK Director of Social Starts
Claire covers the consumer sector across Europe and the US. Prior to Social Starts, she ran the seed and pre-seed consumer fund at True, backing businesses across beauty, femtech, sexual wellness, mental health, and many more. With almost a decade of experience in venture, Claire is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs breaking new ground. Outside of investing, she can be found hiking the cliffs of Guernsey with her dog, or attempting to grow vegetables (sometimes successfully) in her garden.
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About Social Starts: Social Starts is a set of early-stage venture funds that uses analytics to uncover and invest in the strongest companies in the strongest segments. Based on a uniquely data-driven methodology, Social Starts has discovered and backed companies with huge value in e-commerce, employment platforms, digital brands, next-generation food, and education. The current fund, “Social Starts Health and Happiness,” focuses on startups that help people live longer, live better, or both.
Jean-Paul Petranca
Principal, Managing Director & Partner of The Boston Consulting Group
Managing Director and Partner at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) London
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About The Boston Consulting Group: The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and an advisor on business strategy.
Antoon Schneider
Senior Partner and Managing Director of The Boston Consulting Group
Antoon is a Managing Director and Senior Partner in the Principal Investor and Private Equity practice at Boston Consulting Group. Antoon has advised most of the 50 largest private-equity firms globally on topics that include deal sourcing, due diligence and firm strategy, as well as working with their portfolio companies on 100-day plans and operational-improvement. He also has extensive experience in corporate M&A. Before joining BCG in 2011, Antoon spent nearly 14 years with McKinsey&Co, where he led the private-equity practice in the UK. Prior to that he worked in M&A at Hambros Bank and as a Chartered Accountant.
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About The Boston Consulting Group: The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and an advisor on business strategy.
Andrew Fisher
European Managing Director of Blucora
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About Blucora, Chairman Mentors International, Marks & Spencer, RightMove, Thomson Directories Business Ventures: Blucora is a provider of Internet-related services that operates a diverse group of internet businesses.
Jonathan Cutler
Managing Director, UK of 3si
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About 3si: Ecosystem Optimization for the Operating Room
Richard M Benson
Creative Managing Director of Allen International
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About Allen International: Allen International is a strategic design consultancy.
Rob Withagen
Managing Director of Asoko Insight
Rob Withagen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Asoko Insight.
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About Asoko Insight: Africa’s leading corporate information platform, providing market mapping solutions to investment firms, banks, corporates and governments.
David Wilde
Owner and Managing Director of Dwilde Consulting
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About Dwilde Consulting: Dwilde Consulting is a consulting agency that provides expertise in the field of commercial sectors, IT, and digital leadership.
Tony Fish
Founder/Managing Director of AMF Ventures
I focus on how the future of corporate governance, decision making and judgement will be affected by complex data at the board. My focus leads me to imagine a board meeting in 2025, and the implications and unintended consequences. Tony thrives in complex, ground-breaking & uncertain environments; bringing proven judgement and decision-making skills with cross-sectorial experience. He has a track record of sense-making and foresight; his enthusiasm and drive are contagious & inspiring – definitely a maverick and unintentional rule breaker. He has founded, co-founded, sold and listed many businesses but remains passionate about new ways of creating value which has the capability of scaling fast, are at an early stage and creates value for many people.
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About AMF Ventures, Mashup Event: AMF Ventures was founded in 2002 by Tony Fish. AMF Ventures work on a variety of intellectually challenging assignments conducted in a
Paul O’Dowd
Founder & Managing Director of Global iSupport
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About Global iSupport: Global iSupport provides consultation services on improving processes for business growth.
Dimitra Christakou
Managing Director of Cambridge IP
Dimitra is the Managing Director of CambridgeIP. In the past she was the Head of Water Insight Services at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, where she was responsible for the product’s overall strategy and direction. In that capacity, Dimitra led a global team of research and data analysts to provide unique analysis, tools and data for decision makers evaluating their water related risks and opportunities. She previously held positions at Thames Water, Accenture and the Corporate Finance Practice of the Corporate Executive Board. Dimitra has extensive experience working with senior executives in the energy and cleantech sectors leading investment strategies for international utilities and major performance improvement projects. She is currently a member of the Corporate Water Disclosure Stakeholder Advisory Group (CWDSAG) for the UN CEO Water Disclosure Project. She is a frequent speaker on sustainability and resources efficiency, and cleantech investment; she has been quoted by Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, the Institutional Investor and other publications. She received her Bachelors degree in Physics from the University of Crete in Greece. Dimitra holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College of London and an MBA from London Business School.
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About Cambridge IP: Cambridge IP is a business intelligence provider that offers technology intelligence and innovation strategy products and services.
Andrew Dobbins
Managing Director of ZetaSafe
Dr Andrew Dobbins is responsible for the ZetaSafe business and was a founding team member. A proven track record of technical innovation and sales in the scientific and commercial sectors brought him together with Rob and John to shape the business we see today. Andrew is a passionate practitioner of talent development and exceptional customer service in ZetaSafe.
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About ZetaSafe: ZetaSafe is the global leader in quality, safety, compliance and data solutions.
Paul Collins
Founder and Managing Director of Spica Technologies
Paul is a highly experienced, client centric technical leader, having previously founded and grown one of the UK’s most successful IBM Business Partners.
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About Spica Technologies: SPICA – A Nordomatic Company is a specialist IOT Systems Integrator that uses a combination of technical assets, hardware (device).
Chris Nixon
Managing Director of CJN Ventures
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About CJN Ventures: CJN Ventures provides consultation services on managing and starting businesses.
Blaise Grimes-Viort
Founder & Managing Director of Is The Answer
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About Is The Answer: Is The Answer designs sustainable culture-driven networks and empowers people to deliver revenue, brand value, and product innovation.
Graham Cherrett
Managing Director, Sales Specialist & Master Trainer of The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training
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About The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training: The Longley Sales Academy empowers sales leaders & sales professionals to make the right call, at the right time, to excel in their careers.
Graham Cherrett
Managing Director, Sales Specialist & Master Trainer of The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training
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About The Longley Sales Academy | Sales & Leadership Training: The Longley Sales Academy empowers sales leaders & sales professionals to make the right call, at the right time, to excel in their careers.
William Despard
Managing Director Africa of Teknov8
William Despard is the managing director at Teknov8 Africa.
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About Teknov8: Teknov8 provides managed IT services to help businesses accelerate business activity and boost efficiency.
William Despard
Managing Director Africa of Teknov8
William Despard is the managing director at Teknov8 Africa.
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About Teknov8: Teknov8 provides managed IT services to help businesses accelerate business activity and boost efficiency.
Benoit Reillier
Managing Director of Launchworks & Co
Launchworks Ventures’ Managing Director, Benoit Reillier, specialises in strategy, training and innovative business models and ecosystems such as multisided platforms. He has been advising the boards and top management teams of many blue chip companies as well as regulators and Governments for the past 20 years. Prior to founding Launchworks Benoit was Director of Economics and Regulation at KPMG where he focused on strategic assignments for Telecommunications, Media and Technology clients globally. Benoit was previously Director of the TMT practice of expert firm LECG Europe (now FTI) and also worked as business development director of Telia Mobile International UK, the leading Nordic telecommunications group. Throughout his career Benoit has had the opportunity to work on and lead key strategic assignments that shaped the communications sector. He was instrumental in the development of regulatory frameworks in a number of countries and participated in large scale strategic assignments leading to the separation (or merger) of activities. Benoit also provided expert advice in the context of several multi billion dollar litigations and arbitrations. Benoit started his career under the aegis of the French government as a special advisor on telecom-related issues and was part of the team preparing the liberalisation of the French telecom sector in the 1990’s.
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About Launchworks & Co: Launchworks provide strategy and innovation advisory services to companies of any size.
Brad Burton
Managing Director & Founder of 4Networking
Brad can give you the sharpest advice you’ll find on how to get your business moving. Author, inspirational speaker, media pundit, tireless 4Networker.
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About 4Networking: The UK’s only joined-up business network.
