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 Chairman operating in the Public Relations space. If you think a Chairman 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.
Colette Ballou
Chairman of Ballou
I am an entrepreneur, a limited partner and the founder and chairman of Ballou. I advise and mentor CEOs and often speak about topics I care very much about: the importance of reputation, civility in the workplace, the importance of a strong and warm corporate culture, and the responsibilities of investors, be they angels or limited partners. I founded Ballou in 2002, a European communications and strategy agency that works with high-growth technology and technology-enabled companies, as well as technology investors. Ballou’s success has enabled me to invest in venture capital firms, and has also given me exposure to thousands of different business models, so that along with my colleagues, we know what works, what doesn’t, and what to watch for. Thus, we forecast trends, understand and examine human behavior, and use these insights to position businesses for high growth. I invest in venture capital and private equity firms including Cavalry Ventures, Asia Partners and Connect Ventures.
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About Ballou: International communications agency for high-growth technology companies
Christofer Solheim
Chairman, Chief Innovation Officer of Commetric Ltd.
Mr. Christofer Solheim founded Commetric Ltd. in 2005. Prior to Commetric, Mr. Solheim worked in various roles at Hill & Knowlton Public Relations spanning 10 years, including leading H&K s Business Intelligence unit and latterly providing executive counsel to Paul Taaffe, global Chief Executive Officer of Hill & Knowlton. In the 80s and 90s, he consulted full time for the Chief Executive Officer of Kaldnes de Groot and spent two years at Heerema in Oslo. Since 1992, he has pioneered the use of advanced technologies to revolutionize business and communications strategic planning. In 2003, he was the Principle Founder of 2B, a company specializing in quantitative reputation measurement, later acquired by Factiva, a Reuters & Dow Jones Company. Prior to founding 2B, he was the founding Director of H&K s Net Communications practice. In 2007, he co-founded CommEq Asset Management to develop and implement fully automated behavioural finance trading methodologies. He was educated in business at the Academy of Commerce, Oslo, and in Computer Science at the University of Oslo.
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About Commetric Ltd.: Award-winning media analytics solutions that provide deeper, more practical level of insight. #MoreWithAnalytics
Bill Rylance
Founder & Chairman of WATATAWA
Bill has lived in Asia for 30 years during which he has and worked on some of the region’s most historic events and issues advising several Asian heads of state, government officials, CEOs and other senior executives. He managed the global communications programme for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was integral to Korea’s bid and co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He founded Korea’s largest independent strategic communications firm in 1989 and a decade later moved to Hong Kong to become Asia Pacific CEO and Worldwide Vice Chairman of a global PR firm, leading the regional network through a decade of profitable growth including a significant acquisition and entry into India. His experience includes working on major public affairs and international relations issues—among them the sovereign communications programme for South Korea as it sought to recover from the Asian financial crisis. He is a Member of the Hong Kong and Singapore Institutes of Directors and has served on several boards including the Marine Stewardship Council and the China High Growth Fund. Bill is a graduate of the University of London with an MSc in Management from the London Business School. He is based in London.
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About WATATAWA: WATATAWA is an Asia-based communications consulting firm.
Jon Wilkins
Executive Chairman of Karmarama
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About Karmarama: Karmarama is a full service communications agency, combining creative excellence with technology-inspired solutions
Iain Anderson
Executive Chairman of Cicero/AMO
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About Cicero/AMO: Cicero/AMO is a full-service communications and market research agency.
