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 Partner operating in the Telecommunications space. If you think a Managing Partner 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.
Jambu Palaniappan
Managing Partner of OMERS Ventures
Jambu Palaniappan is Managing Partner of OMERS Ventures in Europe. He previously had several executive roles at Uber, where he was among the first 100 employees of the company globally. From 2012 to 2014, he led Uber’s international expansion in EMEA and India. From 2014 to 2016, he served as Regional General Manager for Uber in Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa leading a team of 300 as Uber built and scaled its business in that region. From 2016 to 2018, he was Head of Uber Eats in EMEA. He is also currently a Non-Executive Director of JustEat PLC. Jambu studied Public Policy and Economics at Vanderbilt University.
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About OMERS Ventures: OMERS Ventures is a transatlantic multi-stage investor in growth-oriented, disruptive technology companies
Harry Briggs
Managing Partner & Founder of OMERS Ventures
Harry is a partner at OMERS Ventures, previously at Balderton Capital & BGF Ventures- and the youngest investor in the inaugural Forbes “Midas List Europe”, thanks to investments such as The Hut Group, GoCardless, Touch Surgery and Revolut. Prior to Balderton, Harry co-founded Firefly Tonics, a healthy energy drink brand that sells in over 30 countries, sold to Private Equity in 2012. Harry started his career at McKinsey & Co., the strategy consultancy, in London and New York.
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About OMERS Ventures: OMERS Ventures is a transatlantic multi-stage investor in growth-oriented, disruptive technology companies
Stuart McAlpine
Managing Partner of Cinven
Stuart leads the Business Services and Industrials sector teams. He is also a member of the Healthcare sector team and the UK and Ireland regional team. He has been involved in a number of transactions, including Amadeus, AMCo, CPA Global, Fitness First, Foseco, Medpace, Phadia, Sebia and Unique Pub Company. Stuart was previously with the Royal Bank of Scotland in its Leveraged Finance Group and before that at Ernst & Young in Boston and London. Stuart has a BAcc in Accountancy from Glasgow University. He joined Cinven in 1996.
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About Cinven: Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class global companies.
David Leftley
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bloc Ventures
David has more than 30 years global technology industry experience in start-ups and multi-nationals as an engineer, manager, director and investor. From 1983 he worked as a design engineer in the defence industry, specialising in radar and airborne electronic countermeasures, first at Cossor Electronics and then at Racal Defence. In 1987 he moved into the TV and film industry, working for Abacus Cox and then Vistek on the design of the world’s first digital TV production technology. In this time he progressed to become R&D Manager and later became General Manager. In 1996, as CTO he founded Digital Vision UK for DV AB of Sweden, a world leader in video compression, transmission and post production technology, securing contracts with the BBC, several Hollywood studios and customers as far afield as China. In 1999 DV AB successfully went to an IPO. In 2009 he joined Vodafone’s corporate venture team as head of its European activity, closing numerous investments in Mobile Health, Clean Tech, Infrastructure and Financial Tech services. In this time the fund ranked in the top 5 CVCs, achieved an IRR of 27% and in 2012 received an industry award for its exit of portfolio company Amobee for $321M. In 2010 David was ranked in Wired Magazine’s top 100 innovators’ list. He represented Vodafone on the boards of nine portfolio companies. In April 2013 David departed Vodafone to establish Bloc Ventures with Bruce. He has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Aston Birmingham, and is a Chartered Engineer.
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About Bloc Ventures: Bloc Ventures is an early-stage Deep Tech investment company. Pitch to Bloc here: https://blocventures.com/pitching/
Steve Morris
Managing Partner of Portland Communications
Steve ensures that the right mix of skills from across the agency is available for every client, and personally advises clients on strategic and crisis communications He joined Portland in 2008 after a series of senior roles in government He spent five years in 10 Downing Street, first as an adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair on European issues and later as head of the Strategic Communications Unit He was Director of Communications at Defra, where he led crisis communications on major flooding emergencies and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease He spent five years in Brussels, where he acted as a spokesman for EC President Romano Prodi
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About Portland Communications: We design and deliver communications strategies for some of the world’s highest profile organisations, governments and individuals.
