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 Manager operating in the Retail space. If you think a Manager 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.
Nagu Gopalakrishnan
Sr. Technical Program Manager of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Amir Saffari
Senior Applied Science Manager of Amazon
Amir Saffari has a PhD in Machine Learning and has been working in the field of Artificial Intelligence for more than 15 years, researching and developing ML based theory, applications, and, products. He’s numerous publications in top-tier ML conferences and journals and most of his research has been released as open source software. He was part of Sony’s R&D team and has been involved in a few ML startups.
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Alex Sibilev
Software Development Manager @ Amazon, Prime Video, Living Room Devices of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Tamar Papava
Senior Program Manager, Amazon Devices of Amazon
Tamar Papava currently serves Amazon as a senior program manager of Amazon devices. Previously, Tamar was a consultant at Civitta. Tamar Papava holds a master’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University.
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Rich Carr
Software Development Manager at Prime Video of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Ceri Davies
Senior Program Manager (EU L&D) of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Paul Serby
Software Development Manager of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Tessa Griffin
Manager, Product, Catalog & Pricing | Whole Foods on Amazon of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Paul Wilkinson
Senior Product Manager of Amazon
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About Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.
Joe Marshall
Production Operations Manager of Morrisons
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About Beechdean Dairies, Morrisons: Morrisons is a retailer that specializes in supermarket chain management in the UK.
Anamarija Ferrari
Digital Marketing Manager of SwiftGift
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About SwiftGift: SwiftGift is the world’s first Instant Gift Messenger App which allows you to send real gifts to anyone in your phone’s contact book.
Anamarija Ferrari
Digital Marketing Manager of SwiftGift
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About SwiftGift: SwiftGift is the world’s first Instant Gift Messenger App which allows you to send real gifts to anyone in your phone’s contact book.
Russell Albert
Senior Development Manager of THG
Russell Albert has been serving as Senior Development Manager at the Hut Group since October 2018.
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About THG: The Hut Group is an online retailing platform focused on fast moving consumer goods, specifically focused on health and beauty.
Myriam Hokayem
Marketing Communications Manager EMEA of True Fit
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About True Fit: True Fit provides an intelligent data platform created for fashion retailers to find online stores.
Milan Lakhani
Innovation Strategist & Incubation Manager of Konica Minolta
Innovation Strategist & Incubation Manager Business Innovation Centre Europe, Konica Minolta, Inc. Milan has a passion for business-led innovation, and works as a strategist within the Business Innovation Centre (BIC), Europe, where he manages business innovation, incubation and future business development. Milan’s main areas of expertise are setting up innovation programmes in a corporate environment, globally, understanding cultural paradigms and creating a framework to provide a structure & governance for on-going innovation. Within Konica Minolta, Milan’s focus is working with (existing & prospective) senior clients on innovation-led engagements, with the scope of co-innovating and incubation of projects. He also focuses on collaboration with start-ups, alliance partners, and formalising business innovation as a core function of the BIC. Previous to Milan’s existing role with Konica Minolta, he spent 16 years with Hewlett Packard (HP), as a Senior Consultant, specialising in Enterprise and Corporate Innovation, within the office of the CEO. Milan was instrumental in setting up one of the largest enterprise innovation programmes in the IT Services industry.
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About Konica Minolta: Konica Minolta is an Innovative Company and continues to create inspiring products and services in the field of imaging.
Dave Lewis
TitleGroup Information Security & Cyber Investigations Manager of Tesco
Dave Lewis joined the Board and Executive Committee as Group Chief Executive on 1 September 2014. Dave has significant experience in brand marketing, customer management and general management. Prior to joining Tesco, he worked for Unilever for nearly 30 years in a variety of different roles across Europe, Asia and the Americas. He has experience across many sectors in the UK and overseas, and has been responsible for a number of business turnarounds. He was previously a non-executive director of Sky PLC. Dave is also a member of the Governance Committee of the Consumer Goods Forum and Chair of Champions 12.3, a UN programme seeking to add momentum to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Target 12.3 by 2030.
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About Tesco: Tesco PLC is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England.
Ian Towell
Senior Manager Multi-channel GM Operations & Returns of Tesco
Ian Towell serves as Business Head of General Merchandise Returns for Group Tesco, a role which has evolved over the past 6 years as Tesco has expanded its GM business online, into broader and more complex product categories, and into international markets. Mr Towell was a founding member of Tesco Direct, and has been instrumental in developing strategies which have driven improvements in the customer aftersales experience, whilst reducing the impact to the bottom line through more effective back end process management. Prior to Tesco Mr Towell worked at Argos for 4 years in Business Change, and before that 10 years at Sainsbury’s Supermarkets.
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About Tesco: Tesco PLC is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England.
Jackie Belcher
Community Training and Resources Manager of Co-op
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About Co-op, Co-op, Co-op: Co-op, home to Food, Insurance, Funeralcare, Legal Services and Electrical
Harini Marivannan
Operations Manager of Provenance
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About Provenance: Provenance is the leading software solution for sustainability communications
Eve Cotton
Operations Manager of Selec.to
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About Selec.to: The leading B2B platform for the Fashion Industry
Dan Orchard
General Manager, Emerging Markets of Scentsy
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About Scentsy, Scentsy: Scentsy is a consumer goods and fragrance company platform.
Aaron Hall
Advanced Technology Solutions Manager of Anixter International
Aaron Hall is an Advanced Technology Solutions Managers at Anixter, Europe’s largest supplier of wire and cable, communications, security and networking solutions. He has over 22 years experience specialising in data centres, connectivity, containment, environmental and power management. Aaron joined Anixter in 1995, and spent his early years in sales for the South-East region including Contractor Account Management and Multi-National Business Development for the Enterprise Connectivity Solutions division, before joining the Demand Creation team. Aaron’s technical knowledge led to his current position; a role in which Aaron serves as a technical Interface for end clients, customers and key supplier partners.
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About Anixter International: Anixter is an online distributor of network & security solutions, electrical & electronic solutions and utility power solutions.
Carl Deguara
Control and Risk Manager – UK Local Operations of BNP Paribas Private Equity
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About BNP Paribas Private Equity: BNP Paribas is a French private equity firm that provides a range of asset management services to its institutional and retail clients.
Sylvain Delion
Manager of Macquarie Bank
Sylvain joined Macquarie Capital in 2004 in the Infrastructure Projects and Principal team which acts for Macquarie as developer, sponsor and financial investor in greenfield projects (using Macquarie own balance sheet) but also provides third party financial advisory services to external clients. Since joining Macquarie. Sylvain has been involved in developing, financing and investing in greenfield infrastructure assets across a wide variety of sectors: PPPs, data centers, fiber, transport, accommodation, healthcare, street lighting, energy and renewables. He has closed infrastructure project finance transactions representing more than €10bn of investments in many different European countries.
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About Macquarie Bank: Macquarie Bank, a subsidiary of Macquarie Group, provides various retail financing and commercial banking services primarily in Australia.
Gordon Siggers
IT Category Manager of The John Lewis Partnership
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About The John Lewis Partnership: The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned company that operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, and more.
Simon Skelton
Platform & Operations Manager (JL&P) of John Lewis & Partners
Simon Skelton With over 25 years experience in IT, Simon has worked in both Retail and Insurance industries, with a wide range of roles including Programmer, Strategy & Architecture Manager, Service Desk Manager, Service Improvement Manager, and Online IT Operations Manager. After implementing ITIL across The John Lewis Partnership, Simon now leads the 250+ Applications Operations team in John Lewis, which supports £4.5bn in annual gross sales, with over £1.5bn being taken through the award winning johnlewis.com website.
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About John Lewis & Partners: John Lewis is a retailer that operates department stores, home stores, supermarkets and convenience stores in the U.K. and internationally.
Colin Turner
Senior Strategy Manager, Supply Chain of John Lewis & Partners
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About John Lewis & Partners: John Lewis is a retailer that operates department stores, home stores, supermarkets and convenience stores in the U.K. and internationally.
Kat Knocker
General Manager of Tails.com
Kat’s Product and Customer Experience team sits firmly at the centre of tails.com, keeping the customer right at the heart of the business as tails.com continues to grow. A member of Management Today’s 35 Under 35, Kat is part of the founding team at tails.com and has seen the businesses rapid growth over the last 4 years, becoming one of the most advanced players in the direct-to-consumer, tailor-made pet nutrition category who today deliver more than 4 million bespoke dog meals each month. Kat and her team are driven by a passion to change the lives of dogs and their owners for the better, and are proud of their customer advocacy including a 9.6 score on Trustpilot. Tailored, personalised experiences for both dogs and owners are a core part of tails.com’s product and success – and remain as personalised today as they did at the start. Kat is passionate about creating products and services that truly engage customers, and brings her skills and experience from Innocent Drinks and graze.com to her role at tails.com.
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About Tails.com: Tails.com is an online pet nutrition service that provides tailor-made food designed to deliver perfectly optimised nutrition for dogs.
Irena Miroforidu
Data Strategy and Partnerships Manager of GfK
Adventure traveller, surf enthusiast and a Founder of Tribd, a social networking application connecting solo travelling adventure seekers, helping them to find a travel partner from the same tribe. Experienced FinTech Industry professional.
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About GfK, Tribd: GfK is a market research institute in Germany.
Vanessa Wachtmeister
Global Launch & Product Marketing Manager of Hotels
Vanessa Menchaca-Wachtmeister is a B2B Global Launch Manager at Hotels.com and an accomplished travel writer behind the blog: wanderonwards.co. Originally from Los Angeles, Vanessa has spent the last decade bouncing between Beijing, Boston, and London pursuing a career in tech whilst exploring over 40 countries. She has a BA from Boston College, a Masters in International Development from SOAS (University of London), and her real passion is teaching people how to travel farther, longer and for less. When she’s not on a plane, she enjoys learning languages, developing her skills, and cooking with her husband and cat.
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About Hotels: Hotels provides online hotel booking and reservation services intended to ease the travelling process.
Alexander Nicholson
Engagement Manager of Frog Design
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About Frog Design: Frog Design operates as a global design, innovation, and strategy firm.
Nicole Willson
Communications Manager of Shopwave
Nicole holds a first class honours degree in English and American Literature in addition to a Master’s degree in Eighteenth-Century Literature. She has recently completed a PhD in American Studies, and has taken over as manager of all things comms at Shopwave. Nicole has a background in academic publishing, copywriting, and editing, and has published several articles in peer review journals.
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About Shopwave, University of Central Lancashire: Kitchen & Ops Automation, POS, App Integration & Payments. Shopwave helps the worlds leading restaurant and retail brands to scale globally.
Nathan Sansby
Strategic Partnership Manager of Sorted Group
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About Sorted Group: Sorted Group is a global SaaS company that provides data-driven software for checkouts, warehouses, and shipping.
Gavin Phelps
Operations Manager of Oddbox
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About Oddbox: Oddbox is a provider of fruit and veg box delivery service intended to reduce food waste.
Gordon Folta
E-Commerce , Digital Marketing Manager of KLiNGEL Group
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About KLiNGEL Group: KLiNGEL Group – that means: fashion, doers, people.
Oli Hunt
Senior Manager, Home Delivery and Service Experience of Asda
Oli heads up Asda’s Home Delivery service for Clothing and General Merchandise, as well as looking after the in-store collect and return service ‘toyou’ which handles parcels for George.com as well as over 100 leading online retailers. He began his Asda career on their graduate program and has held a variety of roles across core operations, project management, and online delivery solutions. Oli now leads service for one of the fastest growing PUDO providers in the UK.
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About Asda: Asda owns and operates a chain of supermarkets that sell various products.
James Bullock
Senior Vice President & General Manager of Tacit Knowledge
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About Tacit Knowledge, Tacit Knowledge: Tacit Knowledge is a Silicon Valley-based digital commerce consultancy that develops enterprise software to address extensive data problems.
Neth Williams
Marketing Project Manager of CGI
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About CGI: CGI is a canada-based information technology consulting, systems integration and outsourcing company.
Steve Gutteridge
New Business Manager of Tugo Food Solutions
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About Tugo Food Solutions: Tugo is an award-winning B2B foodservice company at the cutting edge of food retail.
Zaid Sulaiman
Technical Delivery Manager of Constant Commerce
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About Constant Commerce: We are the only platform to offer marketers every tool to support an end to end shopper journey from inspiration to (any) checkout
Dian Ivanov
Manual & Automated Test Manager of Constant Commerce
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About Constant Commerce: We are the only platform to offer marketers every tool to support an end to end shopper journey from inspiration to (any) checkout
Sandra Huzenlaub
Export Manager of ChicBaby.com
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About ChicBaby.com: ChicBaby is an online platform that offers fashion and apparel products for babies.
Rebecca Kalra
National Communications Manager, Associate Director of Avison Young
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About Avison Young: Avison Young is a retail company that specializes in making full use of our agency, investment and lease advisory skills.
Viktoria Webber
Project Manager of Ocasta
Viktoria Webber serves as a project manager at Ocasta.
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About Ocasta: Ocasta develops knowledge, training & education tech for your employees or students.
Viktoria Webber
Project Manager of Ocasta
Viktoria Webber serves as a project manager at Ocasta.
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About Ocasta: Ocasta develops knowledge, training & education tech for your employees or students.
Andy Pilling
Marketing and Business Development Manager of K.D. Feddersen
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About K.D. Feddersen: K.D. Feddersen trades and distributes chemicals, engineering plastics, technical products, raw materials and polymers worldwide.
Chris Martin
Business Development Manager and Co-Founder of LootBear
Chris Martin is the Business Development Manager and Co-Founder at LootBear.
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About LootBear: LootBear is an All-In-One skin marketplace where the users can buy, rent, and convert skins to gaming gear.
Henry Osabutey
Business Development Manager of Natromi Motors
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About Natromi Motors: Natromi Motors is a sustainable energy and transportation platform.
Lesley Mace
Brand Account Manager of Elevaate
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About Elevaate: Elevaate is the most efficient way for retailers and their suppliers to execute trade funded activity online.
Lesley Mace
Brand Account Manager of Elevaate
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About Elevaate: Elevaate is the most efficient way for retailers and their suppliers to execute trade funded activity online.
Catherine Frame
CRM Manager of Footasylum
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About Footasylum: Footasylum is a lifestyle fashion retailer, focused on bringing to market footwear and apparel collections.
Hannah Mckie
Digital Marketing Manager of Cotton Traders
Hannah Mckie is a digital marketing manager at Cotton Traders.
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About Cotton Traders: Cotton Traders is a clothing company that provides quality contemporary clothing at affordable prices.
Will Griffiths
Sales Manager of MyGravity
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About MyGravity: MyGravity enhances trust between businesses and consumers with a digital loyalty and marketing solution.
Alvaro G
Senior International Sales Manager of Ströer Media
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About Ströer Media: The Ströer Group offers advertisers individualized Out-of-home and online communication solutions.
