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 CEO’ operating in the Simulation space. If you think a CEO’ 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.
Martin Higginson
Co-founder & CEO of Immotion Group plc
Martin is recognised as a seasoned Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) entrepreneur, and was awarded North West Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. He has started, sold, and listed numerous businesses. His first business was sold to IPC Magazines in 1982. Following three years with IPC he left to set up his own publishing and telecoms business, this was subsequently sold to Scottish Power plc. During his time with Scottish Power he joined their subsidiary Scottish Telecom, as Managing Director of their Internet and Interactive division, including Internet ISP Demon Internet. Following the flotation of Thus plc (formerly Scottish Telecom) he left to start Monstermob, a company he went on to list on AIM in 2003; growing it to a Top 50 AIM listed business. Monstermob Group plc was sold to Zed Worldwide in 2006. Martin has subsequently founded Cityblock plc, a luxury student accommodation business, and NetPlayTV plc, an interactive TV gaming business where he formed exclusive partnerships with Virgin Media, Channel Five, and ITV. Martin has held Non-Executive Director positions with Legend plc, Cupid plc and CMG Media. Martin is the Founding Partner at M Capital Investment Partners. Formed in 2010, M Capital Investment Partners manages multiple real estate investments across the UK, with a focus on delivering above average returns for investment cash with minimal risk. He also holds the position of Non Executive Director at Digitalbox Group – which was listed in The Sunday Times HISCOX Tech Track 100 in 2015 and 2016, placing it amongst Britain’s top 100 fastest growing private tech companies, and is Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer at Immotion Group Plc – an award-winning animation and multi-directional motion platforms to deliver mind-blowing immersive VR experiences.
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About Crash Media Group, Digitalbox: Immotion combine award-winning content & multi-directional motion platforms to deliver immersive VR solutions for high-traffic destinations.
Kimmo Soramaki
Founder & CEO of FNA
Kimmo Soramäki is the Founder and CEO of Financial Network Analytics (FNA) and the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Network Theory in Finance. Kimmo started his career as an economist at the Bank of Finland where in 1997, he developed the first simulation model for interbank payment systems. In 2004, while at the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he was among the first to apply methods from network theory to improve our understanding of financial systems. During the financial crisis of 2007-2008, Kimmo advised several central banks, including the Bank of England and European Central Bank, in modeling interconnections and systemic risk. This work led him to found FNA in 2013 to solve important issues around financial risk and for exploring the complex financial networks that play a continually larger role in the world around us. Kimmo holds a Doctor of Science in Operations Research and a Master of Science in Economics (Finance), both from Aalto University in Helsinki.
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About FNA: FNA is a deep technology analytics company that offers financial system services.
Runish Gudhka
CEO and Co-Founder of BatFast
Runish’s main responsibilities are running the company, stakeholder management, sales & marketing and setting overall business strategy. Prior to BATFAST, Runish completed a MSc degree at University College London, and gained experience working in managerial roles at JP Morgan and PwC. He also has played international cricket for Kenya.
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About BatFast: Cricket simulators provide an immersive environment recreating the ambiance of an international stadium.
Craig Hayman
CEO of AVEVA
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About AVEVA: AVEVA is an engineering IT software provider to plant, power, and marine industries.
Günter Dahm
CEO of Virtalis
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About Virtalis: Virtalis is a Virtual Reality (VR), simulation technology and advanced visualisation company.
Robin North
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Lead Technologist of Immense
Building tools to support fleets and mobility. Development, implementation, field test and evaluation of complex transport systems across multiple modes. Environmental monitoring and modelling methodologies for the appraisal of transport systems and projects. Identification and development of innovation opportunities for multiple stakeholders.
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About Immense: A global decision-support platform for new mobility