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 Fashion 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.
José Neves
Founder, Co-Chairman & CEO of Farfetch
In 2008 José Neves launched Farfetch, bringing together his interests in fashion and technology, as well as his experience in design, wholesale and retail, to create a business that would celebrate and support the diversity of the global fashion industry. The seasoned entrepreneur had experienced first-hand the challenges facing bricks-and-mortar retailers wanting to expand online. His vision was to create a single portal, offering independent boutiques the opportunity to compete with the leaders of fashion e-commerce. Farfetch now comprises more than 300 boutiques, offering over 100,000 pieces from 1,000 brands. With customers in almost 190 countries, the site receives an average of 10 million monthly hits. José has been involved in the fashion start-up world since the mid-1990s when he launched footwear business SWEAR. José later founded SIX London, a fashion licensing and wholesale company selling to 600 retailers worldwide. In 2001 José opened the renowned bstore, which won the British Fashion Award for Retailer of the Year in 2006. José has received numerous accolades as an entrepreneur and for his business ventures, including The Business of Fashion’s 500 People Shaping the Fashion Industry in 2013, Ernst & Young’s 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year and Vogue’s DirectorsOf.COM Top Entrepreneur in 2011.
Follow José Neves:
About Farfetch, Farfetch China, PlatformE, SIX London: Farfetch is an online luxury fashion retail platform.
Nick Wheeler
Founder & Chairman of Charles Tyrwhitt
Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler (born 20 January 1965 in Ludlow, Shropshire) is an English businessman. He attempted a number of different businesses, including a photography venture and a Christmas tree delivery service. In 1986 he established the Charles Tyrwhitt company and shirt brand, which he owns. Wheeler grew up in Ludlow and was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford, Eton College, and the University of Bristol, where he studied geography. His first job was as a management consultant for Bain & Company. In November 1986, he set up Charles Tyrwhitt, now a well-known shirt brand in the United Kingdom. The business is a Limited Liability Partnership. It has grown to be the UK’s largest mail-order shirt business, and also has several brick and mortar locations (as of October 2014, 17 in the United Kingdom, 5 in the United States, and one in France). In 2008, he was a regional judge for the Entrepreneur Challenge in the UK. Wheeler is married with four children to Chrissie Rucker, founder of The White Company. In 2015, their collective wealth was estimated at £330 million by the Sunday Times Rich List. Together they live in Buckinghamshire and also own a chalet in Klosters, Switzerland named Haus Alpina.
Follow Nick Wheeler:
About Charles Tyrwhitt, Feefo: A multi-channel British clothing retailer, specialising in formal men’s shirts, shoes, suits, knitwear and accessories
Natalie Massenet
Founder & Chairman of Net-a-porter.com
Natalie Massenet is cofounder and co-managing partner of Imaginary Ventures, a venture fund investing in early-stage opportunities at the intersection of retail and technology, as well as the non-executive co-chairwoman of Farfetch, a global e-commerce platform for luxury fashion. Massenet is best known for founding the luxury fashion online retailer Net-A-Porter, in 2000. In the year before she stepped down from her role following its merger with YOOX, the Net-A-Porter-Group recorded net revenues of almost $1 billion. Massenet began her career as a journalist and fashion editor, working at WWD and Tatler before setting up Net-A-Porter. In 2009, she was awarded an MBE, and in 2016 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, both in recognition of her contributions to the U.K. fashion and retail industry. Massenet was chairman of the British Fashion Council between 2013 and 2017.
Follow Natalie Massenet:
About Daily Harvest, Imaginary Ventures, Net-a-porter.com: Net-a-porter.com is an online luxury fashion retailer.
Susanne Given
Chairman of Outfittery
Susanne works with and supports start-ups and early stage digital businesses in the consumer and tech segments and holds various board and advisory posts. She is Chairman of Made.com, Outfittery Gmbh and Push Doctor Ltd., and holds non-executive board seats with Eurostar International Ltd., Tritax Big Box REIT Plc and Al Tayer, a Middle Eastern luxury group. During her executive career, she worked across the consumer spectrum, from the luxury retailer Harrods to mainstream department stores John Lewis and House of Fraser, and within the ever-expanding global off-price segment as Managing Director of TK Maxx UK/Ireland. Her most recent executive role was as COO for Superdry Plc. She is credited with the turn-around of the Superdry contemporary fashion brand and for re-establishing investor confidence in the public markets, taking the share price from low single digit to high teens over a three-year period.
Follow Susanne Given:
About MADE, Outfittery, Push Doctor, Tritax Big Box: Outfittery provides an online personal shopping service for men.
Mark Sebba
Chairman of Flowerbx
Follow Mark Sebba:
About Flowerbx: Flowerbx is an online, wholesale, flower-delivery service.
Bruce MacInnes
Chairman of BRANDALLEY
Follow Bruce MacInnes:
About BRANDALLEY: BRANDALLEY is an online retair of fashion, home and beauty products
Adil Abrar
Founder and Chairman of Mastered
Follow Adil Abrar:
About Mastered: Launching and accelerating the careers of creators since 2015
Michael Welch
Founder and Chairman of Atterley
Mike Welch founded and built online retailer blackcircles.com, which sold to Michelin for £50m+ in 2015. In 2016 he purchased the business and assets of the original Atterley (founded in 2012) from its administrators and relaunched it with a completely new business model, focusing on providing a route to online market for independent boutiques.
Follow Michael Welch:
About Atterley: Atterley, the womenswear and menswear etailer for independent boutiques and brands to reach a global audience
