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 Founder operating in the Neuroscience space. If you think a Founder 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.
Michael Brennan
Co Founder & Non-Executive Director of BenevolentAI
Mr. Michael Brennan co-founded BenevolentAI Limited in 2013 and serves as its Head of Corporate Development. Mr. Brennan co-founded Novum Securities in 2006 and served as it Chief Executive Officer. In 2009, Mr. Brennan joined Proximagen Group plc, as Head of Corporate Development, where he was focused on fund raising, corporate transactions and business development. Mr. Brennan has over 14 years of equity capital markets experience in the City focusing on the small and mid cap market. He is a Senior corporate finance executive with over 15 years City based capital markets experience. The majority of his time was spent with Evolution Securities where he served as a Director in their corporate finance department and has significant transactional experience including M&A and takeover work. He has been a Non-Executive Director at Litebulb Group Limited since September 13, 2013.
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About BenevolentAI, SimplyPayMe: BenevolentAI is a developer of artificial intelligence and computational medicine technologies.
Ivan Griffin
COO & Co-Founder of BenevolentAI
Ivan joined NESTA in March 2009. He makes and manages investments in the Healthcare sector. Prior to joining NESTA Ivan spent four years at IP Group where he was predominantly focused on healthcare and life science businesses. At IP Group his role encompassed all aspects of technology commercialisation, including identification of investment opportunities, spin-out company formation, business and corporate development as well as private and public equity financings and trade sales. Before joining IP Group Ivan spent two years at Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust, and a year in post-doctoral research where he published several scientific papers.
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About BenevolentAI: BenevolentAI is a developer of artificial intelligence and computational medicine technologies.
Brent Gutekunst
Chief Development Officer & Founder of BenevolentAI
Mr. Brent Gutekunst co-founded BenevolentAI Limited in 2013 and also serves as its Chief Development Officer. Mr. Gutekunst is the founder of Stratified Medical, Inc. Previously, he founded TouchDx in 2009. Prior to TouchDx, he founded E-Auction. He also founded Collectors Universe and after merging with leading firms in the collectibles industry completed a successful IPO in collectibles.
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About BenevolentAI: BenevolentAI is a developer of artificial intelligence and computational medicine technologies.
Ken Mulvany
Founder & Board Director of BenevolentAI
Mr. Ken Mulvany is a serial entrepreneur and investor with more than 20 years of business leadership experience. He is the Founder and Chairman of BenevolentAI, a $2bn machine intelligence company with end-to-end drug development capabilities. Mr. Mulvany was previously Founder and CEO of Proximagen, a leading biotech company developing medicines for central nervous system disorders, which he sold in 2012. Mulvany sits on several advisory boards including the advisory panel to the UK Government on Artificial Intelligence and the Advisory Board for Oxford Sciences Innovations. He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, and formerly, the Chairman of the Trustees of the Cure Parkinson’s Trust. Mr. Mulvany is a world champion sailor and competed in the 1992 America’s Cup.
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About BenevolentAI: BenevolentAI is a developer of artificial intelligence and computational medicine technologies.
Sophie Dundovic
Co-Founder of Parasym
Sophie Dundovic is a Co-founder at Parasym.
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About Parasym: Parasym is a neurotechnology company focused on providing innovative neurostimulation products that improve quality of life.
Susan Greenfield
Founder & CEO of Neuro-Bio
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About Neuro-Bio: Neuro-Bio is a British pharmaceutical company
Baroness Susan Greenfield
CEO & Founder of Neuro-Bio
Susan Greenfield is a neuroscientist, writer, and broadcaster. She has been awarded 30 Honorary Degrees from British and foreign universities and heads a multi-disciplinary research group exploring novel brain mechanisms linked to neurodegenerative diseases such Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. She is a Senior Research Fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford and has currently co-founded a biotech company developing a novel approach to neurodegenerative disorders (Neuro-Bio Ltd). In addition, she has published a neuroscientific theory of consciousness,’The Private Life of the Brain’ (2003) and developed a keen interest in the impact of modern technologies on how young people think and feel. This was discussed in her book, ‘ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century’ (2008). In 1998 she received the Michael Faraday Medal from the Royal Society, was awarded a CBE in the Millennium New Year’s Honours List and was granted a non-political Life Peerage in 2001. In 2000 she was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and in 2007 to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She was appointed Chancellor of Heriot Watt University in 2005. Further recognition of her work includes L’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur from the French Government, and the American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, both received in 2003. Susan was also awarded the Australian Medical Research Society Medal in 2010. In 2011, Susan joined the Advisory Board of the Kusuma School of Biological Sciences at the Indian Institute for Technology, Delhi. In 2012, Susan was offered the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Risk Management and also became a Vice Patron of POWER International. Further on in 2012, Susan was selected to serve as the Parliamentary Patron of the Westminster Higher Education Forum, alongside of continuing to be a Parliamentary Patron of the Westminster Education Forum. Continuing through 2012, Susan bacame a Governor of The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health and also started to suport the IAB (the International Advisory Board). In January 2014, she was included in the Debrett’s 500, “a recognition of the most influential and inspiring 500 people in Britain.”. Most recently, in July 2014, Susan was awarded as an Honorary Doctorate at Middlesex University.
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About Neuro-Bio: Neuro-Bio is a British pharmaceutical company
Ronan Cunningham
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BrainWaveBank
Ronan has more than 20 years of experience in advanced engineering and product development. He was one of the founding members of ATA Engineering, an award-winning San Diego-based engineering company specializing in development of innovative hardware and software technologies for the aerospace and defence industries. His roles have included Director of Business Development and Director of New Technology Development. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Northern Ireland Science Park. His expertise is in early stage technology development, innovation strategy, and technology commercialisation. He holds an MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.
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About BrainWaveBank, Cumulus Neuroscience: BrainWaveBank makes it possible to measure and track brain activity and cognitive performance for anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Giovanni Idili
COO / Co-Founder of MetaCell
COO / Co-Founder at MetaCell
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About MetaCell, OpenWorm: Software for Neuroscience
