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 Director operating in the Service Industry space. If you think a Managing Director 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.
Duncan Anderson
Managing Director of Willis Towers Watson
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About Willis Towers Watson: Willis Towers Watson is a global advisory and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth.
Neil McRae
Managing Director and Chief Architect of BT Global Services
Named after Neil Armstrong, Neil has a personal purpose of working to connect as many people together as possible, and this is been a driving force in his career. Since the early nineties Neil has been a leading innovator in the Internet and Telecommunications industry: from using open software to create one of the first service providers in the UK, to building several Global Telecommunications and Internet Networks. Neil has significant knowledge and experience in IP technologies and also significant experience with Optical, Mobile, Voice, xDSL, MPLS and Ethernet. He ran Network Engineering at COLT for ten years, (where he also contributed to COLT’s datacentre build) and ran Network Engineering at Cable and Wireless for four years. For the last four years Neil has led BT’s global network strategy, culminating in extending BT’s leading position in the Gartner magic quadrant, and supporting significant global network expansion. In addition, Neil has worked to expand BT’s footprint and capability in the UK, from BT’s fibre network through to Ethernet, Broadband and TV services. Neil is one of two ‘Distinguished Engineers’ in BT. Neil has been involved in the start-up of many internet governance and supporting organisations, and has been a non-executive director of the London Internet Exchange for fifteen years. Neil has studied leadership and management at Sloan School of Management. He is married with one daughter and has a passion for motorsports and technology.
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About BT Global Services: BT Global Services plc is a division of United Kingdom telecommunications operator BT Group.
Howard Watson
Managing Director – Architecture and Global IT Platforms of BT Global Services
Howard was appointed as CEO of BT’s Technology, Service and Operations division, and Group CIO, in January 2016. As CEO of TSO, Howard is in charge of the company’s ‘engine room’; thirteen thousand staff and eight thousand contractors responsible for BT’s core networks and IT systems across the globe. The division manages the company’s internal and external platforms – including TV, Mobile and Conferencing – as well as BT’s world class research and development arm at Adastral Park, Suffolk. BT TSO Previously, Howard was BT’s Chief Architect and MD Global IT Systems, and led the technical teams behind the launch of BT Sport in August 2013. In this role he also transformed the way software development is carried out at BT. He joined BT in October 2011, bringing 30 years of telecoms experience with him, including time spent at Virgin Media and Telewest, and as MD of Cartesian, a telecommunications consultancy and software company. Howard possesses a broad knowledge of technical and operational leadership with expertise in engineering, strategic development and business transformation. His areas of expertise include telephony, digital TV, IP services, high definition TV and ‘ultra’ high speed broadband. He also has experience of integrating networks and IT from his time in the cable industry, experience that will prove useful as BT integrates its network with EE’s. Howard is 53 years old with three children, and is also a qualified pilot.
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About BT Global Services: BT Global Services plc is a division of United Kingdom telecommunications operator BT Group.
Will Wynne
Managing Director, Co-Founder & Chief Executive of Arena Online Ltd
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About Arena Online Ltd, Smart Pension: Flowers & gifts, London, UK & Europe
Michael Howard
Founder and Managing Director of Frontier Software
Michael founded Frontier Software in 1983 to deliver Human Resource and Payroll software from the first office in Melbourne, Australia. Michael concentrates on worldwide expansion that now includes offices in 7 countries. In May 2014, Michael celebrated the 31 year company anniversary in Melbourne, Australia.
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About Frontier Software: Frontier Software is Provider of integrated Human Capital Management & Payroll software/services.
William Lankston
Managing Director of Timpson Direct of Timpson
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About Timpson: Timpson is the UK’s leading retail service provider.
Henry Watts
Managing Director of Atalian Servest
Having gained accounts training with BDO, Henry headed a successful catering company for over 15 years before joining Servest in January 2013 as part of the acquisition of 7 Day Catering Limited. Following a period of integration and succession management within the Catering Division, Henry became head of mergers and acquisitions for the Group in February 2016.
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About Atalian Servest, Atalian Servest: Servest Group is a multi-service facilities management provider.
Les Turner
Managing Director of Cleaning of Atalian Servest
Les joined Servest as part of the acquisition of Turner’s Cleaning and Support Services in 2011, a company he had established and ran for more than 30 years. Les heads up the recently established Strategic Accounts team and has utilised his extensive experience in operations and sales to become the driving force of the growth of the business into the corporate and public sectors.
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About Atalian Servest: Servest Group is a multi-service facilities management provider.
Jonathan Burrows
Managing Director of ASK4
Founded Ask4 in 2000 to provide telecommunications services to multiple-tenanted buildings. Ask4 has grown from a start-up with a single employee working in a basement to a respected, award winning company with over one hundred staff with revenues expected to top £14 million in the current year. In 2009 took the strategic decision to form a subsidiary, Ask4Business, to focus on the provision of managed telecoms. services to multiple-tenanted buildings. Through organic growth, continued investment and acquisition, Ask4Business has growth 100% year on year since its inception. Responsible for group strategy and business plan execution with a particular focus on finance, customer service and technology. Specialties: Large scale IP networks, business start-ups, company law, corporate governance best practice, the new-new thing…
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About ASK4: ASK4 was formed in 2000 specifically to focus on the delivery of telecommunications services
David Macfarlane
Managing Director – Direct of Gamma
David joined Gamma in 2012 following Gamma’s acquisition of his managed services business Varidion Limited and now heads up Gamma’s direct solutions arm. Prior to this, David was CTO at Sirocom and laterally the Group CTO at Azzurri Communications. He has gained over 30 years’ experience in creating and delivering managed communications services. Before becoming a supplier of services, David held senior IT roles in the NHS and major city law firm.
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About Gamma: Gamma is a leading supplier of voice, data and mobile products and services in the UK.
Serge Lubensky
Founder | Executive Managing Director of ReTool Ventures
Serge is a geek who enjoys finding pragmatic solutions to difficult problems. Along the way, he managed to become a successful entrepreneur with a track record of starting, growing and selling technology companies. Serge grew up in a family of scientists and artists. Not smart enough to become a scientist and not creative enough to be an artist, Serge chose to pursue a computer engineering degree in his hometown of Minsk strictly to avoid being drafted into the Russian Army during the Soviets’ invasion of Afghanistan. Serge’s first successful exit, from a failing 70-year old startup called the USSR, occurred in 1988. Fresh off the boat, Serge joined a computer company in Queens, NY, developing software for service contractors. Architecting and supporting a system that businesses relied on allowed Serge to learn the intricacies of the commercial repair and maintenance trades and ways to apply technology to solve real-life challenges for business owners and their field technicians. In the process, Serge and the company’s founder, Steven Gottfried, became friends and business partners and started to formulate plans for their next business venture. In 1999, Steven and Serge founded a cloud-based facilities management platform, ServiceChannel, with the goal of transforming the highly inefficient multi-billion dollar commercial repair and maintenance industry. As with their previous company, which was successfully sold, Steven was the idea generator and a master salesman, while Serge worked behind the scenes as CTO to help ServiceChannel achieve a dominant position in the global facilities management marketplace. In 2016, Serge moved to London to accelerate ServiceChannel’s expansion in Europe. In the summer of 2017, Accel, an elite technology VC firm, invested $54M in ServiceChannel continuing to fuel its growth and allowing Steven and Serge to realize a highly successful exit. Now Steven and Serge run ReTool Ventures, a technology investment firm.
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About Equip ID, ReTool Ventures: ReTool Ventures is a new technology investment firm that seeks to retool the facilities management industry by curating a “digital toolbox”
Andrew Davison
Founder & Managing Director of Teacher Finder
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About Teacher Finder: Looking for a language teacher? We can help you find one quickly and easily.
Andrew Davison
Founder & Managing Director of Teacher Finder
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About Teacher Finder: Looking for a language teacher? We can help you find one quickly and easily.
Ian Hobson
Co-Founder, CEO & Managing Director of ChargeBox
Ian has set and delivered the mission and objectives for ChargeBox which has seen the company grow rapidly. Involved since the companies inception, Ian took over control of the company and formulated the change in strategy driven by the smart phone market and Olympics in 2012. Ian is passionate about ChargeBox and passionate about bringing free charging to everyone who needs it everywhere they need it. A graduate of Imperial College, Ian’s career has taken him from Accenture to Hambrecht & Quist and Tibco, all the time delivering rapid growth and businsess development.
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About ChargeBox: ChargeBox They pride Theirselves for providing the easiest to use, most trusted and innovative charging solutions for public spaces.
Daniel Axsäter
Co-Founder & Managing Director of bySTORED
Daniel Axsäter works as a Co-Founder and Managing Director at bySTORED.
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About bySTORED, CronLab Sweden AB, CronLab Sweden AB: Taking the stress out of storage since 2013
Calan Horsman
Founder & Managing Director of Loogun
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About Loogun: The Loogun is a hand-held motorised device that cleans above and below the waterline in a toilet.
Alexander Green
Managing Director of Zenchi
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About Zenchi: Digital Asset Consultation Firm.
Chris May
Founder & Managing Director of Mayden
The founder and managing director of Mayden. Formerly from a manufacturing background he has dedicated his career to the healthcare sector for the last 21 years, initially as a hospital manager and then as a management consultant specialising in information analysis and modelling to support strategic reviews and business cases. Chris is passionate about maximising the opportunities presented by the internet both to provide joined up healthcare and to increase the cost-effectiveness of healthcare IT. This is now his primary area of interest.
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About Mayden: Mayden provides end-to-end managed web applications and bespoke system development to the healthcare sector.
Mark Jones
Managing Director of Apira
Mark is an experienced business leader and healthcare consultant, in a career spanning 22 years. He has led two businesses (including Apira) since 1992 and has built up an extensive portfolio of work during this time. Mark’s strength lies in his ability to confidently lead major projects and teams, such as NHS Care Records Service systems and PACS which have all been successfully deployed. He always seeks to build and develop close relationships with all Apira customers and associate companies, working in partnership to achieve mutual goals. This ethos has been key to the development of Apira over the last ten years.
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About Apira: Apira helps organisations gain the most from technology and information in order to meet today’s pressing challenges.
Susan Zhang
Co-founder & Managing Director of China Ambition Pty Ltd
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About China Ambition Pty Ltd: GET MORE CHINESE CUSTOMERS by avoiding embarrassing communication faux pas