The prestigious LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders 2023 list has been published.
The list has been produced by private equity investor LDC and celebrates the achievements of some of Britain’s most innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs.
The business leaders featured in the LDC top 50 are growing their businesses at home and overseas, employing more than 6,700 people and turning over more than £1.2bn.
In total, 15 tech business leaders made the Top 50, with a further 20 featured as Ones to Watch.
Shining examples included Stuart Houghton of BrightBox, which provides clients with temporary specialised workers from its network of tech professionals; Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma of Cambridge Spark, which focuses on improving tech education, and Simon Chappell, founder of Assured Data Protection, which helps customers worldwide in back up data and recover from cyberattacks.
The tech award winners were:
- Anna Brailsford from Code First Girls took home the Trailblazer award for Women in Tech. Having transformed the organisation from a social enterprise to a rapidly accelerating profit-making business, she plans to create one million opportunities for women to learn to code and participate in the tech industry in the next five years was hailed by the judges.
- The Trailblazer in FinTech accolade went to Manchester-based Adam Ward and Josh Graham of Airtime Rewards. Recognised for their ambition to create the leading loyalty programme for the mobile generation, the duo’s cashback app offers consumers an easy way to get money off their mobile bill.
- Mo Hussain and Alan Rock of Moasure were awarded this year’s Rising Star in International Award. Moasure’s app allows users to take measurements for landscaping or construction simply by moving their phone, and its founders have successfully increased the business’ international presence via five global warehouses and through sales to 150 countries.
- This year’s Highly Commended: One to Watch Award, which recognises the leader who is the driving force behind a business destined for great things, went to Lewis Reeves of Walr. The technology business has scaled quickly under Lewis’ direction to employ 90 people across eight countries in just two and half years.
John Garner, managing partner at LDC, said: “This year’s LDC Top 50 entries surpassed all our expectations and once again showcased the outstanding talent and ambition that exists among entrepreneurs from across Britain.
Since 2018, The LDC Top 50 has received more than 3,000 nominations and celebrated more than 500 business leaders, shining a spotlight on the remarkable success stories of medium-sized businesses.
The tech leaders featured in The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders for 2023 are:
- Anna Brailsford, Code First Girls
- Adam Ward and Josh Graham, Airtime Rewards
- Mo Hussain and Alan Rock, Moasure
- Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma, Cambridge Spark
- Desmond Stockdale, Phi Partners International
- Tom Lawson, Opencast
- Lee Hackett, BluprintX
- Stuart Houghton, BrightBox
- Anthony Young and Scott Nicholson, Bridewell
- Andre Azevedo, Ancoris
- Dr Bippon Vinayak, Square Health
- Tom Baldock, Synertec
- Jared Owen, Redbrain
- Simon Chappell, Assured Data Protection
- Phil Brooke and Phil Lawson, Inventry
The tech business leaders named as Ones to Watch are:
- Lewis Reeves, Walr
- Aaron Dicks and Tom Craig, Impression
- Joe Zielinski, Zinc Systems
- Dan Drogman, Smart Spaces
- Robert Dearsley, Huble Digital Group
- Jenny Tsai, WeArisma
- Gareth Humphreys, SPG
- George Richardson, AeroCloud
- Nick Hutchinson, Glider Technology
- Stephen Henesy, Helpthemove
- Mo Isap, IN4 Group
- Bryan Adams, Ph. Creative
- Craig Letton and Ben Walker, MRM Global
- Andy Morgan, SCT
- Toby Parkins, Headforwards
- Abid Naser and Mo Naser, SmartSurvey
- Sean Dickinson, Unicard
- Cheryl Luzet and Nick Silverstone, Wagada Digital
- Stuart Mitchell, Live & Breathe
- Paul Starr, Sep2
The full list of national award winners are:
- The Most Ambitious Business Leader – Luke Consiglio of The Pantry
- The International Growth Award – Mark Copley of Copley Scientific
- The People First Award – Kuntal and Mark Fisher of FIECON
- The ESG Award – Tony Cleary of Lanchester Group
- Rising Star: International – Mo Hussain and Alan Rock of Moasure
- Rising Star: Sustainability – Lucy Macnamara of Aspiga
- Rising Star: People – Reza and Omid Najafian of Staffscanner
- Trailblazer: Women in Tech – Anna Brailsford of Code First Girls
- Trailblazer: Energy Efficiency – Nicolas Gillanders of South Coast Insulation Services
- Trailblazer: FinTech – Adam Ward and Josh Graham of Airtime Rewards
- Highly Commended: One to Watch – Lewis Reeves of Walr
- The Alumni Award – Dan Williams of Orean