The Smith & Williamson Power 100 shines a spotlight on some of the people who are or who most impact the lives of entrepreneurs. From start-ups to scale-ups, it includes those who help shape policy and those who champion, mentor, support and promote entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in the UK.
Together with Fresh Business Thinking, Smith & Williamson has selected 100 of the most active movers and shakers in the entrepreneurial community. Factors influencing selection include promotion of the entrepreneurial cause, championing and mentoring, social influence and day to day engagement and support of the entrepreneurial and wider business community.
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Rachel Bridge
@rachelbridge100
A serial author on entrepreneurial topics.
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Mike Butcher
@mikebutcher
TechCrunch editor, co-founder at TechHub.
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Phil Cox
@PhilCox_SVB
President of Silicon Valley Bank UK branch, led the establishment of SVB among UK businesses and technology firms.
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Sara Daw
@sara_daw
Co-founder and CEO of The FD Centre, providing part time finance directors to SMEs.
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Simon Dolan
@simondolan
Known as ‘The Twitter Investor’, invests in start-ups based on their pitches on Twitter.
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Mark Dixon
Founder of Regus, champions business growth and innovation.
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Bonnie Dean
A campaigner for digital entrepreneurship and former chief executive of Bristol and Bath Science Park.
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Jonathan Deacon
Leads the University of South Wales’ centre for research in entrepreneurship and Making Business Happen awards.
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Alex Hoye
@alexhoye
Leader of ICE, events for high-growth entrepreneurs.
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Stephen Howard LVO
Chief executive of Business in the Community.
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Ben Fletcher
@benfletch
Founder of the Fast Growth Event Series, and founder of Osney Media.
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Duane Jackson
@DuaneJackson
Founder of KashFlow, after spending two years in prison himself before starting the business, now believes enterprise should be used to help rehabilitate offenders.
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Andy Jackson
@PerformanceJack
Leader of Entrepreneurial Spark – a free start-up business accelerator – in Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff.
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Nick Hungerford
@nickhungerford
Banker turned entrepreneur, Nick actively engages on the topics of entrepreneurship, finance and investment in the media.
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Richard Moross MBE
@richardmoross
CEO and founder of Moo.com.
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Alastair Lukies
Fintech ambassador for government and CEO at Monitise.
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Peter Jones
Founder and director of Smart Anchor Ventures, which invest in and mentors scalable businesses.
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John Straw
@johnstraw
Investor, adviser and business technology commentator.
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Colin Stevens
@ColStevens
Founder of Better Bathrooms, Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 at the National Business Awards.
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Tony Robinson OBE
@TonyRobinsonOBE
Co-founder of Enterprise Rockers, Tony champions the UK’s micro businesses.
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Dale Parmenter
@ParmenterDale
Founder of the DRP Group, he is now an active speaker on entrepreneurship and management.
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Jonathan Moules
@Jonathan_Moules
Business education correspondent at Financial Times and author.
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Iqbal Wahhab OBE
@IqbalWahhab
Restaurant entrepreneur, business mentor and columnist.
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Matthew Taylor
@RSAMatthew
Chief executive at RSA, helping people to close the gap between hopes and reality of starting a business.
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Oliver Woolley
@oliverwoolley
CEO at Envestors, a driving force behind scale-up businesses.
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Kamal Ahmed
@bbckamal
BBC business editor.
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Robert Craven
@Robert_Craven
Founder of The Directors’ Centre, assisting fast-growth businesses, author and regular speaker.
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James Caan CBE
@jamescaan
Serial entrepreneur and former chair of the government’s StartUp Loans Company.
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Rebecca Burn-Callander
@sparky000
Enterprise editor at The Telegraph.
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Rod Banner
@RodBanner
Leader of Snowball, a series of events for high profile and serial entrepreneurs and investors.
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Duncan Bannatyne
@DuncanBannatyne
Founder of the Bannatyne Group, serial entrepreneur and investor.
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Martyn Dawes
Coffee Nation founder, known as ‘The High-Growth Entrepreneur’s Mentor’.
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Steve Gilroy
@sgilroy999
CEO at Vistage, developing a network of highly-skilled business mentors.
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Ben Heald
Co-founder of Sift Media, which helps entrepreneurs make the most out of their conversations.
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Rupert Lee-Browne
@Lee_Browne
Founder of Caxton FX, runs Building British Business events.
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James Layfield
@Layfield
CEO of Central Working and serial entrepreneur, tech ambassador for the Mayor of London.
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Shalini Khemka
@ShaliniKhemka
Founder of E2E Exchange, the ‘institute of entrepreneurs’.
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James Hurley
@jameshurley
Journalist at The Times, editor of Working Life/Enterprise sections.
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Michelle Mone OBE
@MichelleMone
Lady Mone of Mayfair OBE, business mentor, currently leading government report on start-up support.
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Julie Meyer
@JulieMarieMeyer
Serial entrepreneur, investor, adviser, broadcaster and business commentator.
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Kiki Loizou
@KikiLoizou
Small business editor at The Sunday Times.
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Hayley Parsons OBE
Founder of GoCompare, now sits on the Welsh Government entrepreneurship panel and invests in start-ups.
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Lara Morgan
@IamLaraMorgan
Active speaker and author who utilises her own experiences in business to teach and inspire others.
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Matthew Rock
@matthewrock
Founding editor of Real Business, author and columnist for City AM.
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Modwenna Rees-Mogg
@modwenna
Founder of AngelNews and active supporter of entrepreneurs through angel funding.
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Simon Walker
Director general at the Institute of Directors, making the political case to support entrepreneurs.
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Rory Stirling
@rorystirling
Venture capitalist at BGF Ventures, adviser to early-stage high-growth tech businesses.
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Jenny Tooth
CEO at UK Business Angels Association, public speaker.
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Jeff Thomas
Director at the Corsham Institute, a centre for innovation, research, learning and enterprise in the South West.
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Ben Wright
@_BenWright_
Business editor for the Telegraph group, previously of the Wall Street Journal.
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John Allan
National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, making the political case for small businesses.
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Claire Braithwaite
@ClaireBrai
Tech adviser at Manchester Growth Company, former head of Tech North – bringing Tech City to the ‘Northern Powerhouse’.
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Matt Gubba
@MattGubba
Founder of Biz Britain, helping to provide young entrepreneurs with StartUp Loans.
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Irene Graham
CEO at the Scale Up Institute.
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Rowan Gormley
@rowbags
Founder of Naked Wines and CEO of Majestic Wine.
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Rajeeb Day
@rajdey
Founder of Enternships, co-founder of StartUp Britain, and founder of Student Voice.
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Hugh Chappell
@hughchappell
Serial entrepreneur, adviser and investor, and adviser at E2Exchange.
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Ed Bussey
@ed_bussey
Serial entrepreneur and investor, Entrepreneur of the Year at Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2015.
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Will King
@iamwilliamking
King of Shaves, founder of The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Company.
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Phil Jones
@PhilJones40
Managing director of Brother, an active commentator on business and entrepreneurship, particularly in the North West.
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Michael Jacobsen
Mentor at the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy and Level39, Coach for government’s Growth Accelerator Programme.
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Peter Ibbetson
@PeterIbbetson1
Chairman of Small Businesses at RBS, non-exec director at StartUp Loans Company.
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Titus Sharpe
@titussharpe
CEO of MVF, and winner of the Smith & Williamson Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2015.
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Guy Rigby
@guyrigby
Entrepreneur, author and Head of Entrepreneurial Services at Smith & Williamson, the go-to firm for entrepreneurs, member of Economia’s Global Finance 50 in 2015.
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Steve Pateman
Head of UK Banking at Santander, public speaker and driving force of Santander’s efforts with entrepreneurs.
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Dale Murray CBE
@DaleJMurray
Angel investor, non-exec director for the Department for Business, Innovations & Skills and UKTI.
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Gordon Merrylees
@GordonMerrylees
Head of Entrepreneurship at the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest.
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Ian Merricks
@ianmerricks1
Chair at Accelerator Network, adviser for Social Incubator Fund, Dell for Entrepreneurs, Capital Enterprise and The Entrepreneurs Network.
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Dr Ruth McKernan CBE
@RuthMcKernan
Chief executive of Innovate UK, leading the UK’s technology and innovation strategy.
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Martin McCourt
@mccourtmartin
Former CEO of Dyson, investor and non-executive director.
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Ross Williams
Founder of WhiteLabelDating and Venntro Media, serial award winner.
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Darren Westlake
@dazwest
Co-founder of Crowdcube, the UK’s biggest crowdfunding platform.
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Dr Shai Vyakarnam
@ShaiVyakarnam
Lecturer and Director of Business Growth and Development Programme at Cranfield University School of Management.
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Matt Smith
@mattTP
Director at Centre for Entrepreneurs and StartUp Britain, adviser at the Enterprise Research Centre.
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Sarah Wood
@sarahfwood
Founder of Unruly, City AM Entrepreneur of the Year.
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Sir Rod Aldridge
Founder of the Aldridge Foundation, an educational charity helping young people reach their potential through entrepreneurship.
Oli Barrett
@OliBarrett
‘The most connected man in Britain’, a champion of entrepreneurship for many years through various projects, co-founder of StartUp Britain.
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Karren Brady CBE
@karren_brady
One of the UK’s most recognisable businesswomen, now a member of the House of Lords focusing on promoting small businesses.
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Sir Richard Branson
@richardbranson
One of UK’s most recognisable entrepreneurs, who now devotes his time to inspiring and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
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Eileen Burbidge
@eileentso
A highly regarded tech entrepreneur, founder of Passion Capital – a venture capital management company for early-stage businesses.
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David Buttress
@davidjusteat
CEO of Just Eat, he is actively engaged in entrepreneurship debates and is considered one of the most influential businessmen in the UK.
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Ian Cass
Chief executive of the Forum of Private Business (FPB), which is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs to increase growth and profitability.
Duncan Cheatle
@DuncanCheatle
Co-founder of StartUp Britain and founder of The Prelude Group, a series of networks and events aimed at making “Britain the most enterprising nation in the world”.
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Mike Clare
@MikeGClare
Founder of Dreams, founder of Clarenco, and founder of The Clare Foundation, which helps charities become more entrepreneurial.
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Sherry Coutu
@scoutu
Angel investor, founder of the Scale-Up Institute and Founders4Schools.
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Julie Deane OBE
Founder of The Cambridge Satchel Company, recently published an independent review of the self-employed in the UK on behalf of the government.
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Simon Devonshire
@simondevonshire
Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, founder of business accelerator Wayra Europe.
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Tony Goodwin
@tonygoodwin
Founder of Antal International, serial entrepreneur and investor, speaker and entrepreneurs’ champion.
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Gerard Grech
@gerardgrech
CEO of Tech City, accelerating the progress of the UK’s digital entrepreneurs.
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Michael Hayman MBE
@michaelhayman
Co-founder of StartUp Britain, co-founder of Seven Hills communications consultancy, author.
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Sajid Javid MP
@sajidjavid
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Luke Johnson
@LukeJohnsonRCP
Founder of the Centre for Entrepreneurs and chairman of Fast Track, a networking and research firm focused on top-performing private companies.
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Martha Lane-Fox CBE
@Marthalanefox
Founder of Go On UK and member of the House of Lords, promotes digital skills in the UK.
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Andrew Mullinger
@mullinger
Co-founder of Funding Circle, providing over £400 million of loans to thousands of small businesses.
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Sara Murray OBE
@SaraMurrayOBE
Serial entrepreneur, founder of Confused.com and Buddi.
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John O’Connell
Founder of Scaleup Services, entrepreneur and serial investor.
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Ken Olisa
@KenOlisa_LLofGL
Tech entrepreneur and founder of Restoration Partners, speaker and writer.
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Daniel Priestley
@DanielPriestley
Entrepreneur, speaker and author of The Entrepreneur Revolution and Oversubscribed.
Russ Shaw
@RussShaw1
Founder of Tech London Advocates, member of Tech City Advisory Group, part of London Technology Week steering group, member of UK Digital Skills Taskforce.
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Anna Soubry MP
@Anna_Soubry
Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise.
