TOP 32 business influencers

With the rise of social media in recent years, the influence of business leaders is no longer limited to boardrooms, the industry they operate in or the consumers they serve. There’s a whole new world available to be influenced: the online one. So, for our latest top 32 list, we’ve looked at the top business influencers.

HOW HAVE THE TOP 32 BEEN CHOSEN?

Each entrepreneur is based in the UK and has already made their name in the business world prior to becoming an influencer on social media. They are also popular in the online world due to their expertise on a particular subject or range of topics.

However, if you think that someone is missing from our list, please send an email to editor@businessleader.co.uk and they will be added to the digital version on businessleader.co.uk

This list is in no particular order.

Brendan Beeken Moni Talks

Brendan Beeken has a successful background in financial services, marketing and motorsport. He is the former CEO of MSL Motorsport Consultancy, the Founding Director and Chairman of cryptocurrency exchange and social platform Moni Talks, as well as an investor, mentor and strategist.

The Isle of Man-based entrepreneur also treats his 5,000+ LinkedIn followers to regular insights into the worlds of crypto and fintech, providing them with a wide range of business tips that have been formulated over a 25+ year career.

Lucy Marcus Marcus Venture Consulting

Lucy Martin founded Marcus Venture Consulting in 1998 and still serves as the company’s CEO today. In addition, she is the Chair of the Board of Directors at regional theatre Oxford Playhouse and a Professor of Leadership and Governance at IE Business School.

With just shy of 1.1 million followers on LinkedIn, she’s also one of the UK’s top voices on LinkedIn. In addition to posting stories that she finds moving or amusing on the platform, she regularly offers her opinion on news, ethics, economics and corporate governance.

Steven Bartlett Thirdweb

Originally making his name as the co-founder of Social Chain, a social media marketing company with revenues of around £532m, Steven Bartlett is the youngest-ever investor to be named on Dragons’ Den and a Sunday Times best-selling author. Bartlett is also known for running Europe’s most downloaded business podcast, The Diary of a CEO, which has featured a wealth of high-profile guests, such as Sir Richard Branson and comedian Stephen Fry. With just shy of a million followers on LinkedIn and 2.2 million followers on Instagram, Bartlett also shares his unique business insights with a huge social media audience.

Peju Adebajo Wolseley

A former leader of several blue-chip companies and high-growth start-ups, including Nigeria’s largest mattress/bedding company, Mouka, Peju Adebajo is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director at Wolseley UK, the plumbing, heating, and cooling trade merchant. Although, she also works in a variety of other nonexecutive roles.

Named one of the Top 10 Green Voices in the UK in 2021 on LinkedIn, Adebajo is passionate about environmental, social and corporate governance, and regularly shares her expertise on these topics with a following of more than 10,000.

Brad Burton Motivational Speaker

Before becoming a well-known business influencer, Brad Burton founded 4Networking Ltd, a business networking platform that hosted 68,000 events before Burton decided to sell all his business networking interests in 2022.

Burton has also been a motivational business speaker since 2008 and has the honour of being the highest-rated motivational business author on Amazon. He also regularly shares stories of his fascinating life and what he’s learnt from it to help motivate his sizable social media following.

Leyla Acaroglu

THE UNSCHOOL OF DISRUPTIVE DESIGN

Leyla Acaroglu is an award-winning designer and founder of The UnSchool of Disruptive Design, an experimental knowledge lab for creative rebels and change agents, which she has led since its inception in 2014.

With her expertise in education, sustainability, the circular economy and social innovation, not only is she one of the top influencers in these topics on LinkedIn, but she even teaches them via LinkedIn Learning

John Amaechi Obe

APS INTELLIGENCE

Ranked one of the Top Voices 2020: UK Influencers on LinkedIn, highly respected organisational psychologist and best-selling author John Amaechi OBE discusses a wide berth of topics on the platform, ranging from leadership tips and entrepreneurial advice to why he made the decision to come out publicly.

But before establishing himself as a leading LinkedIn influencer, the former professional basketball player founded APS Intelligence, a multifaceted strategic consultancy solution in 2007. He also serves as NED of a FTSE 250 company, was a 10-year director of the UK’s largest healthcare organisation and a board adviser for several FTSE 100 organisations.

Ross Testa

3 HEADS AGENCY

Ross Testa is the founder and Director of creative media agency 3 Heads Agency. Since founding the company in 2018, Ross has gone on to work with a wealth of highprofile clients including Lord Sugar, F1, Good Morning Britain and Stormzy and featured in interviews with Forbes and the BBC.

The young entrepreneur also regularly treats his sizable LinkedIn following with posts of his entrepreneurial journey and provides insights into some of the work he and his team do for their clients.

Harriet Green Mission Beyond

On LinkedIn, Harriet Green often shares the inspiration she’s found in hobbies and opens conversations with aspiring business leaders. Currently ranked as one of the UK’s Top Voices on the platform, she also promotes inclusion and celebrates women that have inspired her with her 67,000 followers.

Prior to her involvement in the online world, she enjoyed a long and distinguished business career, which included roles as the Group CEO of Thomas Cook and CEO of Premier Farnell, although she currently works as the Executive Chair at social mobility ecosystem Mission Beyond.

Ann Cairns Mastercard

The former CEO of Transaction Banking at ABN AMRO Bank, Ann Cairns is the current Executive Vice Chair at Mastercard and serves on the boards of various other companies, although her impressive business career also includes a spell as a NonExecutive Director at AstraZeneca.

Ranked as one of the Top Voices on LinkedIn in 2020, Cairns often shares articles, thoughts and ideas that focus on creating a better world for everyone through technology, innovation, partnerships and advocacy.

Katy Leeson Relentless Media

Katy Leeson is the CEO of Relentless Group’s media division, which is the investment business owned by former footballer and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. However, Leeson’s distinguished career in media includes more than five years as the UK Managing Director of social media marketing agency Social Chain.

Ranked one of the Top Voices on LinkedIn in 2020, Leeson has more than 68,000 followers on the platform who know her for mental health advocacy and her insightful tips on leadership and workplace culture.

Sir Richard Branson Virgin Group

With nearly 20 million followers on LinkedIn, Richard Branson is one of the most followed on the platform and he regularly treats his mass following to business advice, discussions on dyslexic thinking and even glimpses of what he likes to do in his spare time.

Without question one of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs of all time, he founded the Virgin Group back in 1968 and has grown it into a business behemoth operating in a wealth of sectors from mobile phones to health and wellbeing.

Nigel Topping Uk Infrastructure Bank

Currently working as a Non-Executive Director for the UK Infrastructure Bank, Nigel Topping is the former CEO of WE MEAN BUSINESS, a coalition that works closely with leaders from the business and policy community to accelerate action on climate change.

As the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP26, Topping is, unsurprisingly, a big advocate for combatting climate change. He made the list of the UK’s Top 10 Green Voices on LinkedIn in 2021 and has a sizable following of nearly 35,000 on the platform.

Alan Furley Isl Talent

Alan Furley founded talent consultancy ISL Talent in 2008, and as the company’s CEO, has led the Bristol-based firm to inclusion on the Great Places to Work list three times. Alan is also a renowned business advisor, mentor and public speaker.

With nearly 20,000 followers on LinkedIn, the recruitment specialist regularly discusses current employment and HR trends, provides tips for helping employers attract and retain talent, and more.

Shereen Daniels

HR REWIRED

One of the UK’s most well-known HR consultants, bestselling author Shereen Daniels has more than 87,000 followers on LinkedIn. She uses the platform to highlight the experiences of Black professionals in the workplace and seeks to help organisations become comfortable with the uncomfortable when it comes to conversations about race and equality.

Before amassing her sizable online following, Daniels headed up HR at the Metropolitan Pub Company and then Caffè Nero. Today, she is the Managing Director of HR rewired, an advisory firm specialising in anti-racism and racial equity.

Holly Branson

Virgin Unite

The daughter of Virgin’s founder, Holly Branson currently works as the company’s Chief Purpose and Vision Officer, but also serves as the Chair of Virgin’s not-for-profit arm, Virgin Unite. She also co-founded Big Change, a partner to various charitable projects, in 2012.

Although she uses LinkedIn to share updates from Virgin’s various companies, Branson is known for talking about leadership and entrepreneurship, and a range of causes that are important to her, such as gender and racial equality.

James Caan Cbe

Hamilton Bradshaw Group

Building businesses since 1985 when he founded executive headhunting firm Alexander Mann, James Caan CBE has also founded management advisory firm Hamilton Bradshaw and serves as the Chairman of Seed Capital investment company Recruitment Entrepreneur.

Caan also boasts a whopping 3.4 million LinkedIn followers and provides them with career tips and various business insights from a recruitment expert and serial entrepreneur. He also engages with his huge following to find out more about what they want from their careers.

Somi Arian Smart Cookie Media

Somi Arian founded Smart Cookie Media, which aims to help established brands stay relevant in the modern digital age, in 2015, and has served as the company’s Managing Director since its inception. She is also the founder and CEO of the Web3 education platform InPeak.

In addition to posts on the metaverse, NFTs and Web3, her sizable LinkedIn following of more than 81,000 followers is treated to Arian’s insights on digital transformation and how women can achieve greater prominence in the worlds of business and technology.

Azeem Azhar Exponential View

The founder and former CEO of PeerIndex, a firm that helps businesses to identify who and what is influencing their customers, Azeem Azhar has worked as an advisor and mentor and served on various company boards over the past twenty years.

As far as influencing goes, Azhar launched his own podcast, Exponential View, in 2015 and often shares his opinions on blockchain, climate tech and venture capital with his 425,000-strong LinkedIn following.

Theo Paphitis Theo Paphitis Retail Group

With 200,000 followers on LinkedIn, many are familiar with Theo Paphitis through the business advice and posts about dyslexia that he shares on social media.

However, the former Dragon made his name in the business world as Chairman of his eponymous retail group, a position he has held for more than 27 years. Many also know Paphitis for his 3,500-strong business network, Small Business Sunday, and as the former Chairman of Millwall FC.

Lisa Unwin Reignite Academy

A former Director of Brand & Communication at Deloitte, Lisa Unwin is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Reignite Academy, a company set up to help lawyers navigate successful long-term careers.

She is passionate about helping women have sustainable, fulfilling and rewarding careers and this is reflected in the content she posts on LinkedIn, where she has previously been ranked as one of the UK’s Top Voices on the platform on more than one occasion.

Tej Lalvani Vitabiotics

A former Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Tej Lalvani has been the CEO of leading vitamin company Vitabiotics since 2015. During his tenure as CEO, he led Vitabiotics to a Queen’s Award for Innovation in Vitamin Research in 2018, meaning the firm became the first vitamin company to receive the award twice. With just shy of 340,000 followers on LinkedIn, Lalvani regularly provides tips for success and entrepreneurial insights to a very impressive following.

Carol Stewart Abounding Solutions

Ranked as one of the UK’s Top Voices on LinkedIn five times, Carol Stewart is one of the most decorated influencers on the platform. She is widely known for challenging gender and racial inequality and for her inspiring posts on female and introverted leadership. Stewart also hosts the Quietly Visible Podcast which goes into more depth on the latter topics.

However, as the founder of Abounding Solutions, Stewart has been coaching female executives and senior leaders to raise their visibility and achieve their goals for many years.

SARA DAVIES MBE CRAFTER’S COMPANION

One of the Dragons on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Sara Davies MBE started crafting product retailer Crafter’s Companion from her university bedroom in 2005 and has gone on to grow the platform into all of Europe and the US. The multi-award-winning entrepreneur and MBE recipient also invests in and advises many other firms.

Davies has just shy of 300,000 followers on LinkedIn and regularly provides glimpses into her personal life on the platform, whilst also discussing women in business and life as an entrepreneur.

Timothy Armoo Fanbytes

Serial entrepreneur Timothy Armoo started his first company, EntrepreneurXpress, at just 17, and went on to sell the business. He has since founded the marketing company Fanbytes, which was acquired by Brainlabs in one of the biggest deals in the industry in 2022, and still serves as the company’s CEO.

An investor that was previously featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, Armoo is also widely known by his 62,000+ LinkedIn followers for his insights on how marketers can reach Gen Z and his personal tales on the realities of running a business as a young CEO.

PROF. AMANDA KIRBY DO-IT SOLUTIONS

Prof. Amanda Kirby is the most active neurodiversity campaigner on LinkedIn. With around 50,000 followers on the platform, she regularly shares facts and research relating to dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD and other forms of neurodiversity, and outlines the business case for hiring neurodiverse talent.

In addition to her role as Honorary Professor at Cardiff University, Kirby has also served as the CEO of Do-IT Solutions, a tech-forgood company that she helped co-found back in 2012.

Matthew Mcneill Love Thursday

Matt McNeill Love is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Thursday, a dating app that despite only working on the day of the week that it is eponymously named, McNeill Love and fellow co-founder George Rawlings have managed to make a success.

One factor behind Thursday’s remarkable success story is its incredible knack for marketing. Thanks to quirky PR stunts that have gone viral and guerrilla marketing tactics, the dating app has made its name disrupting the norm in a competitive market and become one of the UK’s most talked about brands.

Richard Lim Retail Economics

An expert in retail, Richard Lim is the current CEO of Retail Economics, an independent economics research consultancy focused on the UK consumer and retail industry. His distinguished career in the sector also includes seven years as Head of Retail Insight and Analytics at The British Retail Consortium.

Lim uses the retail industry knowledge he’s built up over the years to share data and insights and provide regular updates on the retail industry to his LinkedIn audience of more than 9,000 followers.

Leena Nair Chanel

The current Global CEO of iconic luxury fashion house CHANEL, Leena Nair spent more than 30 years at consumer goods giant Unilever, working her way up the company to become its Chief Human Resources Officer. She is also a Non-Executive Board Member at telecoms giant BT.

Nair is widely known for her exploits on LinkedIn, where she often shares life lessons, business insights, HR tips and leadership advice. She even used to publish a monthly newsletter, ‘Learn With Leena’, on the platform.

Lynda Gratton Hsm Advisory

Although Lynda Gratton has helped train generations of business professionals as a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School for 34 years, she’s also used her incredible business expertise to create HSM Advisory, a research advisory group, and successfully run it as CEO for more than 15 years.

As a business influencer, Gratton is known for sharing tips online about how to prepare for the future of work, a subject on which she has written multiple books, and won awards for.

Ben Francis Gymshark

Ben Francis is the CEO of Gymshark, a fitness apparel and accessories brand that he founded back in 2012 and led to a unicorn valuation in 2020. He also founded and is a former Director at clothing brand Manière De Voir.

With more than 440,000 followers on LinkedIn, Francis has a remarkable following, and his posts on the platform include everything from men’s mental health to insights into his own personal and professional journey.

Cindy Forde Planetari

Cindy Forde is an author, speaker and the founder of Planetari, a multi-disciplinary education platform that empowers children to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who build a better world.

The former Cambridge Science Centre CEO has dedicated her career to transforming how we understand and act as human beings towards the Earth. An important distinction with Forde’s online posts, however, is how she draws attention to the importance of ensuring greater diversity in the conversation around the climate crisis. 