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What it takes to gain an edge
7 Oct 2026
The judges reveal the achievements, values and bold business decisions that distinguish this year’s category winners.
Every entrepreneur featured in this supplement is a winner, but a select few stand out for their extraordinary resilience, purpose and business prowess. Last night, LDC celebrated these qualities during a ceremony at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in London, as part of The LDC Top 50 programme it established.
Each year, judges assess leaders in depth, engaging in spirited debate. Away Resorts founder Carl Castledine returned to the panel for a ninth year, alongside Talos360 CEO Janette Martin, one of 2022’s Most Ambitious Business Leaders. Last year’s top winner, Mark Fitzgerald of CTR Group, made his judging debut, joining John Garner of LDC, plus myself (Rebecca Burn-Callander) and Kate Bassett, co-editors of The LDC Top 50.
Only one could be crowned The Most Ambitious Business Leader of 2026, and Paul Volkaerts, the founder of Nervecentre, bowled over the judges with the impact of his business. Fifteen years ago, Volkaerts began developing an electronic patient record system that’s become an invaluable NHS tool, capturing notes, discussions and key information across a patient’s entire medical journey.
For Volkaerts, mission is everything. “The NHS is underserved by technology, yet no other organisation needs it more,” he says. He has seized significant market share from US-owned competitors, building a turnover approaching £40 million and a pipeline of contracts worth north of £1 billion. “There are only two companies in the world that have built coherent platforms like ours, because it takes a very long time to do,” he explains. Knowing he is making a difference underpins all of the hard work he and his team put in.
“We’re blessed to work in healthcare,” he says.
Our customers want us to help them save lives. You get everyone behind that as a value and purpose.”
The Growth Award winners Partha Chakraborty and Jo Whalley, co-founders of INNOVERV Global, achieved feats described by one judge as “truly amazing”. Revenue has risen by 800 per cent in the three years since the firm’s inception, while profit has shot up ninefold.
Innovation and employee incentives have helped drive this expansion. “Everyone in the company is a shareholder and we took that decision very mindfully,” says Whalley. The consultancy has 300 employees and embraces AI too – among its next recruits will be AI agents.
The Sustainability Award is all about leaders who are building environmentally conscious businesses. This year’s winner works in plastics but is striving to make the sector more sustainable.
Jonny Catto founded iPac Packaging Innovations, which makes plastic trays for supermarkets using up to 100 per cent recycled material. To date, the Gateshead firm has processed two billion recycled plastic bottles and sends zero waste to landfill, while powering its processes with renewable energy.
Each new product starts with the question: can we use less material?”
Many leaders in this year’s LDC Top 50 are committed to doing good in the world. Dr. Farzana Rahman and Dr. Amy Davis proved most deserving of The Purpose Award, having built teleradiology specialist Hexarad by prioritising mission over profit, granting the NHS access to its resource management tools.
Hexarad was founded to address a shortage of radiologists and help reduce delays in patients receiving scan results. The judges hailed the London-based firm as a shining example of how private companies can support the health service.
Dr. Peter McQuillan and Akil Memishi picked up The Disruptor Award, thriving in the highly competitive supplements sector they joined in 2020. Novomins developed gummies without commonly used fillers and artificial ingredients, and has grown by more than 500 per cent over the past three years. “We start with the latest clinical research and ask: ‘How can we put that into a gummy?’” says McQuillan.
The pair’s products have displaced established brands on supermarket shelves. Their international expansion – opening an office in Australia, one of the toughest markets to crack – has been built with just 15 staff.
The Pioneer Award goes to Fiona O’Connell, founder of Stockton Group. She initially trained as a welding engineer, becoming one of the first women to hold all the formal qualifications in it. O’Connell later studied contract law in her spare time and then ran major global infrastructure projects in places including Mozambique and Azerbaijan – the only woman working on the ground. “In most meetings that I go to there are still very few women around the table,” she says.
When I see an opportunity to help another woman, I will.”
O’Connell says that, in her field, it helps to be tough as a woman. But she refuses to worry about expectations placed on her. “In my first commercial meeting for Stockton, I took my four-month-old with me and stuck her on the table, surrounded by senior managers. I said: ‘She has to be part of the conversation.’”
After joining 2i in 2014, this year’s winner of The People First Award successfully turned around the struggling software-testing business: not only did he save the jobs of its six staff, but he hired 594 more in the years that followed.
Whether it’s caring for staff, creating opportunities for young people or developing technologies that benefit society, Dave Kelly’s actions speak for themselves. He recruits based on aptitude, not education, meaning those without formal training are given a chance. Unlike the wider technology industry, women are equally represented in 2i’s senior management team. He also works alongside universities to develop courses that meet real-world demand.
Another leader flying the flag for the UK is Tom Keegan, group chief executive of DBD International. He picks up The International Ambition Award, having achieved global acclaim for his nuclear engineering and safety consultancy. Warrington-based DBD has several American outposts and supports projects for the US Department of Energy. It has also recently opened an office in Adelaide, Australia. Keegan has personally helped secure landmark US contracts, building partnerships around the country face to face. He hopes to grow revenue tenfold in the next decade through “controlled” overseas expansion.
In The International Growth Award category, leading the way were Hannah Mann and Abigail Stuart, founding partners of healthcare insights agency Day One Strategy. The company advises big pharma on where to place its bets and has expanded rapidly in the tough US market.
The judges were impressed by the speed of execution: revenue has grown 150 per cent in three years to reach £23 million, and the pair want to triple turnover by 2029. “Expanding into the US in 2021, two years after we launched, was a defining moment.”
We expect our US business to become twice the size of our UK operation.”
The Rising Star Award was created to recognise leaders in companies that will shape tomorrow’s world. William Moore founded Airbox Systems in 2008 and its technology is now trusted by organisations including the SAS. It draws on myriad data sources to provide a comprehensive visual map for police, air ambulance crews and the British military.
Moore couldn’t tell us how many lives his tech has saved – that’s classified – but Airbox supports over 200,000 high-threat emergency responses annually. Revenue is growing by 50 per cent a year, despite Moore turning down potential clients on ethical grounds.
We’re only interested in saving lives.”
Meet The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders of 2026.