Entrepreneurs recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list

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Twice a year, some of the UK’s great achievers are given recognition in the Honours List. Their accomplishments cover sport, social work and space – but we were particularly encouraged by the high number of entrepreneurs given recognition this year. They include Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed, Unruly co-founder Sarah Wood, and Eben Upton, founder of Rasberry Pi. 30-year old Rajeeb Dey was among the youngest of this year’s honourees, and received an MBE for services to entrepreneurship in recognition for his work as founder of Enternships and co-founder of StartUp Britain.

Alan Mak MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship, said:

Our APPG exists to help champion UK founders, and we are delighted to see some of the country’s best and brightest entrepreneurs have been awarded titles as part of the Queen’s 2016 Birthday Honours List. The individuals brave enough to strike out on their own are the driving force of the UK economy, inspiring innovation and creating employment – and deserve to be celebrated.

The entrepreneurs recognised with royal honours include:

Knighthood

  • Sir Peter Wood, founder of Direct Line and eSure, for services to UK industry and philanthropy.

CBE

  • Dr Eben Upton, founder of Raspberry Pi, for services to Business and Education.

  • Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks, for services to the food industry and to charity.

  • Timothy Sawyer, chief executive officer of Start Up Loans, for services to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

OBE

  • Scott Button and Sarah Wood, co-founders of Unruly, for services to innovation and technology.

  • Deborah Wosskow, founder of Love Home Swap, for services to business.

  • Johanna Basford, for services to art and entrepreneurship.

  • Joel Blake, founder of Cultiv8 and co-founder of HOT500, for services to business support and enterprise.

  • Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla Property, for services to digital entrepreneurship.

  • John Clark, chair and chief executive of John Clark Motor Group, for services to business, motorsport and charity in Scotland.

  • Julie Devonshire, director of entrepreneurship at King’s College London and director at Ventures at UnLtd, for services to Entrepreneurship.

  • Gary Elden, chief executive officer, Sthree Plc, for services to diversity in business.

  • Andrew Fisher, executive chairman of Shazam, for services to the Digital Economy.

  • Stephen Gibson, founder and chairman of Bulkhaul and owner of Middlesbrough Football Club, for services to the economy, sport and community on Teesside.

  • Saul Klein, general partner at LocalGlobal and co-Founder of Lovefilm, Seedcamp and Kano, for services to business.

  • Caroline Plumb, founder and executive chair of FreshMinds, for services to business and charity.

  • Duncan Rae, managing director of Golden Casket (Greenock) Ltd and chairman of Greenock Morton Football Club, for services to Business and the community in Renfrewshire.

  • Timothy Steiner, founder and chief executive officer of Ocado, for services to the economy.

MBE

  • Rajeeb Dey, founder of Enternships, for services to entrepreneurship.

  • Alexandra Depledge and Thomas Nimmo, co-founders of Hassle.com, for services to the sharing economy.

  • Bonamy Grimes and Barry Smith, co-founders of Skyscanner, for services to technology and travel.

  • Ben Medlock and Jonathan Reynold, co-founders of Swiftkey, for services to technology.

  • Wendy Tan-White, co-Founder of Moonfruit, for services to technology businesses.

  • Sara Davies, founder of Crafter’s Companion, for services to the Economy.

  • Simon Duffy and Rhodri Ferrier, co-founders of Bulldog, for services to the beauty industry.

  • Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford, co-founders of Entrepreneur First, for services to business.

  • Mike Butcher, editor-at-large, TechCrunch, for services to technology and journalism.

  • Carol Fitzsimons, chief executive of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, for services to youth entrepreneurship and enterprise.

  • Romy Gill, founder of Romy’s Kitchen, for services to the hospitality industry.

  • Jayne Graham, founder and consultant at 2020 Consulting and founder of Colleagues on Tap, for services to small businesses in the North East of England.

  • Jess Jeetly, founder and managing director of Jeetly, for services to entrepreneurship.

  • Jennifer Johnson, chief executive officer of Kids Allowed, for services to apprenticeships.

  • Ren Kapur, founder and chief executive officer of X-Forces Ltd, for services to entrepreneurship.

  • Rachel Mallows, director of the Mallows Company and Made In Northamptonshire, for services to business and entrepreneurship.

  • Mark Moran, inventor of The Hydrant Drinking System, for services to innovation and entrepreneurship.

  • Anthony Pile, entrepreneur and founder of Blue Skies Holdings, for services to international business.

  • Emma Sinclair, entrepreneur and co-founder of EnterpriseJungle, for services to entrepreneurship.

  • Neil Thomas, founder of Atelier One, for services to architecture, design and engineering.

  • James Watt and Martin Dickie, co-founders of BrewDog, for services to the brewing industry.

  • Dawn Whiteley, chief executive of the National Enterprise Network, for services to business support and enterprise.

  • Jean Wilson, founder of New Hope Charity, Worcestershire, for services to children.

  • BEM

  • Aaron Jones, founder of Fikay Fashion, for services to ethical fashion.

  • Kirsty Loveday, founder and managing director of Love Drinks, for services to the drinks industry.