Some of the biggest businesses across the globe have been run by people with strong leadership credentials. I thought it would be fun to look at some top businesses in the UK so that we can identify how they got where they are now, and who has led them there. If we can learn from the financially astute leaders and the decisions they have made. The three companies chosen are moneysupermarket.com, EasyJet, and Betfair.
Moneysupermarket.com
moneysupermarket.com is the UK’s leading price comparison website that specializes in offering financial services. As it stands Moneysupermarket is listed on the London Stock Exchange and it’s a member of the FTSE 250, but how did they get there and who was the leader behind their incredible rise to success?
The company was established in 1993 by Simon Nixon and Duncan Cameron under the name Mortgage 2000. Then in 1999, Simon Nixon launched moneysupermarket.com, and today they have nearly 500 employees in their headquarters in North Wales. The company drives its revenues from the money, travel, home services, and insurance verticals that provide such products as credit cards, mortgages, ISA savings accounts, choosing a stockbroker, holidays, and insurance. Its rise to success has been nothing short of phenomenal.
EasyJet
EasyJet carries more passengers than any other UK based airline and they employ over 8000 people throughout Europe. In 2009, EasyJet provided a service to 45.2 million passengers, a truly incredible feat. The company sits on the FTSE 250 index and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Since its launch in 1995 the company’s rise has been extraordinary, but who was the leader behind their success?
The EasyJet airline was established in 1995 by Greek-Cypriot Stelios Haji-ioannou. Stelios started the company with two wet-leased Boeing 737 aircraft operating on just two routes; today the company runs international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports.
Betfair
Since being launched in June 2000, Betfair has become the world’s largest internet betting company. The company claims that they can offer on average 20% better odds than those of traditional street bookmarkers. Since its launch in 2000, the company has received many investments, and in October 2010 they announced to go public with valuations of up to 1.5 billion pounds. So who was behind the company’s incredible success?
Betfair was founded by Andrew Black and Edward Wray, and in recognition of their incredible success, they have won many awards, including the Ernst & Young young entrepreneurs of the year 2002. Black and Wray have led their company to have over 3 million clients with a claimed turnover in excess of £50m per week.
The innovative concept behind Betfair is that the website acts as a platform which connects opposing punters, rather than acting as the bookmaker in its own right. This way, it has no risk from the bets, and can simply take a fixed commission from profits.
It is difficult to look at these different power brokers and assume that a single characteristic or a single connection links all three stories. Here, you clearly have a case study of very different industries. However each leader understands their own strengths, they put stock in their ability to do things differently.
