Hugh Chappell

Non-Executive Director, LADbible Group

Hugh has worked in the technology and publishing industries since 1976, joining Apple in the UK in 1979 when the personal computer industry was in its infancy.

In 1985 he established Taxan (Europe) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaga Electronics, Japan. In an 18 year period at the helm the business sold more than 5 million computer displays and graphics adaptors with turnover exceeding £50 million per annum.

His personal goal to own and manage his own business was achieved in 2003 when he founded TrustedReviews.com. In 2005 he acquired bit-tech.net. Both digital publications quickly became market leaders in their respective sectors. He sold TrustedReviews.com in October 2007 to Time Warner/IPC Media and bit-tech.net in October 2008 to Dennis Publishing.

Hugh has since been involved with several startups as an angel investor and/or advisor. He also works with more established companies in non-executive roles to provide advice and an independent voice on strategy, performance, risk and people.

He has invested in digital platforms across many genres including dating, parking, and publishing.

His non-executive Director roles include The LADbible Group, Time Out Group, Dennis Publishing and MyVoucherCodes. Hugh is also a Board Member E2Exchange.

Apply to meet Hugh

Hugh has mentored…

Beyonk

Bring more epic to your everyday. Find and book the best adventure on your doorstep.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Hugh is an industry-leading expert and it has been really useful to meet with him. His feedback on my business was so valuable. I would highly recommend him and this programme to anyone else looking for help in scaling up.”

Oscar White, founder of Beyonk

Hugh has mentored…

Buengo

The marketplace for good that connects causes and the people that support them. Buy, sell, and donate your items or your time and help support the community for good.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Meeting with Hugh really helped me get an objective opinion on where to focus. It’s very encouraging to know we’re on the right track. I can’t tell you how great getting this much of his time was, thank you!”

Fela Hughes, CEO and Co-Founder of Buengo

Hugh has mentored

Disability Horizons

Disability Horizons magazine is an online disability lifestyle publication that aims to give disabled people a voice.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Hugh was a perfect fit to mentor me. He understood my business and my values, enabling him to give both inspiring and practical advice. I gained so much value during our chat.

Martyn Sibley, CEO, Disability Horizons

Hugh has mentored

Noah’s Star

Noah’s Star, a project run by Sociability Care CIC, allows parents to spend quality time with their sick and preterm babies without having to worry about their other children.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Hugh shared his valuable expertise to help me gain clarity. This honest and objective advice has enabled me to have the confidence in taking the next step in our journey to grow our organisation.

Jo-Anne Shellum, Director, Noah’s Star

Hugh has mentored

Bristol 24/7

Bristol24/7 is Bristol’s biggest independent magazine and website and your first port of call to find out what’s happening across Bristol with news, features, what’s on listings and everything in between.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Hugh has a huge amount of experience in launching and helping to scale businesses. He was keen to understand our business and generous with his advice. I have no hesitation in recommending Hugh to anyone looking for insight into digital businesses or looking to innovate and grow.

Ben Wright, Managing Director, Bristol 24/7

Hugh has mentored

Little Box of Books

Little Box of Books sells inclusive and representative children’s books to families and schools, helping more children see themselves in the books they read and helping all children to better understand the world and their place in it.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Having an hour to discuss my business and my ideas with Hugh was such a privilege. There is a lot of business advice out there but getting one on one time with such an astute and intuitive entrepreneur is invaluable. I can’t wait to action what we chatted about.

Lynsey Pollard, Director, Little Box of Books

Hugh has mentored

Progress Playbook

Progress Playbook is a business training and service platform that designs customized experiences that help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses in NYC and beyond.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

Through his personal business stories that he shared with me, I was able to gain clarity and insight into how to approach the next phase of my business from Hugh. He also provided tangible action items, highlighted some of my blind spots, and gave me some important things to think about in order to scale. Thank you for your insights and willingness to share.

Lloyd Cambridge, CEO, Progress Playbook

Hugh has mentored

Switch Midlands

We provide social and emotional learning support to children and young people, in particular those considered at risk of exclusion or isolation from their schools, homes or communities.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

My mentoring session with Hugh Chappell was extremely beneficial. He was able to quickly assess the challenges we face, and used his wealth of experience to pinpoint an issue in the organisation . By providing fresh insight, he enabled me to look at the situation differently, offering practical advice and guidance that will prove invaluable for us.

Tim Wakefield, CEO, Switch Midlands

Hugh has mentored

Social Spider CIC

We publish five local newspapers based on a new, sustainable social enterprise model for local news publishing.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

It was great to have the benefit of hearing about Hugh’s experience in building media organisations – particularly in terms of forming relationships with brands based on sponsorship for high quality contact. The discussion gave me a lot to think in terms of ways that we could take similar approaches with local businesses and agencies.

David Floyd, Managing Director, Social Spider

Hugh has mentored

Dad La Soul

Dad La Soul exists to orchestrate a revolution in the way that the stories and struggles of the six million dads in the UK are seen, heard, and supported. They support dads and male carers with opportunities to connect and build community with other dads and male carers in innovative and safe spaces.

They build key partnerships with tech innovators, co-working spaces, university research teams, social housing providers, local authorities, and brands to produce a massive range of dad-friendly events and content.

Beyonk
Buengo
Disability Horizons
Noah’s Star
Bristol 24/7
Little Box of Books
Progress Playbook
Switch Midlands
Social Spider CIC
Dad La Soul

Mediorite

I found it a fantastic opportunity to work through the myriad of ideas that I have and hone it all down to the important ones, namely how to score “the big one” in regards to new client wins, that will help us finance the impact we have, without always being reliant on sourcing charitable funding. This is absolutely key in our development… Hugh was brilliant!

Dan Flanagan, Founder, Dad La Soul

Hugh has mentored

Mediorite

Mediorite exists to create films that look good and do good. They are passionate about making great films and creating paid work for the diverse young people they train.

They create sustainable career pathways for diverse young people in East London and Leeds through: