Debbie Bestwick

Deborah Jayne Bestwick MBE (born 7 March 1970) is a British entrepreneur. Following a short career in video game retail, she was part of the December 1990 merger between the British video game publisher 17-Bit Software and the Swedish developer Team 7, forming Team17. She was the company's co-manager until buying out the other founders' stakes in 2010 to become chief executive officer (CEO). Team17 went public in May 2018, earning Bestwick £50 million in windfall gain. She was awarded various accolades related to the video game industry between 2015 and 2017 and was pronounced a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in June 2016. She stepped down as CEO of Team17 in January 2024. Deborah Jayne Bestwick was born on 7 March 1970. She attended Holgate School in Hucknall. Bestwick gained interest in video games at the age of twelve, when she played Football Manager on her brother's ZX Spectrum. As she approached her A-level examinations at the age of sixteen, she got a part-time job at a Nottingham video game store.