Alice Best works at the intersection of creative vision and strategic authority - where ideas become businesses, and businesses become legacies.
Alice Best
Founder
Her formation spans disciplines rarely combined. Trained initially at Chelsea College of Art, she completed a master's in architecture at the University of Manchester, where she was awarded the Professional Studies Award, and studied at the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris. She began her professional career at Arup in Shanghai before joining Inskip and Jenkins in London, contributing to the conservation and evolution of buildings of national significance, including Chatsworth House.
The move into brand and business strategy was a deliberate reinvention. On building Bolter, she deepened her commercial thinking through a Mini MBA in Brand Management - bringing the same rigour she had applied to physical form to the challenge of building businesses. It is a pattern that defines her practice: that the most generative thinking happens at the point where one discipline meets another. This cross-sector instinct underpins everything Bolter does – and is why the agency works across industries. Alice believes that innovation emerges from the ground between established territories.
At Bolter, Alice has guided organisations from inception through transformation to successful exit, working closely with founders and leadership teams to ensure creative ambition is matched by sustained commercial performance.
She is a recognised voice in the industry, regularly invited to speak on design, strategy and the building of high-performing businesses. She lives with her family on an organic farm in North Wales - a working context that informs her instinct for quality, relevance and long-term value. She serves as a school governor and champions the role of creative disciplines in shaping future generations, and is a committed follower of art, architecture, and cooking.
Alice Best
