Mentoring and Advisory

Nick Watson MA (Oxon)

Nick draws on his extensive and varied experience as a diplomat, a partner and executive in a professional services firm and a director of several small businesses to mentor and advise a range of individuals and enterprise, both for profit and pro bono.  

Middle Eastern experience and expertise

His particular speciality is supporting companies that are developing business in the Middle East.  Nick is an Arabist and spent 15 years living and working in the region, including in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.  As a result he has extensive knowledge of the intricacies of operating in that part of the world, and a senior and well-connected network to draw upon, whether for business development and investment generation, or fact-finding and due diligence.

Mentoring and support

Beyond his Middle East advisory work, Nick draws on both his coaching credentials and his personal experience in a range of roles in both public and private sectors  to provide personal support and mentoring to senior executives dealing with complex challenges and opportunities.  Nick’s approach is unfailingly understanding and supportive, while offering robust and clear yet sympathetic feedback and challenge.

Examples of work that we have recently been involved in include:

  • Advising a British technology business on the right approach to developing business in the UAE.  We  subsequently enabled introductions to the right figures in Abu Dhabi with a view to initiating discussions about investment.
 
  • Mentoring the COO of an SME through a tricky business period. 
 
  • Advising a professional services start-up on the development of a new insight offering.
  • Helping a global investment bank understand the rationale behind a competitor’s business development strategy in the Middle East.
 
  • Working with a private school considering an approach from a potential overseas business partner.
 
  • Introducing SMEs to prospective investors and customers in both the Middle and Far East.