Some Things You Can Only Learn By Living Through Them.
I've built businesses, lost businesses, survived a brain tumour, and sat in the chair when everything was on the line.
Now I'm the person business owners call when they need someone who's been there.
THE SHORT VERSION
If you're short on time, here's what you need to know.
I'm a mentor, confidant, and trusted adviser to business owners and CEOs.
I also serve as a Non-Executive Director but at the heart of it, I'm the person in your corner when the decisions get difficult and the stakes are high.
My job is straightforward: help you see clearly, protect what you've built, and grow the value of your business.
I've been doing this since 1995. Before that, I built and sold my own company, earned an MBA with Distinction from Imperial College, and spent fifteen years as an Interim CEO turning around organisations in London and New York.
But the credentials only tell you what I've done. They don't tell you why I do it the way I do it.
For that, you need the longer story.
WHERE IT STARTS
It starts with my father.
My father was Sir Nicholas Winton. In 1939, he organised the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia, just months before the borders closed and the war began. He was a stockbroker. He had no special authority, no organisation behind him, and no guarantee it would work.
He just decided that something needed to be done, and he was the one who was going to do it.
He kept it quiet for nearly fifty years. The world only found out in 1988, when the BBC reunited him with some of the people he'd saved. He was 79.
Growing up with him, I absorbed something that shaped everything I've done since: one person, in the right place, asking the right questions and refusing to look away – that person can change everything.
It's called
The Power of One
I now share his story as a professional speaker – exploring what it teaches us about leadership without authority, moral courage, and why one person stepping forward can change everything. NicholasWinton.org
I've carried that into every boardroom I've ever walked into.
The Hard Road
Then life tested it.
At 23, I started a marketing services company. We pioneered new technology, grew fast, expanded into a multi-service business. I was speaking at conferences around the world.
Then came Black Monday. The business unravelled. I restructured, refinanced, and eventually sold the core of it to a competitor.
And then I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.
After surgery, I was given a five-year prognosis. Most people would have stopped. I enrolled at Imperial College Business School instead. I figured if I only had a few years, I'd better make them count.
I graduated with an MBA with Distinction. My syndicate's business plan split the judging panel – some said it was "too professional." I took that as a compliment.
What I Learned in the Hard Years
Fifteen years of doing the hardest job in business.
With an uncertain lifespan ahead of me, I chose a career as an Interim CEO. Not the glamorous kind of leadership. The kind where you walk into an organisation under stress, with a team under pressure, and you have to make things work – fast.
I did this across the public and private sectors, in London and New York. Turnarounds, transitions, restructurings. I learned what works and what doesn't when the stakes are real and the clock is ticking.
Here's what I took from those years:
Cash is always the real question. Everything else is a symptom. If you don't understand the cash position, you don't understand the business.
People problems don't fix themselves. The longer you leave a difficult conversation, the more expensive it becomes. The right team in the right structure changes everything.
KPIs are early warning systems, not report cards. By the time the financials tell you something's wrong, you're already behind. The leading indicators – pipeline, conversion rates, customer metrics – those are where the truth lives.
Strategy without execution is a fantasy. I've seen beautiful strategic plans gather dust on shelves. What matters is whether the next ninety days are clear and whether everyone knows what they're accountable for.
What I Do Now
Now I'm on the other side of the table.
Running a business can be lonely. The bigger the decision, the fewer people you can talk to about it. Your team has their own agendas. Your investors want results. Your partner is tired of hearing about it.
That's where I come in.
I'm a mentor and confidant to business owners and CEOs – the person you call when you need someone who's been through it, who has no agenda other than your success, and who'll tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear.
I also serve as a Non-Executive Director, bringing that same independent perspective into the boardroom. Whether it's a formal board role or a quiet conversation over coffee, the value is the same: experienced, honest counsel from someone who cares about the outcome.
I work with:
PE and VC investors who want someone in the boardroom protecting their capital and keeping an eye on the things that could derail value before exit.
Business owners and CEOs who know they need a trusted sounding board — someone who's seen it all and who genuinely has their back.
I focus on four areas that I believe determine whether a company thrives or struggles:
- The Cash Question – finance, runway, and control
- The People Challenge – team, leadership, and board dynamics
- The Performance Challenge – operations, KPIs, and execution
- The Strategy Question – direction, growth, and the decisions that shape the future
THE PERSONAL STUFF
And when I'm not in a boardroom...
I'm probably on a motorbike somewhere in Europe. Or at the opera – Mozart, ideally. Or walking through a beautiful garden, thinking about nothing in particular.
I earned my pilot's wings at 17, before I had a driving licence. The RAF trained me in aerobatics. I once flew an English Electric Lightning. These things leave a mark on you.
I married my wife Dominique in Prague – the city where my father's rescue mission began. That felt right.
I was a Member of the Institute of Directors, Director of the Institute of Interim Management, and am currently a trustee and director of Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead – our family's hometown.
LET'S TALK
Most good things start with a conversation.
If you're a business owner who could use a trusted confidant,
an investor who wants experienced eyes in the boardroom,
or a CEO who's tired of making every big decision alone – I'd like to hear from you.
No pitch. No pressure. Just a conversation about where you are and where you want to be.
Contact Details:
Nick Winton
+44 7776 238 967
Nick@NicktheNonExec.com