Nick’s life has taken many twists and turns, some by design but many more out of the seriously poor decisions that he made in Singapore where his unchecked risk taking led to the collapse of a 233-year-old Merchant Bank.
From a council estate in Watford, aged 18, Nick started work in the City of London for the Queen’s bankers Coutts & Co. Early promise saw him sweep through the ranks there and then Morgan Stanley until he was headhunted to Baring Securities. His and their worst mistake.
From having the banking world at his feet in Singapore, aged 25, successful and the envy of many, he lost it all and by the age of 28 was facing six and a half years in prison in a maximum-security prison in Singapore. Divorce and cancer were to follow whilst in prison but Nick is nothing, if not a fighter and he came through all of this and more. From making millions to ultimately losing £862m, his story has it all.
Nick never tries to hide from his guilt and uses his experiences to help others, individual and corporates alike in better understanding issues that they may face. Steering people along the right path and away from the one that he trod is ultimately the upshot of all that he says.
Nick is equally adept providing keynote addresses at major conferences or talking to a select number of clients after dinner. He is widely sought after on the speaking circuit and spends a lot of time travelling the world to offer his insight on risk management, compliance, governance and conduct. He can hold a room’s attention for hours with his no-holds barred account of stories from his past.
He is articulate, interesting and self-deprecating believing that we all have an innate ability to survive and overcome. In his own words, that’s all he did ‘survive’, whilst many others regard his talks as motivational, highlighting that you can triumph over adversity.
A movie was made of his life, ‘Rogue Trader’ with Ewan McGregor taking the lead role. Nick has also written three books, a biography of his life, naturally titled Rogue Trader and then two self-help books, ‘Back from the Brink’ – Coping with Stress and ‘Don’t Panic’ – Dealing with Personal Debt.
Nick has a number of business ventures but the latest sees him back at the forefront of the financial markets, helping retail traders overcome the odds and beat the brokers at their own game – www.bizintra.com
