Nick Allen

Nick, you attended Fan Court School, and then later Claremont Fan Court School, from 1972 to 1984. What are your stand-out memories at both schools?

My outstanding memories of Fan Court were: a freedom to explore beautiful grounds (including the ‘shrubbery’, playing in the woods in overalls over our uniform during playtime!), my introduction to sports (football, athletics & cricket). At Claremont, the beautiful grounds. sports, including weekly cross country runs! Back in my time there were fewer boys so I played in school teams in most sports. And learning beside girls taught me respect and understanding (also helped by having 2 sisters!).

Were there any teachers who inspired or helped you?

Mr Wilcox at Fan Court was an inspirational teacher with his dedication to all the school offered, including extra-curricular clubs. He introduced me to stamp collecting! At Claremont, it was Mrs Brocklehurst who taught me when I was 11. She was a hard task master and taught me so much in English & French!

Whilst you were a pupil, did you know what you wanted to do as a future career?

I did tests when I was 12 which indicated finance/accountancy as a potential career, given my aptitude in maths. This was directional, but didn’t really give me a conviction to follow a specific career. That didn’t come until university and later.

What have been your career highlights to date?

I have been fortunate in the way my career has evolved, starting in audit/accountancy after university. I then moved from auditing banks in the City to working for: NatWest Markets, Salomon Brothers, Citibank. After 9 years in banking, I yearned for a broader experience. I studied full time for a year on a Master in Business Administration (MBA). This facilitated a move into companies. I joined O2 working in finance, strategy & commercial roles, which taught me the importance of delivering the best experience to customers to drive growth. Then I moved to M&S where I headed up Finance for the International division, covering company owned, joint venture and franchise businesses across Europe, Middle East and Asia. This was my introduction to international retail. I then moved to Amsterdam with my family to become Finance Director for most of Europe, US, China for a group called GrandVision, the largest global optical retailer, which owned brands including Vision Express in the UK. I travelled internationally every week, spending a lot of time in stores, to understand how group performance is driven from stores and online. I then moved back to the UK to become CFO of Vision Express UK, Ireland & Middle East. Shortly after I was recruited by Starbucks to become CFO for Europe, Middle East & Africa. That role taught me about how to drive business and finance transformations, including navigating the business through the Covid period. 18 months ago, I joined Holland & Barrett as Group CFO. We’re driving an ambitious business growth plan to provide health & wellness solutions to millions of customers in the UK and across international markets including China.

Are there any personalities in finance and/or business who have inspired you?

Early in my career I was inspired by Jack Welch and more recently I’ve been inspired by technology pioneers including Jeff Bezos & Bill Gates and brand builders like Phil Knight (founder of Nike).

In such an ever-changing world, what advice would you give soon-to-be Claremont Fan Court alumni who are considering a career in finance outside of practice? What are the different routes of entering this field?

I’d recommend studying for a Finance qualification, after university or as part of an apprenticeship. Today the job market is very competitive, so you need to be resilient (in facing rejection from job applications) and hard working. The main routes into finance as a career are: a finance related degree (I studied history & politics), apprenticeship, professional qualification with an accountancy firm or company. I’d also recommend focusing on how you can differentiate yourself as a candidate for jobs. I took additional qualifications and developed my experience outside of Finance to become a more commercial CFO.

What advice would you give your sixteen year old self?

I’d say: ‘be confident in your ability to achieve more than you think you can!’. I was certainly not a star academically at school or university, but had the determination to succeed! You need to work hard to create the opportunities for success. Building relationships and effective communication skills are also important.