Having started his own business in 1983 Nigel became one of the youngest CEOs in the City (at the tender age of 26). He quickly realised that running an organisations isn’t that complicated, but working with people, and getting the most out of them, was a real challenge. It occurred to him that understanding people’s personal needs, and their communication styles, was paramount to success.

Nigel started working with Vistage and other CEO Groups in 1997, and quickly became a sought-after speaker working in many different industries, specialising in peak performance and human development. In 2001 and 2010 he was awarded Speaker of the Year from The Academy for Chief Executives. In 2005 he was awarded Vistage International Speaker of the Year. In 2009/10 Footdown awarded him Speaker of the Year. Thus making Nigel the only speaker in Europe to have won all three awards.

Having spoken to more than 1.5 million people worldwide, Nigel developed a model around how people fall into four categories, in terms of their communication style, which he related to animal types. Whilst there are many other communication models in existence his methodology of Zoo Keeping, and the four core animals types, is not only relatable, but easy to grasp and apply.

Zoo Keeping is now used in organisations of every size around the world, including the British Police Force and many National Health Trusts. Nigel’s main philosophies are: If you are in the room – be in the room! If you want success – you must learn to be an effective Zoo Keeper. There are no such things as difficult customers and staff – there are  different customers and staff. Nigel currently speaks approximately 100 times a year and provides 1:1 coaching for industry leaders around the World.