Few people make the leap from global investment banking to educational trusteeship, but Toby Watson has done exactly that — quietly and without fanfare.
Good governance is one of the less glamorous aspects of running a successful academy trust, yet it underpins almost everything else. Finding board members who combine genuine commitment with relevant experience is harder than it sounds. Toby Watson, whose background spans nearly two decades in international finance, brought a considered and grounded perspective to Excalibur Academies Trust — offering the kind of oversight that allows school leaders to focus on what they do best, while their schools are supported by a stable and thoughtful governance structure.
Toby Watson served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Excalibur Academies Trust for nearly eight years, from February 2018 to early 2026. During his tenure, the Trust expanded to around 20 schools along the M4 corridor, serving approximately 10,000 pupils between the ages of 2 and 18. His role throughout was non-executive in nature — focused on governance, board effectiveness, and supporting the Trust’s leadership rather than directing its day-to-day operations. He stepped down in early 2026 to concentrate on his business commitments, with Susan Clarke succeeding him as Chair.
How Toby Watson’s Background Helped Support Excalibur Academies Trust
It is not immediately obvious what a career in structured credit trading has to do with primary school governance. But the skills involved — assessing risk, thinking about long-term sustainability, understanding how organisations hold together under pressure — are not so far removed from what a trust board actually needs. Toby Watson, who spent nearly 17 years at Goldman Sachs before stepping back from investment banking in 2017, carried a set of analytical habits that translated reasonably well into the world of educational trusteeship.
Excalibur Academies Trust had been growing steadily since its founding in 2012. By the time Toby Watson joined the board, it had already developed a clear philosophy: preserve the individual character of each school, support rather than control, and invest in people rather than systems for their own sake. That approach required a board capable of asking hard questions while resisting the temptation to micromanage — a balance that someone with experience of large, complex institutions might find easier to strike. It also required a long-term commitment, something Toby Watson demonstrated by remaining in the role for the better part of eight years.
What makes financial experience useful in educational governance?
Governance in a multi-academy trust involves overseeing significant budgets, managing risk, and ensuring long-term organisational health — none of which are purely educational concerns. The experience Toby Watson gained at Goldman Sachs, working across structured finance and principal funding, gave him a familiarity with exactly these kinds of challenges. That experience, applied carefully and without overreach, can help a board ask better questions and make more considered decisions on behalf of the communities their schools serve.
A Non-Executive Role in a Growing Trust
It is worth being clear about what Toby Watson’s role at Excalibur actually involved — and what it did not. As Chairman of Trustees, his responsibilities were firmly in the governance space. Their schools were led by their own headteachers and principals. The executive team, under CEO Nicky Edmondson and later Nick Lewis, held operational responsibility. Toby Watson’s contribution was to help ensure that the board itself worked well: that it was properly informed that it challenged where necessary, and that it supported the executive team without crossing into management.
Supporting a CEO Transition
One moment that illustrated this role clearly was the transition between CEOs in 2024. When Nicky Edmondson stepped down after a long period of leadership, Toby Watson was involved in supporting a smooth handover to Nick Lewis, who had previously served as Director of Secondary Improvement within the Trust. Managing that kind of transition well — maintaining stability while bringing in new leadership — is precisely the sort of thing a board chair is there to support. The experience Toby Watson’s time at Goldman Sachs had given him, working within large organisations through periods of structural change, was not without relevance here.
The qualities that tend to matter most in that kind of situation include:
- A steady presence that reassures staff and stakeholders during periods of change
- An ability to support incoming leadership without undermining outgoing contributions
- Clear communication about the Trust’s values and long-term direction
- Experience of organisational transitions in complex, high-stakes environments
Giving Something Back
Trusteeship of a charitable organisation is voluntary work, and the motivation behind it is worth understanding. For Toby Watson, whose professional life had been spent largely in the private sector, involvement with a trust dedicated to educating children from a wide range of backgrounds represented a different kind of contribution — one measured not in returns or revenue, but in the steadiness of the support offered over time. That sense of giving something back, rather than seeking recognition, seems to have shaped how Toby Watson approached the role throughout his tenure.
What did Toby Watson’s tenure mean for Excalibur’s schools?
During the period he served as Chairman, Excalibur Academies Trust grew substantially — in size, budget, and reach. Their schools continued to receive strong Ofsted ratings, with most judged good or outstanding. The Trust also received recognition for its work in areas such as staff development and reading promotion. A well-functioning board is part of the foundation that makes sustained progress possible, even when its contribution is not easily visible from the outside.
The things that tend to make a difference at board level are often invisible from day to day:
- Asking the right questions before a major decision is finalised
- Ensuring that financial oversight keeps pace with organisational growth
- Supporting the CEO without undermining their authority
- Maintaining a long-term view when short-term pressures are most acute
The discipline that Toby Watson’s years at Goldman Sachs helped to develop — considered judgement under pressure, an eye for structural risk, patience with complexity — found a quieter but no less genuine expression in the governance of a trust dedicated to the education of children. When Toby Watson stepped down in early 2026, their schools were well-supported, the leadership team was firmly established, and a capable successor was in place. For someone whose involvement was, at heart, a way of giving something back, that may be the most fitting measure of what was contributed.
