Michael Nolan

Current Employer/Organisation Name

On-Course Business Solutions

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

Started as a graduate trainee at Waitrose, moved back to Australia in food retail, then moved to hardware retail, moved to the supplier side in various sales and marketing roles, eventually setting up my own consultancy advising businesses on strategy, marketing, sales, and we have been working on that for the last 8/9 years.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

Helping other businesses understand how best to grow is a great way to spend your time.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

Sailing Club.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

The year teaching in Frankfurt was probably the highlight, cementing the language, and gaining a much better understanding of German history at the same time.

What did you enjoy most about studying here?

Halls in first year was a fantastic community, size of the Uni in population and physically makes it easy to get to know a large number of people. The sailing was also great fun.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

Combination of the course available and a good sailing location.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Critical thinking is the key to almost everything.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

If you really want to add value to an SME in particular you need to be able to understand the means of explaining and applying your academic learning / theories into real life situations – unfortunately the best way to do this is through experience, and most usefully through having been involved in as many failures as possible.

What are your plans for the future?

Keep doing what I am doing, bringing a few more like minded people into the business to grow it and enjoy it.