Rob Nicholls
Rob Nicholls transforms finance professionals into strategic advisors who drive growth, margins, and enterprise value—not just report them.
A UK-based Fractional CFO and board advisor with 35+ years of global finance leadership, Rob mentors ambitious finance professionals to move beyond scorekeeping and become commercial partners who influence at the highest levels.
He’s known for translating financial complexity into clear commercial insight and challenging finance teams to think like operators. His track record: helping SMEs treble valuations, double profit margins, and build investor-ready businesses. But his real expertise lies in developing the finance leaders behind those results.
As a strategic advisor to Innovate UK and widely followed voice in the UK CFO community, Rob’s mentoring is direct, commercially grounded, and relentlessly focused on outcomes—equipping emerging and experienced leaders with the confidence and frameworks to elevate their strategic impact.
Expertise
- Leadership
- Internationalisation
- SME Funding
- Board Governance
- Growth & Scaling
- Finance Leadership in the 21st century
Sector Expertise
- SME
- Professional Services
- Technology
- Industrials
- Agencies
- Consulting
- Build Environment
- Security
Work Experience
CFO & Board Advisor - W4G Fire & SecurityW4G Fire & Security
Oct 2025 to Present · 6 mos - United Kingdom
Board Advisor - Acronyms
Aug 2025 to Present · 8 mos - Greater Plymouth Area
CFO & Board Advisor - LUMINOUS
Dec 2022 to Present · 3 yrs 4 mos - Greater Exeter Area
Board Advisor - The Festive Lighting Company
May 2025 to Present · 11 mos - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - Taylor Lewis
Oct 2022 to Present · 3 yrs 6 mos - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - The Independent Health and Wellbeing Group
2025 to Present · 1 yr 3 mos - United Kingdom
Strategic Advisor & Mentor - Innovate UK South West
Dec 2021 to Present · 4 yrs 4 mos - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - West Country Tech
2019 to Present · 7 yrs 3 mos - United Kingdom
Strategic Advisor - Business West
Dec 2021 to Present · 4 yrs 4 mos - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - Simplifai Systems Limited
Apr 2024 to Apr 2025 · 1 yr 1 mo - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - PBS BRAKES Europe
2024 - 2025 · 1 yr - United Kingdom
Board Advisor - Cornish Gems
2023 to 2025 · 2 yrs - United Kingdom
Board Advisor - Foundrax Engineering Products Ltd
Sep 2022 to Mar 2024 · 1 yr 7 mos - United Kingdom
Board Advisor - Light Trace Photonics
2022 to 2024 · 2 yrs - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - Dr Logic
2020 to 2024 · 4 yrs - United Kingdom
Board Advisor - RouteZero
Dec 2021 to Dec 2023 · 2 yrs - England, United Kingdom
CFO & Strategic Advisor - Cullinan Studio
Mar 2020 to Dec 2023 · 3 yrs 10 mos - United Kingdom
Board Advisor - LEDSnaps
Dec 2020 to Jan 2023 · 2 yrs 2 mos - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - Solarport Systems
2020 to 2023 · 3 yrs - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - YEO
2020 - 2022 · 2 yrs - United Kingdom
Investment Advisor - Emerture
2019 to 2022 · 3 yrs - United Kingdom
CFO & Board Advisor - Go Demand Ltd
2019 to 2022 · 3 yrs - United Kingdom
CFO & Strategic Advisor - Rich Insight
2019 to 2022 · 3 yrs - United Kingdom
Finance Director - Motorola
May 1998 to Aug 2008 · 10 yrs 4 mos - United States
Financial Controller & Director of Distribution - Motorola
June 1993 - May 1998 · 5 yrs - EMEA
