After achieving professional success in global finance, Toby Watson chose to dedicate time to supporting educational institutions through voluntary governance and sharing organisational expertise.
Professionals who have built successful careers often seek meaningful ways to contribute to their communities beyond their primary work. Following nearly two decades in structured finance and investment banking, Toby Watson chose educational governance as a way to give back, supporting Excalibur Academies Trust as Chairman from 2018 to 2026. His approach exemplifies how experienced professionals can contribute to sectors beyond their expertise when they offer relevant skills humbly supporting those who dedicate their careers to education, recognising that the goal lies not in personal recognition but in helping create conditions for children to thrive.
After departing Goldman Sachs International in 2017, where he had served as Global Head of Structured Credit Trading and Partner, Toby Watson turned his attention to voluntary service in education, joining the board of Excalibur Academies Trust in 2018 and serving as Chairman until January 2026. During this eight-year period, he contributed organisational and strategic expertise to help support a trust serving approximately 10,000 pupils across 20 schools in the M4 corridor, with particular focus on maintaining the organisation’s commitment to inclusive education and serving disadvantaged communities. His contribution reflected a broader understanding of professional success—that achieving financial accomplishment creates opportunities and responsibilities to support institutions that serve the common good.
Understanding the Concept of Giving Back
Professional success brings privileges—financial security, developed expertise, and enhanced capability to influence outcomes. These privileges also carry responsibilities. Those who have benefited from educational opportunities and career advancement have much to offer institutions serving others, particularly in education, where resources often fall short of needs.
The concept of “giving back” encompasses various forms of contribution—financial philanthropy, voluntary service, and sharing expertise. For professionals with organisational capabilities, trusteeship of educational institutions offers particularly meaningful opportunities to contribute. Schools and academy trusts require governance that combines educational understanding with broader organisational competence.
When Toby Watson considered how he might contribute following his departure from investment banking, educational governance emerged as an area where his experience could prove valuable. The decision reflected recognition that professional capabilities can serve different purposes when applied thoughtfully, supporting institutions dedicated to public benefit.
What motivates professionals to support educational institutions?
After building a career in global finance, Toby Watson recognised that educational governance offered opportunities to contribute organisational expertise to institutions serving children and communities. The motivation came not from seeking recognition, but from understanding that professional success creates both capability and responsibility to support work that matters beyond commercial achievement. Educational trusteeship provided a channel for giving back.
How Toby Watson Supported Educational Institutions
Educational trusteeship involves contributing expertise whilst recognising the limits of one’s knowledge. Trustees from outside education bring valuable perspectives on organisational management and financial sustainability, but they must defer to educational professionals on matters of pedagogy and school leadership.
Throughout his tenure with Excalibur Academies Trust, he approached governance as an opportunity to support rather than direct. The experience Toby Watson he developed during his Goldman Sachs career in assessing organisational capacity and managing complex budgets proved relevant to trust governance. Yet the value depended on how these capabilities were offered—supporting educational leaders rather than as prescriptive solutions.
His contribution came through asking informed questions that helped ensure rigorous analysis of key decisions, offering perspectives on financial sustainability that supported educational priorities, and helping maintain focus on serving disadvantaged pupils. These forms of support prove essential to effective educational institutions.
Supporting Through Collaborative Governance
Effective trusteeship involves several key practices:
- Offering relevant expertise whilst recognising limits of one’s knowledge
- Asking informed questions rather than providing prescriptive answers
- Supporting educational leaders rather than attempting to direct their work
- Maintaining focus on pupil welfare above organisational metrics
- Contributing without seeking personal recognition
These principles, which Toby Watson sought to embody throughout his service, reflect an understanding that governance contributions matter only insofar as they enable schools to serve pupils effectively.
The Value of Informal Mentorship
Beyond formal governance responsibilities, trustees can contribute through informal mentorship and support of developing leaders. Multi-academy trusts need talented executives and school leaders who combine educational expertise with organisational capability.
During his time with Excalibur Academies Trust, Toby Watson worked alongside trust executives and school leaders facing challenges of managing growth and navigating organisational change. His contribution involved offering perspectives on organisational development, whilst always recognising that educational leadership requires capabilities beyond what any business background can provide.
The Importance of Sustained Commitment
Meaningful contribution to educational institutions requires sustained commitment rather than episodic involvement. Trusteeship demands regular attendance at board meetings, time spent understanding organisational context, engagement with school communities, and willingness to provide support when issues arise.
Toby Watson’s eight years of service to Excalibur Academies Trust exemplified this sustained commitment. The time invested—attending board meetings, visiting schools, reviewing papers, participating in strategic planning—was substantial. Yet this level of engagement proved necessary to contribute effectively.
The commitment also reflected recognition that giving back means prioritising service above personal convenience. Educational governance requires genuine dedication and willingness to prioritise institutional needs appropriately.
Measuring Success Through Impact
The ultimate measure of effective trusteeship lies not in individual contributions, but in whether the institution serves its pupils well. Throughout Toby Watson’s tenure, Excalibur Academies Trust maintained consistently positive educational outcomes, with progress measures for disadvantaged pupils exceeding national averages. These results reflected the dedicated work of teachers and school leaders, supported by governance that created conditions for excellence.
Lessons About Professional Service
When Toby Watson stepped down as Chairman in January 2026 to focus on other professional commitments, he had contributed eight years of voluntary service without financial reward. The satisfaction came not from personal recognition, but from knowing that his contribution had helped support an organisation serving thousands of children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
His successor, Susan Clarke, brought different expertise from public sector leadership, ensuring that the board continued to benefit from diverse perspectives. This transition demonstrated healthy governance succession—regular renewal brings fresh energy whilst maintaining institutional continuity.
The experience offers lessons for professionals considering how they might give back to their communities. Educational trusteeship provides genuinely meaningful opportunities to contribute, but it demands time, humility, and genuine commitment to learning about a sector that operates according to different principles than commercial enterprises.
For Toby Watson, the choice to dedicate substantial time to educational governance reflected values about professional responsibility and the importance of supporting institutions that serve the common good. After benefiting from educational opportunities and achieving professional success, giving back through supporting schools seemed both appropriate and rewarding. The work involved bringing relevant experience whilst always recognising that the ultimate measure of success lay in whether pupils thrived and achieved their potential.
