Nicola's BIOGRAPHY
Skills
"Bronze Silver and Gold in Drama, and Verse and Prose to Silver level".
academic
Background
Honing the skills for future Entrepreneurism, post achieving a Management Science degree at Sheffield University, I followed my father's footsteps and went into sales. I commenced my career working my way up to sales positions at various levels, sales engineer and then onto sales manager for such illustrious companies as ICL, Ferranti Computer Systems, IBM and Digital as well as some major software houses including Hengstler, Plantime, Organisational Development Group and JBA.
Treading the boards as a frustrated actress, q{ualified for RADA}: My parents wanted me to follow a traditional university career, but I managed to cram in LAMDA Bronze Silver and Gold in Drama, and Verse and Prose to Silver level whilst studying which allowed me to continue in my acting career. I continued with my academic career in a Masters in Business Admin and in my late 30's - PhD at Insead France in Business Science with Technology alongside my business positions, which gave me the foundation to set up my own company when Maggie got elected
Academic Achievements
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In Nicola's own words: "Throughout my early education, I wanted to teach and encourage young people with achieving their ambitions, it is fascinating that often these goals are with us for the rest of our lives.
I am very proud to be a product of the state school system. I am commented on how is that the case when I speak so beautifully? Well I did move from Parkstone near Poole in Dorset to Saddleworth, where I attended Saddleworth Secondary Modern, (I had missed the entrance exam for Hulme Grammar School and anyway my parents could not have afforded it, as I was the eldest of 4 children).
I do remember being bullied for being a swot, but the upside of being a sowt was that I was offered so many opportunities and courses because I loved school and wanted to do well. I walked away with 16 O levels in a combination of the old GCE’s CSE grade 1 and the first 16+ to become the fore runner of today’s GCSE.Following A levels and a Bsc in Management Science at Sheffield university, I went onto my first sales job in flexible working hours and computerised time recording. Whilst studying for my MSC Management Science at Manchester Business school, I was a pioneer of the first industrial traning placements with Sheffield University.
Nicola continued with her education attaining her PhD in Management Science at Insead France in 2001