NICK'S STORY
NICK POLL
Entrepreneur, Director,
Professional Mentor, Budding Actor

I am an entrepreneur and mentor, with a desire to share my knowledge of creating great opportunities and working them into successful outcomes.
Strangely enough, I achieved my dream job as the CEO of a multi-million dollar mining company as a result of a few random dreams – I wanted to be a champion windsurfer, live in the Amazon and speak French. Learning how to achieve these life goals in my teens and twenties helped me understand how to achieve success, starting with a vision.
I was a scrawny, insecure 14-year-old when I came across a photograph of a windsurfer and decided I wanted to be that guy. A few years later, I found myself being ranked in the world’s top 5 windsurfers.
Then, in my early 20s I decided I wanted to live in the Amazon jungle and speak French. Less than a decade later, I was living and working that dream in French Guiana. Knowing how to transform these visions into reality meant that, by my 40s, I had led the discovery and construction of one of the largest open-pit nickel mines in the world in record time.
Of course I was lucky, but had I not prepared with a vision, it probably would have been someone else’s success. When opportunity knocked, I lived in and had experience in the right location, had learned the language, had more than 10 years’ technical experience worldwide and 5 years’ corporate experience in London, as well as having two masters degrees in geology and business.
These days, when I’m not spending time helping my kids prepare for opportunities in life, I share my experiences in creating and working towards a vision with others around the world.