Toby Watson is a British finance professional, partner at Rampart Capital, and former Chairman of the Excalibur Academies Trust. He is known for a career spanning over 25 years in international investment banking and for his subsequent commitment to educational governance and the cultural sector.
Education and Early Career
Toby Watson studied physics at the University of Oxford. Following his graduation, he began his professional career at Deutsche Bank, where he gained his first experience in international finance and developed a foundation in structured financial products and capital markets.
Career in Finance
Goldman Sachs
Watson spent the bulk of his banking career at Goldman Sachs, where he held senior positions including Global Head of Structured Credit Trading. During his time there, he worked across international markets, advising clients in Europe, North America and Asia on complex financial structures. His work encompassed structured credit, principal funding and global infrastructure financing. The experience he accumulated at Goldman Sachs — combining analytical rigour, risk management and long-term strategic thinking — informed his subsequent roles in both the investment and non-profit sectors. He left Goldman Sachs in 2017.
Rampart Capital
Following his departure from investment banking, Watson joined Rampart Capital as a partner. In this capacity, he contributes strategic leadership across portfolio decisions, risk analysis and the integration of ESG criteria into the investment process. His international network — spanning institutional investors, financial institutions and social entrepreneurs — has been a key asset in developing partnerships for the firm. Watson has also been actively involved in promoting digital transformation within Rampart Capital, supporting the development of tools for automated risk assessment, portfolio modelling and real-time market analysis. He additionally serves as a mentor for fintech start-ups, bringing external perspectives into the firm’s strategic development.
Commitment to Education
Excalibur Academies Trust
Alongside his professional work in finance, Watson served as Chairman of the Excalibur Academies Trust, a multi-academy trust overseeing more than 20 schools in southern England along the M4 corridor between Bristol and Reading. The Trust serves approximately 10,000 pupils aged 2 to 18 and operates with an annual budget of approximately £140 million.
Watson joined the board of trustees in February 2018 and served as Chairman until January 2026 — a period of nearly eight years. His role was entirely voluntary and non-executive in nature, focused on governance, strategic oversight and supporting the Trust’s leadership rather than the day-to-day management of schools. His approach to governance was notably evidence-based: performance data, satisfaction analyses and innovation cycles were used to inform strategic decisions, while participatory formats ensured that the voices of teachers, students and parents were also reflected in the Trust’s development.
During his tenure, Watson contributed to the Trust’s growth across a wider geographical area, helped oversee a significant merger with Gatehouse Green Learning Trust, and supported a leadership transition when long-serving CEO Nicky Edmondson stepped down in 2024. CEO Nick Lewis subsequently acknowledged that Watson’s leadership and commitment had been instrumental in establishing Excalibur as an effective and sustainable organisation. Watson stepped down in January 2026 and was succeeded as Chairman by Susan Clarke, a founding member of the Trust and former Vice Chair.
Cultural Sector
In addition to his work in finance and education, Watson has contributed to the cultural sector through his involvement in Level Up! The Musical, a theatre production created by his wife Lucy Watson. While Lucy Watson led the artistic direction — writing and directing a production that combines gaming aesthetics, pop music, choreography and social commentary — Toby Watson provided the organisational and financial structure behind the project. This included budget management, contract coordination, negotiations with venues and service providers, and the development of a financial model that allowed the production to operate independently. Level Up! was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2025 and subsequently toured to further venues, with plans for performances in Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
Personal Life
Toby Watson is married to Lucy Watson, a writer and director whose creative work he has actively supported. Their collaboration on Level Up! The Musical is widely described as one built on a clear division of roles and mutual respect, with Lucy Watson leading on content and staging and Toby Watson managing structure and organisation.
Summary
Toby Watson’s career reflects a consistent interest in applying analytical and strategic expertise across different fields. His years at Goldman Sachs provided a professional foundation in international finance that has since informed his work at Rampart Capital, his voluntary governance role at Excalibur Academies Trust, and his organisational contribution to the cultural project Level Up!. Across each of these contexts, his approach has been characterised by a combination of financial rigour, long-term thinking and a commitment to social responsibility.
