Graham Watson is the Chief Executive of Positive Leadership Limited, a strategic leadership and corporate finance advisory firm. He has over 30 years of experience in corporate finance, business strategy, and leadership development. He has worked with companies across various sectors in the UK, US, and internationally.

1. 1
Graham
Watson
FRSA
LLB
CA
Chief
Executive
Positive
Leadership
Limited
Graham
Watson
is
a
recognised
expert
in
corporate
finance,
business
and
leadership
strategy.
His
career
in
the
UK
and
USA
has
given
him
a
broad
base
of
situational
advisory
expertise,
from
VC/PE
backed
companies
to
FTSE
100
companies
to
not
for
profits.
His
network
is
extensive.
Following
his
time
as
a
corporate
finance
partner
with
Deloitte
(based
in
the
UK
and
USA),
he
has
more
recently
years
run
his
own
strategic
leadership
and
corporate
finance
advisory
firm.
His
appetite
and
motivation
for
interesting
and
challenging
work
(wherever
located),
coupled
with
a
passion
for
sharing
his
thought
leadership,
remain
undiminished.
Background
Graham
Watson
brings
many
years
of
board
level
corporate
advisory
experience
in
a
variety
of
industry
sectors
to
help
business
leaders,
entrepreneurs
and
investors
maximise
the
value
of
their
businesses.
He
has
particular
cross-­‐border
expertise.
He
has
led
multi-­‐disciplinary
teams
of
professionals
in
executing
over
100
transactions
valued
at
over
£2bn.
He
is
an
innovative
thinker
and
leader
who
has
always
sought
exciting
and
stimulating
new
challenges
in
his
career.
Summary
Positive
Leadership
Limited
(PLL)
is
a
values
based
strategic
leadership
and
corporate
finance
advisory
firm.
PLL
uses
its
considerable
experience
to
provide
unique
perspectives
and
innovative
solutions
that
help
corporate
leaders
unlock
maximum
value
from
complex
business
challenges.
PLL
equips
high
ambition
leaders
of
today
and
tomorrow
with
the
practical
skills
and
confidence
necessary
to
win
consistently
in
a
competitive
environment
and
excel
under
pressure.
Positive
Leadership
has
developed
an
innovative
approach
to
strategy
consulting
and
corporate
finance
that
brings
the
lessons
of
leadership
in
business
and
elite
sport
together
in
a
manner
that
can
deliver
sustained
performance
improvement
for
clients.
A
qualified
lawyer
and
chartered
accountant;
Graham
is
a
highly
regarded
strategic
adviser
and
negotiator,
with
considerable
experience
as
an
international
investment
banker.
He
is
also
a
trained
mediator.
Previously
he
was
a
director
of
Scotland’s
leading
investment
bank,
Noble
Grossart
Limited,
chief
executive
of
the
Carnegie
Sports
International
Group
and
a
corporate
finance
partner
with
Deloitte
(in
both
the
UK
and
USA).
Graham
graduated
magna
cum
laude
from
the
University
of
Edinburgh
Law
School.

2. 2
His
business
career
has
included
over
five
years
living
and
working
in
the
US.
Graham
is
a
founding
member
of
the
Scottish
Executive
backed
GlobalScot
organisation
(http://www.globalscot.com).
He
is
also
the
World
Leadership
Day
Ambassador
in
Scotland
(www.worldleadershipday.org).
Graham
is
a
member
of
the
Congregational
Board
and
Treasurer
of
Elie,
Kilconquhar
&
Colinsburgh
Church
of
Scotland
(www.ekc-­‐church.org.uk)
and
a
Trustee
and
Treasurer
of
The
Glasgow
Trust
for
Elie,
Kilconquhar
and
Colinsburgh
Church.
In
his
capacity
as
Treasurer,
Graham
is
responsible
for
all
temporal
matters
pertaining
to
the
Church,
including
financial
planning,
charity
governance
and
accounting.
The
financial
position
of
both
the
Church
and
The
Glasgow
Trust
is
robust.
Graham
is
a
member
of
the
Council
of
The
Law
Society
of
Scotland
(http://www.lawscot.org.uk),
a
non-­‐executive
director
of
North
Lanarkshire
Leisure
Limited,
a
member
of
the
International
Coach
Federation
(http://www.coachfederation.org)
and
a
mentor
on
the
IDEAS
business
accelerator
programme
(http://www.idea-­‐scotland.co.uk/).
During
2014,
Graham
devoted
considerable
time
to
the
business
affairs
of
his
daughter,
Sally
(www.sallywatson.com)
who
plays
golf
professionally
on
the
Ladies
European
Tour
(LET).
He
also
used
his
skills
as
a
high
performance
coach
during
his
work
throughout
the
year
as
a
caddie
for
Sally.
In
2014,
her
rookie
season
on
the
LET,
Sally
finished
23rd
in
the
Order
of
Merit.
Graham
has
been
recognised
as
one
of
the
Top
50
Leadership
Experts
to
Follow
on
Twitter
(www.twitter.com/posleadership).
The
Positive
Leadership
Blog
(http://positiveleadershiplimited.blogspot.co.uk)
has
been
recognised
as
a
Top
50
Leadership
Blog
by
the
number
of
pages
indexed
by
Google
and
as
one
of
the
Top
100
Most
Socially
Shared
Leadership
Blogs
of
2013.
Graham
is
a
Fellow
of
The
Royal
Society
for
the
encouragement
of
Arts,
Manufactures
and
Commerce
(http://www.thersa.org).
Graham
has
been
endorsed
widely
on
LinkedIn
for
the
following
skills:
Business
Strategy,
Leadership
Development,
Entrepreneurship,
Mergers
&
Acquisitions,
Private
Equity,
Corporate
Finance
and
Executive
Coaching.
Detailed
Experience
Chief
Executive,
Positive
Leadership
Limited
January
2004
–
Present
Graham
is
responsible
for
business
development
and
all
client
engagements
undertaken
by
Positive
Leadership
(www.positiveleadership.co.uk).
Graham
is
passionate
about
the
significance
of
values
based
leadership
in
business
today.
He
researches
comprehensively,
writes
extensively
and
speaks
frequently
on
the
topic.
Bringing
the
Values
of
Positive
Leadership™ to
bear
on
client
engagements
has
been
extremely
rewarding.
By
way
of
example,
Graham
used
the
PLL
methodology
to
secure
and
enhance
the
outcome
of
a
complex
and
delicate
transaction
in
which
he
assisted
a
City
based
client
dispose
of
a
Lloyds
of
London
Managing
Agent
and
Syndicate
to
a
US
based
investor.
He
has
also
worked
closely
with
a
large
Scottish
family
company
and
two
Universities
to
help
pilot
and
deliver
mentoring
support
to
an
innovative
business
accelerator
programme.
He
has
also
been
involved
in
media
work
on
behalf
of
a
community
led
initiative
to
secure
ownership
of
one
of
Scotland’s
leading
football
clubs
-­‐
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/218276-­‐scotland-­‐tonight-­‐can-­‐dunfermline-­‐athletic-­‐
avoid-­‐liquidation/
Long
term
clients
have
included
Bioflow
Sport,
Macfarlane
Gray
and
Winning
Scotland
Foundation
(see
further
details
below).

3. 3
Other
significant
clients
have
included
Technip,
HSBC,
NHS,
Electrical
Contractors'
Insurance
Holdings,
ACCA,
Stanford
University,
School
Leaders
Scotland,
DC
Thomson.
Long-­‐term
client
relationships
of
Positive
Leadership
Limited
Strategic
Adviser
(on
secondment
from
Positive
Leadership
Limited)
Bioflow
Sport
(over
4
years)
The
Bioflow
brand
(www.bioflowsport.com)
was
created
in
1995
and
Bioflow
has
since
grown
into
being
one
of
the
world's
leading
suppliers
of
magnetic
wrist
products.
Graham
used
his
connections
to
help
Biolflow
enter
the
global
sports
market
for
the
first
time,
giving
product
development
advice
and
securing
commercial
endorsements
with
(at
the
time)
World
#1
golfer,
Lee
Westwood.
Strategic
Adviser
(on
secondment
from
Positive
Leadership
Limited)
Macfarlane
Gray
Corporate
Finance
(over
8
years)
Macfarlane
Gray
Group
(http://www.macfarlanegray.co.uk)
–
now
part
of
French
Duncan
CA
-­‐
provides
business
advice
and
services
to
the
SME
and
entrepreneurial
market
across
Scotland.
Graham
established
a
corporate
finance
division
for
Macfarlane
Gray
and
led
the
initiation
and
delivery
of
numerous
M&A,
business
planning,
corporate
governance
and
capital
raising
transactions
focused
on
the
SME
and
entrepreneurial
market.
Executive
Director
(on
secondment
from
Positive
Leadership
Limited)
Winning
Scotland
Foundation
(over
5
years)
Winning
Scotland
Foundation
(http://www.winningscotlandfoundation.org/)
is
an
independent
business-­‐led
charity,
co-­‐founded
by
Graham,
which
is
working
to
create
a
positive,
winning
attitude
amongst
young
Scots,
using
sport
as
the
catalyst.
Under
Graham’s
leadership,
WSF
raised
over
£4m
from
donors
around
the
world.
Graham
built
a
high
quality,
superbly
motivated
management
team
from
a
zero
base
and
was
responsible
for
initiating
and
leading
all
projects
delivered
by
WSF.
All
WSF
projects
involved
collaboration
with
3rd
parties
and
Graham
was
responsible
for
identifying
and
building
these
partnership
arrangements.
By
way
of
example,
Graham
sourced
and
led
the
Positive
Coaching
project
-­‐
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/7646639.stm
Key
non-­‐executive
positions
held
during
the
past
ten
years:
Member
of
the
Council
The
Law
Society
of
Scotland
(since
June
2014)
The
Law
Society
of
Scotland
(http://www.lawscot.org.uk)
is
the
professional
body
for
Scottish
solicitors.
The
Society
promotes
excellence
across
the
solicitor
profession
through
representation,
support
and
regulation
of
its
members.
It
also
helps
to
shape
the
law
for
the
benefit
of
both
the
public
and
the
profession.
The
Society
was
established
in
1949
and
is
financed
by
its
members
without
any
funding
from
government.
All
practising
solicitors
are
members
of
the
Society.

4. 4
Non-­‐Executive
Director
and
Chair
of
the
Audit
Committee
North
Lanarkshire
Leisure
Limited
(since
September
2007)
North
Lanarkshire
Leisure
(http://www.nlleisure.co.uk)
delivers
sport,
recreational
and
health
improving
services
to
the
community
of
North
Lanarkshire.
This
highly
successful,
£27m
income
Company
is
responsible
for
the
management
and
operation
of
over
200
sport
and
leisure
facilities
in
North
Lanarkshire.
During
Graham’s
tenure,
NLL
has
recorded
over
30
consecutive
quarters
of
revenue
growth.
Graham
has
been
a
keen
advocate
of
a
major
initiative
designed
to
‘value
the
person’
within
NLL.
Bringing
over
700
staff
who
have
spent
their
careers
in
local
government
into
a
not
for
profit,
business
led
organisation
is
a
challenge.
However,
as
a
result
of
the
aforementioned
programme,
staff
absence
levels
have
almost
halved.
NLL
has
demonstrated
that
for
every
£1
of
public
sector
investment,
it
puts
back
over
£4
into
the
community.
Partner
–
Corporate
Finance
Deloitte
(www.deloitte.com)
April
1992
–
December
2003
Deloitte
is
the
largest
accounting
firm
in
the
world.
As
a
partner,
based
in
Edinburgh
and
latterly
in
San
Francisco,
Graham
led
many
successful
corporate
finance
transactions
for
a
broad
variety
of
clients
in
a
wide
range
of
industries.
As
a
partner,
Graham
was
responsible
for
all
aspects
of
growing
a
successful
national
practice.
During
his
time
in
the
USA
he
was
the
partner
in
charge
of
the
corporate
finance
private
equity
and
venture
capital
groups.
Graham
was
US
FINRA
Series
7,24
and
63
qualified.
Graham’s
work
during
this
period
involved
all
aspects
of
leading
a
successful
corporate
finance
firm
–
business
development,
transaction
initiation
and
delivery,
team
leadership,
working
with
multi-­‐disciplined
teams
of
professionals
from
many
offices
within
the
global
Deloitte
firm,
as
well
as
with
other
professional
service
providers
and
client
personnel.
Graham
travelled
extensively
around
the
world
in
this
role.
Graham
attended
the
IMD
business
school
in
Switzerland
on
a
Deloitte
sponsored
programme
in
1996.
Chief
Executive
Carnegie
Sports
International
Limited
1989
–
1992
Graham
founded
this
sports
management
and
marketing
company
with
the
backing
of
leading
Scottish
entrepreneur,
Sir
David
Murray.
Under
Graham’s
leadership,
Carnegie
was
responsible
for
creating
the
forerunner
of
one
of
the
world’s
major
rugby
competitions,
now
styled
SuperRugby
(http://www.superxv.com).
Graham
also
led
many
stadium-­‐financing
projects,
including
working
for
the
Scottish
Rugby
Union,
Arsenal
FC,
West
Ham
United
FC
and
Glasgow
Rangers
FC.

5. 5
Director
Noble
Grossart
Limited
(http://www.noblegrossart.co.uk)
1984
–
1989
Noble
Grossart
is
a
Scottish
based
merchant
bank
that
was
formed
in
1969.
It
concentrates
on
providing
corporate
advice
and
investment
banking
support
and
has
a
position
of
unique
flexibility
and
independence
within
the
UK
merchant
banking
sector.
Corporate
finance
activities
include
capital
raising,
mergers
and
acquisitions,
management
buy-­‐outs,
corporate
restructuring
and
debt
funding
advice.
Graham
was
the
bank’s
youngest
director.
His
experience
included
advising
the
former
managing
director
of
the
Hong
Kong
based
Mandarin
Oriental
hotel
group.
Staff
Accountant
(based
in
Edinburgh
and
Atlanta
(USA))
KPMG
(www.kpmg.com)
1979
–
1983
Education
Institute
of
Chartered
Accountants
of
Scotland
CA,
Graduated
with
Distinction
The
University
of
Edinburgh,
Law
School
LLB,
Graduated
Magna
Cum
Laude
George
Heriot's
School,
Edinburgh
School
Captain
Passions
Family,
Golf,
All
Sports,
Travel
Personal
Details
Married
with
two
daughters
–
both
Scottish
international
golfer

6. 6
References
Sir
Ewan
Brown,
Chairman,
Scottish
Financial
Enterprise
eb80@st-­‐andrews.ac.uk
Mr
Angus
Cockburn,
Group
CFO,
Serco
Group
plc
angus.cockburn@serco.com
Mr
Ralph
Adams
Partner,
Deloitte
raadams@deloitte.co.uk
Contact
Details
Email:
graham.watson@positiveleadership.co.uk
Skype
ID:
gfwatson
Phone:
+44
(0)
777
488
3103
(mobile)
Positive
Leadership
Limited
Ogilvie
House
77
High
Street
Earlsferry
Fife
KY9
1AH,
UK
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamfwatson
AboutMe:
http://about.me/positiveleadership
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/posleadership
Website:
www.positiveleadership.co.uk
Blog:
http://positiveleadershiplimited.blogspot.co.uk