Most career change content is written for people in their twenties. This show isn't. Every episode is a straight conversation with someone who spent decades inside an organisation and then built work they own, on their terms and often from somewhere else. What it cost, what worked, and what they'd tell themselves at the start.
Your host
Meet Jamie
Jamie Sylvian
Jamie Sylvian is the founder of Executive Nomad. He has worked independently since 1991, co-founded SIRA Utilities, the business that led to the creation of uSwitch.com (sold for £210 million in 2006), and has built client bases in thirteen countries.
1991Working independently since
£210muSwitch.com sale, 2006
13Countries with client bases
"You gave the corporation your best years. It does not get to decide what happens to the rest of your life."Jamie Sylvian
Jamie is looking for cohosts for The Executive Nomad Podcast, and there's room for two.
You'd sit beside Jamie and bring your own view on independent life: fractional work, travel, a business that moves with you. You might be living it already, or seriously curious about it. We want the questions that are in a listener's head.
The practical bit: episodes run 20 to 30 minutes, filmed on Riverside, about once a month. Each recording slot is an hour at most. We start with a three-month pilot of three episodes. No fee. You get a credited seat and a clip of each episode to share, and we handle the editing and publishing. If you've got a show of your own, Jamie will join it too. No exclusivity, and either of us can walk away after the pilot.
ExecutiveNomad.fm is for experienced professionals who've reached the point where the job no longer fits the life. Some have been made redundant. Some have sold a business. Some have simply had enough of someone else deciding where they live and when they work.
Each episode is a straight conversation with someone who has made that move, or helps others make it. No rehearsed answers. No pitch. Just what happened, what it cost, and what worked.
01
Experience first.
Guests who've done the work, not people who talk about it.
02
Unscripted.
No talking points. Honest answers, including the bits that went wrong.
03
Across borders.
Guests and listeners in different countries, time zones and stages of life.
Jamie Sylvian
Your host
The hat stays on. The conversation stays real.
Jamie Sylvian is the founder of Executive Nomad. He has worked independently since 1991, co-founded SIRA Utilities, the business that led to the creation of uSwitch.com (sold for £210 million in 2006), and has built client bases in thirteen countries.
He lives and works across Europe, and is the author of Executive Nomad.
1991Working independently since
£210muSwitch.com sale, 2006
13Countries with client bases
The Executive Nomad story
An analogue nomad.
In the early '90s, Jamie bought a series of books on what was then called the "perpetual traveller" life. It was two years before the internet was a thing, so, in his words, he was an analogue nomad. The idea for Executive Nomad came together years later, over one glass of wine too many, in a Greek harbour town.
Today Executive Nomad helps experienced professionals turn decades of expertise into businesses they own, run from wherever they choose to live.
Work where you're valued.Live where you're inspired.
In the early '90s I left the idea of a fixed office behind. Back then it was called being a "perpetual traveller", two years before the internet was a thing. Thirty years and thirteen countries later, I still haven't gone back.
What I've learned is that the people with the most to say about building a life of your own are rarely the ones being interviewed. People like the finance director who left at 55 and now advises three companies. The colonel who turned twenty-five years of leadership into a consultancy. The founder who sold up and then had to work out what came next.
That's who this show is for. If that's you, come and tell your story.
Jamie
Is this you?
Who's a great fit
You spent ten years or more inside a corporation, the military, government or your own business
You've built something of your own since: advisory, coaching, consulting, a portfolio or a new venture
You'll talk honestly about what it cost and what worked, not just the highlights
You'd rather share something useful than pitch
Why come on the show
What you get
A recorded conversation with Jamie, in his studio, from wherever you are
Edited clips for your own channels
The full episode to share with your network
Your profile and links on the episode page
An audience of experienced professionals who are where you once were
How it works
Four steps, no fuss
Pick a session.
Choose a date from the line-up.
Book your slot.
You bring the subject. Tell us what you'd like to talk about.
Tell us about you.
A short application, about five minutes.
Record remotely.
You'll get the joining link, a set-up checklist and reminders. No pre-show call needed unless you'd like one.
Jamie is looking for cohosts for The Executive Nomad Podcast, and there's room for two.
You'd sit beside Jamie and bring your own view on independent life: fractional work, travel, a business that moves with you. You might be living it already, or seriously curious about it. We want the questions that are in a listener's head.
The practical bit: episodes run 20 to 30 minutes, filmed on Riverside, about once a month. Each recording slot is an hour at most. We start with a three-month pilot of three episodes. No fee. You get a credited seat and a clip of each episode to share, and we handle the editing and publishing. If you've got a show of your own, Jamie will join it too. No exclusivity, and either of us can walk away after the pilot.
Last 18 months. Ten cities. One borderless business
Thessaloniki, Greece
London, UK
My apartment. Because you don't have to travel.
Malaga, Spain
Sofia, Bulgaria
Paphos, Cyprus
Kavala, Greece
Bath, UK
Bansko, Bulgaria
Valletta, Malta
Budapest, Hungary
Thessaloniki, Greece
London, UK
My apartment. Because you don't have to travel.
Malaga, Spain
Sofia, Bulgaria
Paphos, Cyprus
Kavala, Greece
Bath, UK
Bansko, Bulgaria
Valletta, Malta
Budapest, Hungary
Jamie as a guest
Jamie Sylvian brings a candid founder's perspective to building a business across borders. He discusses the reality of leading a dispersed team, working across cultures and generations, testing ideas and choosing the tools that help the work get done.
Approaching sixty, Jamie is building Executive Nomad to help experienced professionals and business owners turn decades of expertise into flexible, independent businesses. He is willing to discuss the wins, losses, changed assumptions and unresolved questions that come with building it.
For hosts
Interview angles
01
Building a category while building the business
Why the business needs a recognisable identity, and whether people adopt it.
Possible episode“Can you build a category before the market agrees with you?”
02
The realities of a borderless business
How geography affects delivery, communication, routines and customer confidence.
Possible episode“What it actually takes to run a business across borders”
03
Leading a dispersed team
Hiring, delegation, written instructions, accountability and time zones.
Possible episode“How do you stop becoming the bottleneck in your own remote business?”
04
Working across cultures and generations
Different expectations around feedback, initiative, hierarchy and working hours.
Possible episode“What happens when your team has different assumptions about work?”
05
Building a business approaching sixty
Why build now, how experience changes judgement, and what the business should add to life.
Possible episode“Why build another business approaching sixty?”
06
The tools behind the business
What each tool does, what needs human judgement, and when a subscription adds more work than value.
Possible episode“Which tools actually help a small international team?”
07
Life as an Executive Nomad
A normal week, earning and location, and the parts of independence that need discipline.
Possible episode“What does independence look like on an ordinary Tuesday?”
08
Ideas and the cost of pursuing them
Spotting opportunities, judging ideas and deciding what to build.
Possible episode“When the founder has more ideas than the team can deliver”
Every conversation runs on real wins, losses and lessons: the situation, the decision, the consequence and what Jamie does differently now.
Short bio
Jamie Sylvian is the founder of Executive Nomad, helping experienced professionals and business owners turn decades of expertise into flexible, independent businesses. Independent since 1991, he brings international experience across several sectors. His podcast conversations explore building across borders, leading dispersed teams, developing ideas and building a business approaching sixty, including the decisions, setbacks and lessons along the way.
Full bioRead Jamie's full bio
Jamie Sylvian is the founder of Executive Nomad, a business helping experienced professionals and business owners turn what they know into independent ways of earning, with greater control over time and location.
He has worked independently since 1991, with experience spanning strategy, communications, utilities, digital business, corporate advisory and international business. He cofounded SIRA Utilities, which led to the creation of uSwitch.com. uSwitch was sold for £210 million in 2006.
Jamie is now building Executive Nomad while approaching sixty. His interest is both commercial and personal: how to use accumulated experience to build a business that fits the life you want next.
As a podcast guest, he discusses category creation, borderless business, dispersed teams, cultural and age differences, practical tools and the process of turning ideas into something customers value. He brings the perspective of a founder still making decisions and testing assumptions, with a willingness to discuss what worked, what failed and what he is learning.
For hosts
Suggested introduction
“My guest is Jamie Sylvian, founder of Executive Nomad. Jamie has worked independently since 1991 and is now building a business that helps experienced people turn what they know into more independent ways of earning. Today we are talking about [agreed episode topic], including what he has learned and what he is still figuring out.”
For hosts
Suggested questions
Why are you building Executive Nomad now, and what would make the effort worthwhile?
How will you know whether Executive Nomad is becoming a category people actually use?
What is harder about running a dispersed team than people assume?
Where has someone from another generation or culture changed your thinking?
Which idea did you stop pursuing, and why?
What does a normal working week reveal about the independence you are trying to build?
For podcast interviews and guest enquiries, contact Monicah, who coordinates Jamie's appearances. Please include your show link, audience, proposed topic, format and preferred recording dates.
Jamie SylvianExecutive NomadA field guide for converting corporate expertise into consulting, coaching and NED portfolios
The book
Executive Nomad, by Jamie Sylvian
A field guide for converting corporate expertise into consulting, coaching and NED portfolios
This is not a career change book. It's not a job search manual. And it is definitely not about starting again.
It's written for senior professionals who have already done the hard part. Decades of leadership, real responsibility, boardrooms, restructures, wins, losses and lessons. And who now find themselves asking a quieter question: what's next?
Inside, you'll learn how to:
Extract commercial value from your career wins, losses and lessons
Reposition yourself as a consultant, coach, mentor, workshop facilitator or non-executive director
Build a portfolio career that works part time but pays properly
Avoid the traps of CV rewrites, job boards and hope-based LinkedIn strategies
If you're looking for another job, this book isn't for you.
"Jamie helped me solidify my thinking around branding. He offered suggestions on how to launch and bring in initial clients."Debra Mitchell PhD, Clinical Research Advisor and Consultant
