I’ve been wanting to record an episode with Nabil for ages, but there simply hasn’t been time. He moved from one fast paced role to another most recently holding the position of Global Chief Creative Officer at Soho House. I’m pleased to say that finally he’s taking a breather (although even that involves a course at Harvard University) so I caught him just long enough to share his story with you. 

We talk about his fascinating background growing up in Singapore with the expectations that loomed over him. He shares a point where he felt he had failed, the shame that he experienced and the reflection that ensued in what some may consider unusual circumstances – in the jungle during 2 years military service. Nabil’s creativity started early in life but was further ignited by time spent at London College of Fashion, followed by roles held with three globally iconic brands – Urban Outfitters, Selfridges and most recently (at the tender age of 28) the position at Soho House. 

Nabil is hungry for growth, deeply committed to continually stretching himself and explains in simple terms how earlier on in life a lack of role-models while pursuing the creative route was hard… 

“I'm the guy who would, who would stay back sewing things or painting or whatever it might be. It was always a creative pursuit. It was always about expression. Definitely not football and definitely not playing with the lego set. That was My brother. And I guess at that point, I thought, Okay, this is what being a creative means, but I didn't have role models, then per se, to say, Oh, this is a career path, I couldn't make a living out of this. And Singapore back then was the be all and end all for me. I hadn't really travelled elsewhere, to say oh, you could be a creative director, whatever that means. So, at 15, you, you have a feeling, and you try to manifest as best as possible by eliminating options. And I think that's the hardest thing to do.”

But also, how having role-models as an adult enables him to craft his career with even more care. 

“One of the benefits of having role models in your career is that you get to reverse engineer your way? Checking is it OK? If you have 50 years of work life - how do you want to make the most of that time? How can you pace yourself? Most importantly, so that you are peaking at absolutely the right time, when you have the most to give.” 

If you are curious about who you are, your brain and the role-models and influences in your life then you may enjoy my most recent book Mirror Thinking – How Role Models Make Us Human. 

https://bit.ly/MirrThink

For more from me go to: 

https://fionamurden.com