Nick Westby

I bring clarity to executives and empower delivery teams, combining strategic vision with the credibility of hands-on experience. I excel in pre-sales Client strategy with 7 years of expertise leading Immersive solutions and many more across Architecture, Exhibition Design & Fabrication. I have a forensic eye for discovery and design opportunity and a chameleon-like ability to morph into complex teams and activate progress.

Global Customer Solutions & Design Manager at Igloo Vision Ltd (2022-11 – 2025-04)

Leading global turnkey supplier of Immersive Rooms & simulation/virtual environments. Established a Solutions Group for consultative Biz Dev leads, targeting pitch-perfect proposals through holistic Client discovery, rapid feasibility studies, strategic leadership of Design & Engineering team, and consistency & risk control across technical & contract info.

• Tackling scope, dependencies & client risk head-on we improved the precision of documentation, streamlining contracting and improving project execution & margin.
• Nurtured a service revenue-stream from negligible to 10-15% fee – reducing reliance on hardware margin and allowing greater vendor-role flexibility.
• Conducted full technical and architectural site discovery producing detailed SOWs, dependencies & boundary definitions in addition to full design deliverables.

Global Installations Manager at Igloo Vision Ltd (2019-09 – 2022-11)

Portfolio Management of Global Installations (PPM) and Design Management of post-contract deliverables. With a holistic view of quality & risk this included design & client engagement, vetting fabrication & supplier specifications, FAT, site implementation, SAT and handover.

• Escalation point for global production team for technical information or navigating contract administration or fraught stakeholder engagement, dependencies & 3rd party scope deflection.
• Mentor for on-site problem solving and best-practice.
• Partnership role with PMO to ensure delivery schedules & resource pipeline. Implemented reformed resource plans to create risk buffers & flexibility to achieve handover deadlines.
• Acting Senior PM for high-value installations and preparation of complex Project Plans.

Senior Project Manager at Igloo Vision Ltd (2018-11 – 2019-08)

Professionalised production practices as the business transitioned focus from events to permanent installations. Led by example adopting a pro-active culture of internal & client communication. Strengthened design control, scheduling, RAMS, and on-site procedures for scalable & compliant delivery, reducing the number of repeat visits by a factor of 3.

Project Manager, B-made at Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London UCL (2014-05 – 2017-07)

Established a Production function allowing major exhibitions, research projects, and bespoke commercial work to be realised by activating the latent potential within the facility.

• Conducted Design reviews, coordination & value engineering with clients & stakeholders.
• Prepared working drawings for engineering review & manufacture.
• Negotiated equipment allocation, managed budgets, procurement, staff resourcing & RAMS.
• Commissioned building & infrastructure work to support projects.

Workshop Manager at Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London UCL (2015-07 – 2016-05)

Managed staff, resources, supplies, material logistics, H&S, training & inductions for approx. 15 staff with open access to 800+ students. Acted as torchbearer for the generous & nurturing culture of this creative powerhouse.

Teaching Fellow in Making / Design Tutor BSc Yr1 Architecture / M-Arch & Degree Dissertation technical tutor at Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London UCL (2009-01 – 2016-12)

Teaching positions including Teaching Fellow in Making, Design Tutor BSc Year 1 Architecture, and M-Arch & Degree Dissertation technical tutor.

Designer & Producer at Creative Design & Fabrication / Production (2010-01 – 2019-12)

Produced Exhibitions, Brand Activations, Sculptures & prototypes to the very highest production values including at the V&A Museum, Tate Britain & The Royal Academy. Through an enduring partnership with the curator of the ARUP collection produced over 15 exhibitions & sculptures including a research & restoration project concerning the method of construction of the Sydney Opera House roof - 'Erection-Arch Model'.

• Produced over 15 exhibitions & sculptures with the curator of the ARUP collection including research & restoration project concerning the method of construction of the Sydney Opera House roof - 'Erection-Arch Model'.
• Commission from the deputy chair for their 50th anniversary.
• Put a temporary lake containing 4 tonnes of 11% ABV punch in a Grade-1 listed building and a temporary boating lake on the roof of Selfridges.
• Floated an Architectural folly on the Thames and made the world's first 6' Sprinkle fountain.

Architectural Drafter at Barnaby Gunning Architects (2009-01)

Architectural drafting for intricate buildings involving custom furniture and unusual geometry.

Architect at Sutherland Hussey Architects (2004-01 – 2006-12)

Responsibility for Planning Drawings up to £4million budget. Prepared packages for Building Regulation approval. Producing 2D, 3D visualisations & presentation work.

R&D Durability Testing Team Member at TRW Lucas

Year-out placement in an automotive R&D durability testing team.

M.Arch in Architecture – University College London (UCL), Architecture (2006-01 – 2009-12)

B.Sc in Architecture – University College London (UCL), Architecture (2001-01 – 2004-12)