It is difficult to speak of Nigel in the past tense, and even harder to write the obituary of a friend like Nigel. More than a decade of friendship and fun was cut short by his unexpected passing — yet death could not extinguish the bonds he forged with so many over the years. He touched countless lives in unique and meaningful ways. I met Nigel during my time in Coventry. His dry, often cold humour became the foundation of a friendship strengthened by our shared social and academic commitments to reading and writing. His banter was often politically incorrect, yet it was crafted with self-deprecating wit rather than any intent to belittle others or lean on stereotypes. Nigel received his MBA from the Open University, UK, and his PhD from Coventry University, UK. He referred to his certificates as “merely A4-sized expensive papers to inflate his ego in a supermarket called universities” and never took himself seriously as a scholar. He published numerous articles, book chapters, and conference papers, in addition to authoring four books.
As a researcher, Nigel published extensively, with his work critically examining the disempowering impacts of AI-driven digitalisation and technology. Between 2013 and 2023, as a strategic practitioner, he authored more than thirty-nine articles and policy papers on technology and innovation for Oxford Analytica, a leading think tank shaping global strategy across diverse fields. He consistently argued that technological innovation and strategy should be directed toward empowering people and promoting the sustainable growth of small businesses and society. Very early on, Nigel recognised the rise of techno-authoritarianism, long before many of his fellow academics began speaking about techno-feudalism. He had planned to write on what he termed digital colonialism, envisioning a world where platform companies acted as the crowns, AI companies formed the nobility, and together they imposed their techno-strategies upon traditional companies and their businesses — the vassals in this new digital colonial order. As part of his social and political commitment, he advocated for gender-sensitive AI designed to promote female entrepreneurial leadership.
As a teacher, Nigel was deeply committed to his students and to the craft of teaching. His classrooms were infused with humour, warmth, and friendship, shaped by the democratic atmosphere he cultivated to create a truly enriching learning experience. Mr Ingmar Kupferer, one of Nigel’s MBA students at the Open University, wrote on LinkedIn:
“Nigel was my tutor in the Entrepreneurship elective during my MBA studies with the Open University. I was lucky to have Nigel tutoring my group and enjoyed his professionalism, his broad knowledge and experience, his dedication as well as his focused feedback. Nigel is outstanding in his ability to make stakeholders contribute and in his respectful and supportive responses. I especially appreciated his dedication to our group, as he proactively supported us with details, insights, and further data. His passion for education can be felt in all his activities. He is an example for every tutor and an ‘asset’ for every student.”
This is just one example of Nigel’s lasting impact on his students and on the quality of their learning experience. He rejected hierarchy, managerialism, commercialisation and rigid marking systems in higher education, instead embracing an egalitarian approach to education both within and outside classrooms. These ideals were not only central to his teaching but also to the person he was. Nigel taught both postgraduate and undergraduate modules, including Platform Strategies and Internet Disruption and Data Analytics, and explored topics ranging from innovation and sustainability to corporate strategy and artificial intelligence. His research directly informed his teaching, ensuring his students benefited from the latest thinking in the field. As a PhD supervisor, he was a committed and engaged mentor, immersing himself in each student’s work as if it were his own.
Before entering academia, Nigel spent a decade (1980–1990) as a senior manager at a US multinational company, followed by another decade (1990–2000) as a strategic consultant in these roles, he was responsible for tendering consulting projects for large corporations and government departments. His experience in corporates shaped his critical outlook, making him highly sceptical of capitalism as a system. But Nigel was not a Marxist, yet he once compared capitalist society to a “strip club” — one that not only ‘commodifies women’s bodies but also strips away human dignity’. He was a wellspring of humour, often hidden behind a serious facial expression like a pretentious professor. He once described this side of himself as “part of the tight-lipped English culture to hide the emptiness within,” before adding, with characteristic sharpness, that “he is not wicked like the racist English ruling class conservatives.” Nigel was a free spirit who believed deeply in human freedom, equality, and dignity.
Nigel worked at several universities, including Worcester, Coventry, UCA, the Open University in Milton Keynes, the University of Southern Denmark, Politecnico di Milano, Cranfield University, and Aston University. His most recent position was Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Innovation at Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth, England. He told me that Portsmouth provided him with research space and actively supported his research endeavours. He was looking forward to becoming an Associate Professor in line with the university’s professional commitment to promotion, based on his performance—despite not believing in academic titles and hierarchies. He humorously remarked that “this academic promotion means I can buy more nuts while drinking in pubs in Portsmouth.”
Tragically, his death not only ended his dream of celebrating life and academia but also took him away from his “fun-loving friends,” whom Nigel fondly described as “decadent twats who feel entitled by working in universities without understanding the social and material realities of working people and their everyday lives.” Nigel was never a conformist. He was truly and unapologetically radical in his liberal outlook, refusing to be confined within any ideological lanes. He argued that ideological puritanism, in any form, was both religious and reactionary. He despised all forms of religious, political, social, cultural, educational, economic and institutional denominations and divisions. As a practising atheist, his jokes about God were at their best and delightfully humorous. While drinking red wine one evening, he quipped, “God created the world, the sea, and the heavens in six days. On the seventh day, God created wine so that men and women could enjoy without any inhibitions.”
Nigel loved women, wine, fun, and friendships. Reading, teaching and research were his hobbies, while running was part of his morning and weekend routine. He would not have wanted his friends to mourn his passing. Instead, he would have quietly said, “Join me for some more sin,” by which he meant enjoying life and having fun. He truly believed that life is a celebration and lived it every day. I do not know whether he consumed life or life consumed him but I have lost a great friend and co-author, whose banter carried a commitment that was immeasurable. There is no one like you in England to tell me, “Stop hiding in fucking philosophical language and theories—write in simple and accessible words like a working-class boy.” I have promised to celebrate our friendship and complete our unfinished research together. You once told me, “You do not believe in the idea of reincarnation; it is a way to control the present for an unseen future. Everyday enjoyment is real.” My friend, may you continue to enjoy life and death. All your friends celebrate you, as always. I know you would hate this write-up, but this is my way of trying to recover from the news of your passing.
Adieu Nigel, my friend—and do not forget that “fuck” was your favourite word in life for questioning every form of power.