MARK
NICOLSON
ABOUT OFFERINGS CONTACT
Executive Coach • Advisor • Facilitator
About
Mark Nicolson
PsyD • MBA • MA
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Mark Nicolson has spent three decades consulting and teaching on transformative leadership – in organizations and in individuals. His clients include cultural leaders, partnerships, VCs, and social-change visionaries.
Early in his career he worked in investment banking in the UK and Hong Kong before becoming a partner in Alexander, the UK pioneer in executive coaching. A two-year sabbatical managing the garden at Esalen Institute in the late '90s reshaped his life and his work. He holds a Doctorate in Psychology from Meridian University, an MBA from Stanford, and an MA in Classical Literature from Oxford.
Selected Clients and Collaborators
IDEO • HOPELAB • ESALEN INSTITUTE • DESMOND & LEAH TUTU
GATES FOUNDATION • CREDIT KARMA • SONY • ELEVATE PRIZE
BIONEERS • STANFORD UNIVERSITY • AFFIRM • FRESH TRI
In Mark's Words
Born in England, for the first 30 years of my life I was shaped by, and embedded in, the dominant culture of western Europe – both its colonialism and its liberalism. I studied classics (ancient Latin and Greek) at Oxford, went into investment banking, and did an MBA at Stanford.
Then, about 30 years ago, I had a spiritual awakening where I understood my true nature, and saw how profoundly I had taken on the values of individualism so that I could be successful within that culture.
Since that time, I have continued to wake up to the ways in which I can help myself and others become free to live lives of purpose, connection, and joy, as well as support social and environmental justice.
I moved to the US to live and study at Esalen Institute for two years where I managed the garden. Since then, I have supported cultural leaders to find the inner and outer resources to create the world they want to live in. I have worked as a coach to individuals, organizational leaders and their teams, cultural leaders, as well as to large systems and social movements. Cultural leaders find imaginative ways to break the rules of our culture and expand our notions of what culture can be.
"I love to challenge people to transform – with love and respect. I have a gift for seeing where people get in their own way, where they do not see their own brilliance and beauty, and how to find their inner compass."
In recent years, I have included the preparation for, and integration of, plant medicine journeys in my work and now recognize that they are one of the most powerful forces for personal and social transformation. I believe that the practice of plant medicines will become widespread and usher in a vast change in our culture over the next ten years and beyond.
I have trained in two traditions for working with the preparation for and integration of plant medicine journeys (one shamanic and one mainstream Western medical) and have completed my Doctorate in Psychology with a focus on integrating experiences of MDMA.
I love to challenge people to transform – with love and respect. I have a gift for seeing where people get in their own way, where they do not see their own brilliance and beauty, and how to find their inner compass. I help people find their full power and genius so that they can manifest possibilities for the evolution of humanity.
Writing & Speaking
Rolling Stone • 2026
Inside the New Psychedelic Awakening
"Around the country people are taking hallucinogens not for fun, but to seek a deeper spiritual connection to the universe and the divine" - Claire Hoffman
TEDx Santa Cruz • 2012
How Leaders Learn
Mark explores why becoming a more effective leader means turning toward–not away from–the emotional challenges that shape us.
Undimmed • 2026
Respect
A podcast on clarity, intention, and conscious living—featuring guests who share paths to freedom, presence, and purpose.