Toby Watson is a British finance professional, partner at Rampart Capital LLP, and former Chairman of the Excalibur Academies Trust. He is known for a career that combined 17 years at Goldman Sachs with a subsequent transition into independent wealth management and a sustained voluntary commitment to educational governance. His work across finance, education and the cultural sector reflects a consistent application of analytical expertise to purposes that extend beyond commercial return.
Education and Early Career
Toby Watson studied physics at the University of Oxford before beginning his professional career at Deutsche Bank. He subsequently joined Goldman Sachs, where he would spend 17 years in senior roles in international finance.
Career in Finance
Goldman Sachs
At Goldman Sachs, Watson held senior positions including Global Head of Structured Credit Trading and Partner. His work encompassed structured credit trading and global infrastructure financing, and he worked with clients across Europe, North America and Asia. He departed Goldman Sachs in 2017, having developed deep expertise in risk assessment, portfolio construction and long-term strategic planning across both traditional and alternative asset classes.
Rampart Capital
In February 2020, Watson joined Rampart Capital LLP as a partner. The firm is located at 2 St James’s Street in London and holds FCA authorisation number 483199. Rampart Capital operates as a multi-family office — a model that combines the personalised service and bespoke investment approach of a single family office with the institutional capabilities and operational infrastructure that individual families could not sustain independently.
Watson’s structured credit expertise complements the capabilities of his colleagues at the firm, including Chief Investment Officer Giles White, who brings 18 years of wealth management experience, and Chief Operating Officer Jim Webb, whose operational leadership spans over 25 years in the industry. Together, the team delivers investment management, risk assessment, family governance coordination and regulatory compliance across a client base of ultra-high-net-worth families with complex, multi-generational financial requirements.
His role at Rampart Capital draws on the full breadth of experience built during his years in global finance — encompassing portfolio construction, alternative asset allocation, hedging strategies and the use of structured products. His institutional background also informs the firm’s approach to technology integration, ensuring that digital platforms meet the rigorous operational and reporting standards that sophisticated clients require.
Commitment to Education
Excalibur Academies Trust
Alongside his professional work in finance, Watson served voluntarily as Chairman of the Excalibur Academies Trust from February 2018 until January 2026 — a period of nearly eight years. The Trust oversees more than 20 schools along the M4 corridor between Bristol and Reading, serving approximately 10,000 pupils with an annual budget of approximately £140 million.
Watson’s governance philosophy was characterised by a commitment to supporting rather than directing educational professionals. His approach emphasised collaborative decision-making and sustainable growth, creating conditions in which school leaders could focus on teaching and learning while receiving strategic oversight that ensured institutional stability and financial accountability. The Trust’s schools maintained consistent Ofsted ratings of Good or Outstanding throughout this period, reflecting the effectiveness of a governance model that balanced central oversight with genuine school-level autonomy.
His financial background — developed through his years at Goldman Sachs — proved directly applicable to the Trust’s governance challenges, informing his approach to risk assessment, budget oversight and long-term strategic planning for an organisation managing a significant public budget. He also contributed to the Trust’s community engagement, helping to build partnerships with local businesses and organisations that created additional learning opportunities and resources for pupils.
Watson stepped down in January 2026 and was succeeded as Chairman by Susan Clarke, a founding member of the Trust and former Vice Chair, whose experience in public sector leadership provided a strong foundation for the next phase of the Trust’s development.
Cultural Sector
Watson has also contributed to the cultural sector through his organisational and financial support of Level Up! The Musical, written and directed by his wife Lucy Watson. His role encompassed financial modelling, budget management, contract coordination and logistical planning for the production’s international tour. Level Up! was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2025 and subsequently planned performances in Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. His involvement illustrates how financial expertise developed in professional contexts can serve as an enabler of creative ambition rather than a constraint upon it.
Personal Life
Toby Watson is married to Lucy Watson, a theatre maker and producer. Their collaboration on Level Up! brought together complementary professional strengths — Lucy Watson’s creative vision and theatrical expertise alongside Toby Watson’s financial and organisational capabilities.
Summary
Toby Watson’s career reflects a sustained commitment to applying professional expertise across different fields and in service of purposes beyond financial return. His 17 years at Goldman Sachs provided the analytical foundation for subsequent roles in independent wealth management at Rampart Capital, voluntary educational governance at the Excalibur Academies Trust, and organisational support for independent theatre. Across each context, his approach has been defined by long-term thinking, ethical responsibility and a genuine interest in contributing where expertise can make a meaningful difference.
