JP Nicols Advisor and Speaker

Helping leaders avoid becoming perfectly positioned for a world that no longer exists.

JP Nicols works with leaders on location and virtually

I help senior leaders navigate strategic inflection points where past success becomes a hidden constraint.

Today’s environment changes faster than most organizations can adapt. The habits, incentives, and resource decisions that drive success in one phase of growth quietly become the very constraints that slow adaptation in the next.

I call this The Irrelevance Trap, and most leaders do not see it until a moment of crisis. My work helps organizations recognize that moment earlier, while they still have meaningful choices.

How I Work

I am not a futurist, a hype-driven evangelist, or a motivational speaker.

My work is grounded in strategy, judgment, and decision clarity. I help leadership teams:

Surface the assumptions they are optimizing around,
Evaluate whether those assumptions still hold,
Make deliberate choices about what to extend, what to bend, and what to stop.

This is not about adding more initiatives or chasing the latest tool. It is about reallocating attention, capital, and leadership energy toward what will actually drive future relevance and resilience.

My engagements are practical, candid, and anchored in real-world leadership challenges. I do not deliver generic frameworks or recycled content. Each session is tailored to the context and strategic moment the organization faces.

Professional Background

I work with boards and executive teams to build strategic capacity, test new ideas faster, and create pathways for sustainable growth through my role as cofounder and managing director of the Alloy Labs Institute (formerly FinTech Forge). This blend of incumbent and innovator experience shapes the frameworks I teach and the advice I give on leadership and change.

I created and teach graduate-level programs on strategy, innovation, and leadership as a faculty member of leading banking schools since 2015, including Pacific Coast Banking School and the Graduate School of Banking at Wisconsin, where I am also a cofounder of their Digital Banking School. I developed and teach the executive capstone for senior banking leaders at the University of Washington Foster School of Business Global Banking Program.

I am cohost and executive producer of Breaking Banks, the #1 global fintech podcast, where I engage with executives, founders, regulators, and industry leaders from around the world about how financial services must evolve.

This combination of operating experience, advisory work, ongoing research, and media engagement gives me a 360-degree view of the ecosystem — what drives performance, what creates vulnerability, and what separates organizations that adapt from those that stagnate.

Speaking and Advisory Focus

My work is best suited for senior audiences with real decision authority, including executive teams, boards, and leadership groups responsible for established organizations facing structural change or competitive pressure.

I am typically engaged as a featured or closing keynote speaker, or in executive and board-level settings where context, judgment, and clarity matter more than inspiration alone.

Engagement Philosophy

I intentionally limit the number of speaking and advisory engagements each year to ensure depth of preparation and relevance to the audience. Every engagement begins with an alignment conversation to confirm fit, context, and desired outcomes. If the work is not a strong match, I will say so.

Select Credentials & Experience

Faculty — leading graduate schools of banking and executive programs
Cofounder — Alloy Labs
Cohost & Executive Producer — Breaking Banks, global fintech podcast
Featured in BBC World News, Forbes, American Banker, Credit Union Times, Business Insider, and The Financial Brand
Speaking engagements — Visa, Cisco, Oracle, Capital One, Bank of America; industry conferences including ABA, NACHA, Finovate, Money 20/20

JP Nicols leadership speaker - featured in top publications, including BBC World News

Explore More of My Work

Ready to Start a Conversation?

If you believe this approach may be a strong fit for your audience or leadership team, the next step is a brief alignment conversation to confirm objectives and placement.

Follow me on LinkedIn.

Beyond Work

I am also internationally recognized as one of the world’s worst soccer players. When not at work I am most likely playing, coaching, reffing, watching, reading or writing about soccer, especially the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, and ECS Pub League.