John Nolan

JPN Advisory

Building Exceptional People, Who Build Exceptional Businesses

CEO · Business Owner · Strategic Advisor · Board Director · Executive Coach · Vistage Chair

The Short Version

  • 1993–2001

    PwC · Chartered Accountant

    Trained across Dublin, London and New York.

  • 2000s

    Almarai · Deputy Finance Director

    Led investor relations through Almarai's IPO and Tadawul listing.

  • 2008–2016

    Transguard Group · Group CFO → Group MD

    Grew the business from AED 520m to AED 1.44bn revenue, 12K to 44K employees.

  • 2019–2021

    Initial Saudi Group · Group CEO

    ~40% profitability improvement across a SAR 1.1bn organisation.

  • 2022–Present

    Easytruck / JPN Advisory · CEO & Founder

    Building Easytruck ~4x while advising CEOs and Boards through JPN Advisory.

John Nolan is a CEO, business owner, Strategic Advisor, Board Director, Executive Coach and Vistage Chair with more than 35 years of international experience and more than 25 years in senior leadership roles across the GCC. Born in Ireland and educated in Australia and Ireland, he is a Chartered Accountant (ACA), a Bond University Bachelor of Commerce graduate and an accredited performance coach.

35+ / 25+

Years international / GCC leadership

PwC & Almarai

He began his career with PwC across Dublin, London and New York, then moved to Saudi Arabia with Almarai as Deputy Finance Director and Head of Management Accounting & Investor Relations, playing a leadership role in Almarai's IPO and Tadawul listing, strengthening governance and financial controls, and leading what was at the time the largest SAP implementation in MENA.

PwC

1993–2001

Almarai

Deputy Finance Director

Transguard Group · 2008–2016

After a period as Group CFO of Naeem Holding, John joined Transguard Group in Dubai, progressing from Group CFO to Executive Board Member, Deputy Group Managing Director and Group Managing Director as the organisation grew from approximately AED 520 million in revenue and 12,000 employees to AED 1.44 billion and 44,000 employees. He led the sale of 50% of Transguard to Al Hail Holding and helped lead the next phase of growth under the new shareholder structure.

Naeem Holding

2006–2008

Transguard Group

2008–2016

Initial Saudi Group & Dussmann-Ajlan · 2019–2022

He later returned to Saudi Arabia as Group CEO of Initial Saudi Group, a SAR 1.1 billion organisation with approximately 22,000 employees, 1,400 customers and operations across 33 cities, where transformation initiatives delivered an approximately 40% improvement in profitability, alongside restructuring, governance enhancement, ERP implementation, acquisition activity, IPO readiness and crisis leadership through COVID-19. He then led Dussmann-Ajlan & Bros, the Saudi joint venture between Dussmann Group Germany and Ajlan & Bros Holding, through restructuring and stronger governance.

Initial Saudi Group

2019–2021

Dussmann-Ajlan & Bros

2021–2022

Easytruck, JPN Advisory & Vistage · 2022–Present

Since 2022, John has combined operating leadership, ownership and advisory work: as CEO and 50% owner of Easytruck Moving & Storage he has led approximately fourfold revenue growth and quadrupled storage capacity, while now leading a multi-year digital, automation and AI transformation as he builds it into an AI-first company. Through JPN Advisory he works with CEOs, founders, shareholders, Boards and leadership teams on strategy, transformation, governance and value creation, and as Vistage UAE Chair he provides confidential one-to-one coaching and peer advisory for CEOs and business owners.

Easytruck / JPN Advisory

2022–Present

Vistage UAE

Chair, Dubai CE Group

Core Expertise

Leadership & Governance

  • Board & Non-Executive Director roles
  • CEO & Founder Advisory
  • Corporate governance & Delegation of Authority
  • Leadership-team assessment & development

Business Transformation

  • Large-scale organisational transformation
  • M&A, disposals, integration & value creation
  • IPO readiness & listed-company governance
  • Scaling organisations from SME to 44,000+ employees

Financial & Strategic Management

  • Financial strategy & capital allocation
  • Risk management & internal control
  • Strategic planning & execution governance
  • Performance management & operating rhythm

Sector Experience

  • Facilities management, workforce & security services
  • Investment banking & financial services
  • Food & dairy (consumer)
  • Logistics, moving & storage

Education & Professional Credentials

Bond University

Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)

Finance & Law

Chartered Accountants Ireland

ACA, Chartered Accountant

Professional Qualification

Geographic Credibility

Unusually deep operating experience in both of the GCC's largest business markets, not advisory-only exposure, but roles actually run inside Saudi and UAE organisations.

United Arab Emirates

More than two decades of leadership and ownership experience, Transguard, Easytruck, Vistage UAE

Saudi Arabia

Senior roles with Almarai, Initial Saudi Group and Dussmann-Ajlan, governance, restructuring, Saudisation, crisis management

Ireland, UK & USA

PwC career across Dublin, London and New York; business ownership and education in Ireland

Great organisations are built by great people. But people alone are not enough.

The best leaders perform when the organisation gives them clarity, authority, information, accountability and a culture that supports high standards. That's the thread through every role I've held, get the strategy clear, put the right people in the critical roles, build management information that tells the truth, and use governance to improve decisions rather than slow the business down. I work with a small number of boards, CEOs and founders at any time, through Board and advisory roles, confidential CEO advisory, and the Vistage CE group I chair in Dubai. I'm selective by design, because the value is in staying close enough to actually help.

Let's Have a Direct Conversation

A 30-minute call to understand your situation and tell you plainly whether I'm the right person to help.

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