Meet our CEO: Dr. Nico Fenu’s passions beyond the lab

In addition to his role as CEO of Nami Surgical, Dr Nico Fenu is deeply passionate about water polo. After work, he devotes his time to coaching and promoting this often-overlooked sport, which originated in Scotland in the mid-19th century, with its rules established by William Wilson at Glasgow’s Arlington Baths. Since 2019, Nico has been the head coach for both junior and senior female teams at Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth ASC. Under his leadership, the club has achieved two historic promotions in the British Water Polo League and now competes in Division 2, among the top 16 teams in the UK. Nico is also assistant coach of the Strathclyde University women’s water polo team and Scotland National Women's water polo team.

Nico is also the assistant coach of the Strathclyde University women's water polo team and the Scotland National Women’s water polo team. He advocates for a collaborative approach to developing the sport, believing that sharing knowledge and resources is key to promoting its growth nationwide. Since 2020, he has been organising water polo camps for the wider UK community, inviting top players from the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain to deliver clinics. These camps provide UK players with access to elite-level training on their doorstep. The initiative has been hugely successful, with recent guest coaches including Sabrina van der Sloot (Dutch captain and bronze medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics) and Irene Gonzalez (Spanish national team member and silver medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics). In November, Anni Espar, the Paris 2024 gold medallist, will be joining a camp in Stirling.

Nico also founded Strathclyde Aquatics, a charity dedicated to increasing participation in water sports. The charity focuses on introducing water-based activities to children under 10, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with disabilities. The programme has been highly successful, operating primarily in Renfrewshire, with plans to expand to multiple venues across Scotland and beyond.