Nigel Back was born and bred in Norfolk and educated at Harrow School and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Norwich in 1974 and worked overseas for KPMG in Paris and The Hague. He worked for the Cargill Group as a trader in Paris, Geneva, the Far East and Australia, before returning to London to set up their LIFFE operations. He has also worked with Hogg Robinson, in financial services regulation with SIB (now the FCA) and moved back to Norwich to work with Norwich Union. 

Since 1996 he has been Managing Director of Barrier Biotech Ltd, designing and manufacturing innovative natural biocides, herbicides and pesticides for animal health and plant protection.

Outside of work, his interests include theatre, classical concerts, sculpture, sailing in North Norfolk, game shooting, golf, cricket, F1, and Norwich City Football Club (when they are winning!). He is Chairman of the Freemen’s Committee of the Freemen of Norwich and of the Norwich Town Close Estate Charity, a Trustee of the Norwich Cathedral Choir Endowment Fund, of the Royal Norfolk Regiment Museum and of the Langham Dome in North Norfolk, as well as a past President of the Norfolk Club and a member of the Norwich Occasional Choir. 

He is married, with three children.