Bath alumna Esther McMorris is the founder and CEO of Nine Feet Tall – a change management consultancy with teams based out of Bath, Bristol and London.
Esther was recently named on the Women in Leadership Power List 2024 by Management Today, as well as one of Bath & Somerset’s Most Inspiring Women by The Business Exchange.
We spoke to Esther about her time at the University, and what she took from her Physics degree into her business.
Why did you choose to study at Bath?
I was born and raised in Holland and wanted to study in England to master the English language and experience a different culture, not just as an exchange student, but to be fully immersed in student life.
I’d heard of the city and its Roman Baths, so had to visit to see if it was an option for me. When you arrive in Bath you instantly fall in love with it – and that’s before you even get to the University! One of the real attractions of the University was the campus which created a real student community on top of the hill.
Did you have a particular career in mind when you chose your course?
No. I think it’s fair to say there wouldn’t be many 18 year olds, even today, who really know what career they want to pursue. That said, doing a physics degree did direct my thinking as to what I wanted to do.
‘Physics? Business consulting? They are polar opposites!’ you might say. However, learning a science which requires you to consider impact of change through a methodical, analytical approach gave me the baseline I needed in starting my career in consulting.
Can you tell us about your experience of studying here?
I love hockey and played for the first team at the University of Bath back in the day. The team were a great bunch of people, and we certainly enjoyed socialising as well as playing hockey.
In the old days, regular visits to the SAD (student disco) on Wednesday evenings after matches brought a lot of the different sports teams together. We were regular attendees of the Pulteney Arms and The Boater, which are still there today and I visit from time to time.
It’s nice to still call Bath home after 30 years and I’m extremely proud to now base my consultancy business, Nine Feet Tall, here also. I have lived in Bath long enough to have played hockey for both the Bath Buccaneers, based at the University, and the City of Bath – we are so lucky to have two great teams in this city.
I still play hockey today and even on the same pitch as my daughter, who has just started playing at senior level. My 14-year-old son has recently qualified as a hockey umpire too, so matches are often a family affair.
Describe your career journey since graduating.
After graduating from Bath, I went to University of Nottingham to study Operations Management and then returned to Bath to work with local firms, specifically Herman Miller, Wessex Water and the RAC.
Working in London took me to the next level, and it was there I started my change management consultancy Nine Feet Tall in 2004, which we have now built up to a team of 70 based out of Bath, Bristol and London.
Nine Feet Tall is now in its 20th year! We focus on delivering ‘change for good’ – doing the right things for businesses, which many larger consultancies can struggle with. Most of our work is around digital transformation, harnessing the power of people and technology; making sure the tech is ready for the people and people are ready for the tech.
What does a day look like? Never quite as planned. Always a lot of emails and calls. As the years go on, I’ve found myself drawn to sales and actually enjoy it! I get the chance to talk to lots of different people and find out how their respective organisations are looking to grow. I remain very hands-on in the business and have an awesome team – which includes many talented graduates from the two wonderful universities we have in the city – who do all the hard work so I can focus on this. This year we were thrilled to be named in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list. It’s a strong message and testament to what we are about. 
We have firmly established ourselves as part of the Bath business landscape and are very much involved with the business network, community initiatives and charities in the city and wider region – including Bath Rugby and the Bath Rugby Foundation – and look forward to making many more memories in the city over the years to come!
We continue our close ties with the University and have, in some ways, gone full circle, as we will be delivering guest lectures on change management, leadership and capability to the MBA students in the next academic year.
How did your studies help you to develop, professionally and/or personally?
Living away from home and family gives a real sense of independent living, having to work to timescales and delivery of coursework, along with managing (or not!) money, the need to get a job to support yourself, integrating with a community and meeting new people.
University absolutely helps set you up for all of this!
What advice would you give to prospective students thinking about studying your course at Bath?
There’s a reason why the University of Bath is in the top 10 best universities in the UK: quality of courses, with a strong focus on STEM and sports. It ticks the academic boxes.
What I would say is get out there and mix with new people. Of course, the study is important, but meeting people and enjoying the many opportunities the University and city have to offer is equally important – there aren’t many better places than Bath to do that.
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