ROGER HOUSE
BA(Hons) Graduate in Design (Kingston-Upon-Thames); in business for over 30 years, from architectural design, flooring sales and manufacturing, running a farm park, the family advertising agency, marketing, design and business consultancy. He works with companies both large and small and has played a role in building several successful multi-million pound companies in Kent, winning European awards on the way. He has the experience of employing over seventy staff across various companies.

As Regional Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Kent and Policy Chairman for SE England, he works with many of the key movers and shakers in the region and represents a business membership of 7000 companies in Kent and circa 39,000 across the southeast in what is the largest business representative organisation in the UK (217,000).

Public roles and responsibilities
KENT

• Member of Kent Economic Board and Advisory Board
• Member of The Kent Partnership
• Past member of the Broadband development group
• Vice-Chair Board of Engineering Skills Centre, Swale
• Member Backing Kent Business group
• Member Kent Education & Skills Board
• Member West Kent Partnership

SOUTHEAST

• FSB SE Policy Unit Chairman
• Past Vice-Chairman SE Regional Assembly
• Member Regional Skills for Productivity Alliance
• Member SE Stakeholders regrouping committee (post Assembly)
• Member South East Business Forum (CBI, IoD, ICAEW, SE Chambers, EEF, FSB)
• Member SEBSAB (SEEDA - Business Simplification Board, overseeing Business Link, 2009 Business Link contract advisory panel member)
• Member SE Economic Development Committee (with SE Minister)
• LANTRA Ambassador
• FSB Education and Skills portfolio; SE Skills Alliance FSB liaison
• European Government small business liaison

NATIONALLY

• FSB Board Director (Deputy)
• FSB National Policy Committee member
• Sector Skills Councils national liaison
• RSA Fellow
• Member Hansard Society

In the course of his FSB work, he has been to 10 Downing Street to meet the PMs Chief Political Adviser (The day our Olympics bid win was announced), Buckingham Palace for Tea and was been one of a very small group that interviewed the President of the EU Parliament in August 2007. He also meets with the Chairmen and CEOs of most of the regional agencies and organisations and Government Ministers in carrying out the policy work of the FSB. His unit delivers bi-monthly briefing notes to MPs, Leaders and CEO’s of local Authorities in the southeast.
Currently Roger is the co-owner and Managing Director of BIG Solutions Ltd, a strategic marketing and business development company which also handles public affairs contracts. He is co-founder of Education for Enterprise CIC (A social enterprise company delivering the educational project into schools and beyond). Here he has worked with thousands of young people in secondary schools, together with teachers and Education Authority staff. E4E has been commissioned by the LSC to create a quality standard for business people working in schools to be SFEDI accredited. He is currently supporting an apprentice skills centre in Swale as a Board member delivering a broad business and political network. The company also specialises in educational research and consultancy.
Roger has built an extensive network of personal contacts from micro business owners to the most senior executives in national agencies and Government at all levels, taking in people from business, politics, faith, voluntary and academic sectors.
Roger is also a writer and presenter. Trained in public speaking and all media interview techniques. he regularly writes for the press, presenting the FSB’s major political issues and initiatives in the SE. He has delivered speeches and sat on speaker panels from TUC at Congress House, The House of Commons and in Brussels.

His other business interests, working with colleague Debasish Sen revolve largely around education through their company Education for Enterprise. Building a growing reputation as education consultants. The have created The Small Business Ambassadors initiative taking business people into schools.

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