David Roche

Author, Coach/Mentor and CEO/Chair

David Roche is a professional executive coach and mentor at Grey Area Coaching, and works with first-time CEOs across many sectors. David is also Non-Exec Chair of London Book Fair and Chair of the writing agency New Writing North, based in Newcastle. He also works as a consultant with start-ups entering the book industry and lectures at the National Film and Television School.
David has thirty years of board experience as a President, Chair, CEO and Executive Director. He was previously CEO of Borders & BOOKS etc, Product Director of both Waterstones and HMV, and Group Sales and Marketing Director of HarperCollins Publishing. He was also President of the Booksellers Association and a trustee and interim Chair of the largest literary charity, BookTrust. David has received several industry awards and in 2017 was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire for services to the UK book trade.
David studied Psychology at Durham University and also has a professional Hypnotherapy qualification. His first book, Just Where You Left It, was published by Unbound in 2017, and is a collection of humorous poems that poke fun at the chaos, mayhem and hypocrisy of family life. Become a Successful First-Time CEO was published in March 2024 by Rethink Press and is an Amazon Number one Bestseller. David lives in Kingston upon Thames with his Finnish wife, a primary school teacher. They have three grown up sons.