Touching Base with James Roth
‘We’re selling an idea. The possibilities are endless’
Hi James! Where are you from?
I was born and grew up in Oxford and Reading. I spent my early career in London and LA, but my wife Debbie and I moved back to Reading around 20 years ago to raise our two kids and look after my parents.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to be a doctor like my Dad. He's the person I've respected most all my life. But I wasn't clever enough. I got into university to study philosophy and psychology but I didn’t go, much to my Mum’s disappointment. I joined a band instead.
I should add that my Dad’s side of the family has a lot of famous musicians. The Roth String Quartet was founded in Budapest in 1929, and the Roth Trio was made up of my grandfather on cello, his brother Nick on violin, and Nick’s wife on piano. Apparently she was so good, Steinway made a piano just for her.
That’s amazing, what did you play?
I played the trumpet. We actually went on tour as the supporting act for a very famous band who had seen us play at Reading University (if I told you who it was, you wouldn’t believe me). I must have been 18 at the time and all of us were too young to hire a minibus to get us to all of the tour dates around the country. The local radio station, Radio 210, made an appeal for a driver and this guy volunteered.
What happened after the tour?
The tour was three or four months long, when we stayed together for another two or three years before realising we weren’t actually that good. Some of the others went on to do interesting things in other bands, but I decided to make some money and went to work in a music shop. Eventually I worked in international sales for Alesis Studio Electronics. I was travelling back and forth between London and Los Angeles twice a month, and ended up moving to LA for a bit. I had my own place on the beach. Robert Wilson, who was my boss at the time, taught me a lot. We were the market leading brand, and it was great to be part of that early drive to grow the company across the world.
When did you come back to the UK?
LA was fun for a time but I missed the rain. After four years over there, I was headhunted Simon Blackwood after meeting him at an exhibition. Simon was the Managing Director of Spirit-by-Soundcraft, a division of Harman Professional, which was one of the largest audio companies at that time. I worked there for five years in international sales. We grew the brand into a huge success within a very short space of time. That was down to Simon’s genius – everyone he recruited into that team was fabulous. It was great fun. Following my success in the Harman Pro Division, I was then appointed Managing Director of Harman Consumer which was comprised of the Harman-Kardon, JBL and Infinity hi-fi brands.
How did you hear about TG0?
I spotted the job on LinkedIn and thought it looked hugely interesting, challenging and fun. I joined the team almost three years ago.
Tell me about your role?
I focus on the audio sector, medical technology market, and there are a few e-bike opportunities thrown in for good measure. It’s quite different from what I did before. When you’re selling a suite of tangible products within a certain market category, it’s fairly straightforward. You can show why something can improve someone’s life or performance, and why it’s value for money. What we’re doing with TG0 is selling an idea. The possibilities are endless.
What do you enjoy most about the job?
It’s definitely the diverse nature of the people and companies that I speak to. Most people are very senior within their industries – whether it’s sales and marketing directors, CEOs, presidents or Managing Directors – and they’re always great fun to talk to. Even if we haven’t done business with them yet, we often keep in touch. I also spend a lot of time looking at different sectors and brands to assess whether our technology could improve a product or functionality. It takes time and is a bit more targeted but we’re starting to see some good results. I had an idea a year and a half ago for a product in the prosthetics sector that’s now being developed by a leading brand in the US. It’s going to be life changing for people. That’s very satisfying, and we have a couple of projects like that in the pipeline at the moment.
Do you have any hobbies? Do you still play the trumpet?
My trumpet days are behind me. I read a lot, enjoy a good single malt whisky and I do a lot of cooking. I’m responsible for pretty much every meal the family eats.
Tell us one thing your colleagues wouldn’t know about you.
I used to have a really active lifestyle before I got a proper job. I’ve got a black belt in Judo and fought for England when I was 16. I’ve also competed for England as a pistol marksman around the same time. I started judo when I was six and had to make a decision about whether or not to pursue it as a career when I was about 18. I decided to go on the road with the band instead.
