Roger Laughton CBE

Roger Laughton is Chair of South West Screen and Deputy Chair of the BFI. He is also on the boards of the Arts Institute of Bournemouth, the Grierson Trust, Metfilm and the Services Sound and Vision Corporation.

He began his production career in the BBC where he worked in Bristol, Pebble Mill and Manchester before moving to London as Head of Network Features in 1980. He was responsible for a range of award-winning programmes including Live Aid and River Journeys. In 1986, he oversaw the launch of BBC TV's new daytime service, including Neighbours.

After a spell in charge of the BBC's co-productions, he became the first CEO of Meridian, an ITV franchise winner in 1991. Later, following mergers, he led United Broadcasting and Entertainment for three years. From 1999 to 2004, he was the Head of Bournemouth Media School and also chaired a DCMS/Skillset enquiry into the training needs of the audio-visual industries.

Among other honours, he is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society and was awarded the Society's Gold Medal in 1999. He was appointed CBE in 2000.