About
Frank Roche is a man who pays attention.
It may be a skill he learned from being the sixth of seven children, the second son to Thomas and Barbara Roche, surrounded by so much activity that watching and listening was a way of keeping up with his older siblings. Frank was born Francis Xavier Roche in Fall River, Massachusetts, on January 20, 1963. His father Thomas was a lifelong public school educator beginning his career as the assistant principal of Norwood High School in Norwood, Massachusetts, and ending his career while serving as the superintendent of the Coventry Public Schools in Coventry, Rhode Island. Frank’s mother Barbara, a homemaker, was known for her sense of humor, her love of music, delicious food, and her tireless care for her family. Frank is brother to Thomas, Marianne, Barbara, Catherine, Janet and Claire.
It may be a gift resulting from his experience with Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease as a very young boy. He spent three years of his life unable to walk, being relegated to viewing and listening to the world around him from floor level. Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is a rare disease of the hip that afflicts approximately 1 in 1200 children. Frank was diagnosed when he was three years old and was confined to leg braces for three years. Frank began walking again at the age of six with the assistance of crutches, and he began his career as a student walking to a one room school house in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he attended first grade.
Frank was educated in public schools in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Coventry, Rhode Island. By the time he was in high school, there was no trace of Legg-Calvé-Perthes, and Frank developed into a reflective student and formidable hockey player.
Always paying attention may be the result of losing his father to a fatal heart attack and becoming the “man of the house” when he was still in high school. With the support of family, friends, Frank spent his final high school years working to be a good student and athlete, while supporting his mother as she found herself back in the workforce after 26 years and raising her last two children without the strong presence and care of her husband.
Following high school, after some delay, Frank began his college career at the University of Rhode Island as a full time student while working to support himself and his education. After earning his undergraduate degree in Economics, Frank soon after began planning and managing a return to school, completing his graduate studies at the University of Rhode Island, earning a Master of Arts in Economics.
While Frank was enrolled in school, he once again found himself experiencing loss and tragedy. His mother lost a long battle with cancer in 1986, and his only brother was murdered in 1991. Again, Frank found himself faced with overwhelming challenges, and he used his own strength and the support of those around him to move forward. Again, Frank Roche managed to stay the course.
Frank’s personal, educational, and professional experiences didn’t simply prepare him to be a successful business man, though he certainly is that. They didn’t simply produce in him a drive to succeed. This compilation of events and experiences introduced him to the realities of the many structures of his society, the complexities of democracy and capitalism, and ignited in him the passion and persistence that characterizes the best in our national leaders.
In late 1992, Frank moved to New York City and accepted a job in the Capital Markets group of Barclays Bank PLC as part of their management training program. This was the start of a successful and rewarding fifteen year career in the foreign exchange products division of international banking.
In 1994, Frank took a job with the Bank of Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, as the head US Dollar/Swiss Franc trader. At the Bank of Boston, he expanded his skill set from trading to macroeconomic analysis, trading system analysis, and teaching Capital Markets practices in a corporate setting.
Frank left the Bank of Boston in 1996 to return to New York City and work for the French bank Societé Generale. It was during this period that he perfected his trading skills, advanced his analytical abilities, honed his conservative principles, and began to challenge the blatant leftist politics and immigration problems gripping New York City.
Frank was in Manhattan to witness the positive transformation of the city as a result of the “tough love” policies of Rudy Giuliani. He was two blocks away from the World Trade Center in 1993 during the first bombing attempt, and was in midtown Manhattan during the second bombing on 9/11.
Faced with a technological paradigm shift taking place in the foreign exchange market, with significant negative impact on earnings potential, in July, 2007, Frank left his job as Vice President of Foreign Exchange Trading, sold his Manhattan residence and moved to what he now calls home, the Triangle region of North Carolina. Frank resides in Apex, North Carolina.
Who is Frank Roche? Frank Roche is a man who pays attention. He’s paying attention to Washington, DC. He’s paying attention to the preservation of America; the America defined by the U.S. Constitution, and he’s paying attention to the people of NC’s 4th District.
Frank Roche. America First.