Robert Ashton

Robert Ashton helps individuals, organisations and communities achieve greater social impact through economic self-sufficiency. He works across housing, education, health and enterprise.

His mission is to liberate people others pigeonhole and often unwittingly, exclude from opportunity. Robert is also a best-selling business author, experienced charity trustee and creative social entrepreneur.

As a conference speaker or chair, Robert is articulate, engaging and insightful. He attacks complacency and challenges often long-held perceptions. Robert speaks from personal experience and from the heart, moving people to reflect on and often change their futures.

In 2013 Robert founded Swarm Apprenticeships a social business that uses enterprise qualifications to connect young people with attitude and business owners with aspiration.

In 2018 he co-founded Norwich Mustard, a community benefit society set up to keep mustard making in Norwich after Colman's Mustard leaves the city.

September 2019 will see Robert start an MA in Biography and Non-Fiction at UEA. He is moving away from writing about business, yo writing about people, so that we can all understand better, those who appear different to ourselves