[6] In 1987, Roberts was appointed to the first "chief" role in his career, as president and CEO of Pepsi Cola, Canada.

[7] "[Roberts] meticulously planned the spectacle, borrowing a gun from a squad of police officers and rigging the vending machine so that he had to fire only one blank to set off a dazzling rat-a-tat-tat.

"[8] From 1989 to 1997, Roberts was director and chief operating officer (COO) of alcoholic drinks company Lion Nathan, based in New Zealand.

In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, Roberts was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to business and the community.

[17][18][19][20] Since leaving Publicis Groupe in 2016, Roberts' main role has been counselling and coaching business leaders and employees on leadership, marketing and creative thinking through his company Red Rose Consulting, founded in 1995,[2][3] clients include Freemantle,[21] AIA,[22] Sogrape,[23] Coordinate Advertising,[24] and Transmed MEA.

[27][28] In 2017 Roberts became an independent director of the UK grocery chain Booths[29] and chairman of English lakes-based company Herdy.