Educated at Pangbourne College and Britannia Royal Naval College, he joined the Royal Navy in 1963 and was Commanding Officer in the submarine service on  HMS Walrus, HMS Swiftsure  and HMS Splendid on which he saw action during the Falklands War.  He later served as Commanding Officer of the frigate HMS Coventry, later becoming Chief of Staff, Submarines in 1992 and Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines in 1993 before retiring from the Roytal Navy in 1996.

A longtime motor racing fanatic, he then took on the role of FIA Race Director and Safety Delegate for Grand Prix racing, later becoming Secretary of the British Racing Drivers' Club.

From the BRDC, he joined AEA as Director General and Chief Exectuive in 2007, where he has been heavily involved in ensuring that the legislation issued from Europe was 'fit-for-purpose' for the farm machinery and outdoor power equipment industry in the UK.

In recent months he has headed a new training initiative for the AEA , Training for Business, to be based at the Association's headquarters at Peterborough.

In his final address to the Annual AEA Conference this week, Roger Lane Nott again made a plea for politicians and legislators to recognise the importance and potency of the land-based engineering sector in the UK.  "We need to constantly 'put ourselves about'," he said, "particularly when it comes to attracting young new talent into the industry.

"I would like to see a Land-Based Engineering team on the road for 6 months of the year, visiting schools and colleges, spreading the message about the terrific opportunities offered by our industry."