THE EASTERN DAILY PRESS INTERVIEW

“I want to put something back,” is the answer Mark Hodges gives when asked why he's taking on a senior role at Shaping Norfolk's Future.

The chief executive of Norwich Union Life will be unveiled as the new chairman of the county's economic development partnership today, five months after the departure of the previous man at the top.

But although Mr Hodges is taking on the role during one of the most serious economic downturns of the past few decades, he believes the skills he has picked up and the contacts he has made during his rise to the top of Aviva will stand SNF and the county in good stead.

And he said Aviva fully supported him taking on the role, which became vacant at the start of the year when previous SNF chairman John Fry, who was chief executive at EDP publisher Archant, left Norfolk to take over the reins at Edinburgh-based Johnston Press.

SNF - which has the mission of bringing together the private and public sectors in a bid to drive forward the Norfolk economy - is perhaps best known for its recent campaigns on transport links, with the dualling of the A11 and the state of the Norwich-to-London railway line in the group's sights.

But with Mr Hodges taking over in the middle of a recession, there is something of the unknown about what it will need to do to help the county through these difficult times.

“One can't underestimate the impact of the recession, and I don't think anyone can comfortably predict when it might be over or what long-term impact it might have,” he said.

“Some of the questions I will be asking will be about what kind of capability and flexibility we have. What happens if this is a very long-term slow recovery, how will that affect the county and how well positioned are we to cope with it?

“I move around the country a fair amount. When we set our ambitions and look at our strengths and our weaknesses, how are they benchmarked against other part of the UK? What can we learn? What can we shortcut because other people have already been there?

“I don't have a ready-made answer and nor should I - in the role of chairman, I'm there to give direction. But the sorts of questions that are valuable to ask in a UK context would be how do we benchmark, who's getting it right, and what can we learn?”

The timing of Mr Hodges' appointment and his comments about his affection and support for Norfolk might raise the odd eyebrow amongst NU staff who were told recently that their jobs are disappearing, but he says there is no contradiction between his belief in the long-term future of the county and the decisions that he and others make at Aviva on a daily basis.

“My day job is to try to make sure Aviva is a successful global company - successfully run for our customers, our staff and our shareholders,” he said.

“As we become more efficient, as customer buying habits change and as people go online more to service their needs and buy products, that has an implication on jobs.

“Having to make difficult business decisions is part of my job, but it doesn't in any way show any lack of commitment to the area.

“Aviva has invested in the infrastructure in Norwich and we've brought some world-class organisations such as Swiss Re into the area, which has broadened the employer base.

“I want Norfolk to be economically strong and a good place for people to work. It's reconcilable that I should want the whole place to be successful but still have to make some difficult decisions in the interests of one large business in the county.”

SNF has historically received the bulk of its funding from the East of England Development Agency (Eeda), but with Eeda's role - and possibly its very existence - thought to be under threat from what looks certain to be an incoming Conservative government, the issue of financial support for SNF is sure to be high up Mr Hodges' agenda.

But he seems happy that, for the time being at least, there are sufficient funds for the group, and he said the situation beyond that was in SNF's own hands.

“I have had conversations with the guys about funding and I am happy with the plans they have in place over the next couple of years,” he said.

“Of course, everything is under review by everybody, and those are circumstances that we may have to look at as we go down the road.

“But in business, funding is always a challenge. There aren't unlimited resources in the world and funding tends to go to where things are successful. If SNF is being hugely successful and influential and that's being recognised, why wouldn't people want to back it?”

As well as funding, there is also the question of where an organisation such as SNF fits into the wider regional framework. Eeda has been criticised on the grounds that the geographical area it represents is too large, with claims that the problems suffered in Bedfordshire are a world away from those that exist, say, on the Norfolk coast.

SNF seems to be at the other extreme, with a deliberate focus on Norfolk alone, even though King's Lynn probably has more in common with the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire fens than with it does with the east of Norfolk, for example. Elsewhere, Yarmouth and Lowestoft are becoming inextricably linked yet SNF only covers one of those two towns. And the transport issues that so exercise SNF goes well beyond county limits - the single-carriageway stretch of the A11 is in Suffolk.

Mr Hodges insists that the county limits are not boundaries, and he is aware of the bigger picture.

“With all organisations, whether they are public or private, and whatever their line of activity, there has to be some structure to them,” he said.

“Far too often in business, people see structures as boundaries. In terms of whether Norfolk is the right boundary as opposed to Eeda's boundary, I am not close yet enough to the process.

“My philosophy is that those kinds of challenges are there to be overcome. It's the team's job to make sure we work well with Eeda and it's the team's job to make sure we do recognise the other counties.

“To be successful, you can't operate as an island.”

The SNF chairmanship might be a part-time role, with the day-to-day work being carried out by the chief executive and his team, but there are clearly some big issues to be addressed, both in terms of the county's economy and in terms of the organisation's own future. But it's a challenge Mr Hodges appears to relish.

“I have lived in Norfolk for just over 30 years. My children go to school in the county. I have lots of friends in the county - it's a big part of my life,” he said.

“The chance for me to play a role that is slightly wider is attractive because of how I feel about the place. Norfolk has played a big part in my development and it is my home, and I want to put something back.”

Shaping Norfolk's Future has been amongst those calling for improvements to the county's road and railway links in recent months and judging by Mark Hodges' comments, it is an issue that he is keen to keep in the headlines.

“There needs to be a thriving economy here. To have a thriving economy, there's no doubt that improving the communication links are top of the agenda, and they are top of SNF's agenda,” he said.

“I signed up for the dualling of the A11, and I do think the rail link with London could be significantly enhanced.

“I spend an awful lot of time using the road and rail links and I know that improvement is essential. A train from London to York takes same time as a train from London to Norwich. Not solving that problem is bound to have an impact.”

There's no doubt that travelers get frustrated with the state of Norfolk's transport links, but how much is it an inconvenience and how much is it a threat to the county's economic wellbeing?

“It's very hard to generalise. When it comes to making decisions on where to base offices, there are a lot of factors at play - the quality of the workforce, education standards and the quality of the infrastructure obviously play a role,” Mr Hodges said.

“I don't imagine that people will be leaving in their droves, because moving a business is an expensive thing to do.

“But my fear is that people would choose somewhere else that was potentially better equipped if it came down to a tight decision.

“Quite often, these decisions are based on small factors. Why can't we tip the factors in Norfolk's favour when people have to make those difficult calls?”