Mark Hodges is the Chairman of the Company and has over 30 years’ experience across the financial services and consumer sectors, including extensive FTSE 100 board experience with Centrica plc and Aviva plc. As former CEO of ReAssure, whose strategy was to be the leading closed book life consolidator in its chosen markets, Mark led the business through the £425m acquisition of Quilter’s UK Heritage business and oversaw the sale of Reassure to Phoenix Group Holdings in 2020 for £3.25 billion. At the time of the sale, ReAssure had approximately £80 billion of assets, 4 million customers and approximately 2,500 employees.
Previously, Mark was CEO of Centrica’s £11 billion revenue consumer division, which included British Gas in the UK, Bord Gais in Ireland, Direct Energy in the US and Hive globally. Mark was hired from outside the energy sector as a change agent to simplify and modernise the business to make it more efficient, more customer-focused and less product-led. His mandate included the improvement of digital channels, the growth of new revenue streams, and driving cultural change. During his tenure, Mark oversaw growth in the Hive customer base from approximately 200,000 customers to more than 1.3 million.
Before this, Mark led Towergate Insurance, a 5,000-employee business with revenue of more than £400 million and serving approximately 2 million customers. Mark was responsible for formulating group strategy, and oversaw the acquisition of 50 specialist insurance businesses. He significantly bolstered the management at senior levels, oversaw the complete rebuild of governance and operational control frameworks to bring in line with regulatory standards, and carried out a fundamental operational restructuring, including the establishment of a market leading 400 person contact centre in Manchester.
Mark previously spent more than 20 years with Aviva (previously Norwich Union) across a variety of senior finance, planning and strategy roles, culminating as a group board director. As CEO of Aviva UK, he led a business with annual revenues of £15 billion, £1.4 billion in operating profits, and approximately 20,000 staff. Mark’s highlights at Aviva include the acquisition of RAC in 2005, overseeing the brand change from Norwich Union to Aviva and the creation of the largest composite insurer in the UK. This created significant annual cost savings; a return to growth by the General Insurance business; a UK Life turnaround improving growth, profitability and customer service; and improved people engagement. During his tenure with Norwich Union, Mark was involved in its demutualisation and flotation in 1997, the acquisition of London & Edinburgh in 1998, and the merger with CGU to form Aviva in 2000.