PCC News

Bishop Graham thanked Bill on behalf of the Diocese of Norwich:

“I am immensely grateful to Bill for his long service to the Diocesan Board of Finance and for all that he has achieved during that time. From first meeting, I have found Bill to not only be generous with his time and wise in his observations, but also a person of deep faith and immense kindness. We owe him a great debt of gratitude as he retires from being chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance and he goes with our prayers for him and Jill.”

Bishop Graham welcomed Mark Jeffries as the new Chair of the NDBF:

“I am delighted that, following an open recruitment process, the Bishop’s Council has approved the nomination of Mark Jeffries to be the next Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance. Mark brings excellent skills and has vast experience across the professional services, business, education and health sectors.

“I am delighted that he is so willing to give his time to this voluntary role at such a crucial time of challenge and opportunity for the Church of England, as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and serve the needs of the people of Norfolk and Waveney.”

We caught up with Mark ahead of his new appointment to ask him for his thoughts.

My formative years were spent in Yorkshire and Hampshire. After school at Hymers College in Hull, I read law at St John’s College, Cambridge, landing in Norwich to pursue my legal career in 1979. I became managing partner of Mills & Reeve in 2001 and Senior Partner in 2007, a position I held until stepping down to pursue non executive roles in 2015. It was hugely enjoyable and provided various challenges as we grew the firm from its Norwich base to a national presence with offices across the country.

My current non-executive roles are on the boards of R G Carter, the Norfolk & Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group, and Norwich University of the Arts. I also chair the Evolution Academy Trust. My role there will end later this year. Other roles have been on the boards of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.

I am on the electoral roll at Christ Church, Eaton where my wife, Catherine, is a churchwarden.

I felt drawn to taking on the role of Chair. By any standard, the last few years have been turbulent. The angst they have caused has been exacerbated by the pandemic which has brought into even sharper focus the surprising levels of inequality across the diocese. The church is a much-needed bedrock across Norfolk and Waveney and I was delighted to see that the diocese has such a strong vision of how it will discharge that role, with clear priorities to deliver it. A sustainable financial base is crucial and I was attracted by the opportunity to oversee the work needed to put that in place.