Cemeteries and Crematoria

Howard Hodgson MBIFD (Dip) Ass. RSH

(b,1950) A fourth generation funeral director, Howard trained with Summers of Cardiff. He took over the family business in 1975 and launched an expansion programme that culminated in the flotation of Hodgson Holdings plc in 1986. The company was subsequently merged with Kenyons in 1989 and then with Great Southern Group to form the largest funeral/crematorium group in the UK. Howard sold his interests in 1991, having taken the company from one branch to 546 and becoming 'Entrepreneur of the Year 1987' in the process and had a second career in the gift industry, becoming successively chief executive of Ronson plc and Colibri International. He is a journalist and author, contributing frequent articles and features in the national press, television and radio.

hhodgson@memoria.org.uk

Christopher Johns FIBCA (Dip), Operations Director

(b.1957) Chris has 30 years' continuous experience of cemetery and crematoria operations in both the public and private sectors in the UK. This includes managing Britain's busiest crematorium (Portchester) and its most famous (Golders Green).

Until May 2003 he was operations director of the cemeteries and crematoria division of Dignity plc, the successor company to the Hodgson/Kenyon/Great Southern entity that had been acquired by SCI of the US, managing 21 crematoria and 4 cemeteries. From October 2003 to October 2004 he was the first President of the newly formed ICCM (the re-named Institute of Burial and Cremation Administration), which represents around 1,000 people who manage cemeteries and crematoria in the UK, and which influences government and industry policy - see "News Archive".

cjohns@memoria.org.uk

Michael Hackney MA (Oxon)

(b,1950) is a former career banker who has held senior positions with both the ANZ/Grindlays and Abbey National banking groups, including in venture capital, where he was responsible for the flotation of Hodgson Holdings plc, and in debt recovery, where he directly managed a succession of troubled commercial and financial businesses as principal for the bank, both in the UK and Europe, 1992-2000.

mhackney@memoria.org.uk