‘These clouds will have a silver lining’

Judi Bevan

22 November 2008

Judi Bevan meets Sir John Parker, who chairs National Grid and the Court of the Bank of England — and takes an optimistic view of the deepening recession

Everyone I talk to mentions his skill with people. ‘He makes people feel wanted,’ says Ken Harvey, one of National Grid’s non-executive directors. ‘I have worked with many non-execs and John stands head and shoulders above everyone.’ ‘He was a good chief executive, but he is an outstanding chairman,’ says one long-term adviser. ‘And he’s frighteningly efficient.’

At Centrica, one of National Grid’s suppliers, chairman Roger Carr particularly admires the way Parker chairs the 20-strong Court of the Bank of England, a role that in former times fell to the Governor rather than one of the outside members. ‘There are a lot of people in a very grand room but he has the skills to make sure it works.’

Parker has masterminded a plan to reduce the number of people on the Court from 19 to 12 by the time his five-year stint is up in May next year. He and the Bank’s Governor, Mervyn King, consult closely about pressing topics but Parker reminds me that he is sworn to secrecy. ‘The country is fortunate to have a man of [King’s] world-class ability at this time,’ is all he will say.

Parker grew up on a sheep farm in County Down near Newcastle where, as Percy French wrote, ‘The mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.’ Although his family were Protestant, it was a mixed community. ‘We didn’t have any tensions; the farmers all helped each other. We were brought up to respect the Catholics.’

He can still remember his father ploughing with horses. ‘That was really hard physical work, walking behind a horse all day.’ Then came the tractors which gave Parker his first love of machinery — something he transferred to ships. At the local school, there were so few children he received almost one-to-one tuition from a female American teacher who brought back films from her travels for her pupils to watch. He did well, particularly at maths: ‘Numeracy is increasingly important for non-executives,’ he says. ‘They need to understand funding and balance sheets.’