“I mean, you go through my life’s journey, and actually money and material things don’t mean a jot to me anymore, to be honest…”

Construction Industry Training Board boss Tim Balcon is talking about why he left a lucrative job as chief executive of property agent membership body Property Mark last year after just five months in the role. The answer he explains, is that he felt quite quickly as though “he was not going to make a difference”.

Two unimaginable personal tragedies – first losing his 19-year-old daughter Leonie to cancer 14 years ago and then the death of his wife Shirley, also to cancer two years ago – means that Balcon has put things in perspective.

In simple terms, he is no longer going to tolerate a high-level job unless he feels like he can change things for the better. In fact, he was convinced the Property Mark job would be his last and he had effectively retired.