Mark grew up in a village just outside Coventry, with five brothers and attended Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby. He studied at Reading University where he obtained a degree in Estate Management. He then worked briefly in the property sector before moving into sales management. He started his own business, with his brother Mike in 1982 in Rugby, supplying packaging to the food service sector. The business grew to employ 30 staff before being sold to a FTSE100 company in 2008.
Before becoming an MP, Mark was a local Councillor in Rugby and held the Rugby Borough Council Housing Portfolio. He was selected by the Conservative Party to stand for the newly‐formed Rugby Constituency in 2007, securing his seat in the General Elections of 2010, 2015,2017 and 2019 when his majority increased to 13,447. Mark has been a member of Select Committees on Communities and Local Government and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and now serves on the Business and Trade Committee and the Energy and Net Zero Committee. He has also acted as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ministers of Defence and BEIS, and to the Secretary of State in the Department of Work and Pensions. He chairs the All‐Party Groups for Packaging and Manufacturing.
Mark also chairs and plays for the Lords & Commons Rugby Team and highlights Rugby the town as the ‘Birthplace of the Game’ whenever he can. Mark is married to Tracy and they live in the village of Grandborough, close to Rugby.