Kathryn Parsons, the founder of Decoded, has dipped her toe into the world of government – until recently she was a non-executive director at the Department for Business, describing it as an “insightful, rewarding but quite challenging experience”.

So what is the path for business leaders and entrepreneurs that want to have impact in a public service role? Another change in this century has seen an increase in devolution, and that gives opportunities for entrepreneurs to take on political and public roles that are more suited to their skills than being an opposition spokesperson.

A prime example is Andy Street, the former chief executive of John Lewis who is now the Mayor of the West Midlands. 

Street may run as the official Conservative candidate, but good luck finding a piece of campaign literature where it states that. Street runs on his brand, and has won election twice against the odds.

He has a relentless focus on the local economy, jobs and investment into the region, personally lobbying the likes of Goldman Sachs to set up in the City.

All the leaders that I have mentioned in this piece have strong personal brands, and they have built companies and identities around themselves, which embody their world view.

Michael Gove promised in the Levelling Up White Paper that the UK should have more devolution and possibly bring in a new layer of governors; this could be a prime opportunity for entrepreneurs who are exploring their next challenge.

Rather than starting at the bottom of the parliamentary greasy poll and spending time on sub committees, never mind the years of toil before becoming an MP, they could use their skills to become regional champions. Admittedly, there is no guarantee of a successful transition.

Modern-day entrepreneurs start a business because they want to have a positive impact on the world, and it has become much easier for them to see the domino effect of their decisions.

While young, ambitious graduates used to aspire to become investment bankers, they now aspire to be entrepreneurs. In time, it is inevitable that we will see more entrepreneurs go into public service roles primarily through mayoralty routes, and one of them in time may have a career path that is similar to the former mayor of London.

Jimmy McLoughlin is a former Downing Street adviser. He runs the podcast Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future and tweets @JimmyM