Neville has a background in organometallic chemistry and business. After completing his Batchelor's in Chemistry at St. Andrews, he then went on to Christ's College, Cambridge to research in transition metal cluster chemistry, in collaboration with Lord Lewis, and earned his PhD in 1988. This was later followed up with an MBA to round off his formal learning. Experience in industry started around sales facing jobs, mostly involving industrial inorganic chemicals. This led into management roles, being appointed a Director in 1992, Managing Director in 1994 and Chairman in 2006. Neville is also the Chairman of The Chemical Business Association, the main UK association for companies such as Cornelius, and is on the Board of the European association, the FECC.

Cornelius clearly occupies me for much of my time, but not exclusively! I am part of a family of four, and we live in a 500 year old house. We have a myriad of animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, ducks and horses, all of which need looking after, pampering, and in the case of the horses: riding. I enjoy good food and wine, in addition to travel and country pursuits! I also play the saxophone, and love to learn new pieces of music. Outside of the family and work, I am a Governor at a local secondary school, and Chair the Board for the East of England, Manufacturing Advisory Service.