Born in London, England and educated to high school level in South Africa, Hodgson returned to the UK to complete his tertiary-level education. Armed with a Master Degree from the University of Edinburgh and an honours degree in Astrophysics from the University of Cardiff, Hodgson began his professional work experience in the south of England as an engineer at VG Ionex, a leading-edge manufacturer of surface analysis instrumentation in 1986.

In 1989 VG Ionex opened a facility in Japan, its second largest trading partner. Hodgson was selected for the task of establishing that facility. He was seconded to Tokyo for a period of one year, with a remit to extend a foothold in the Asian market.

In the 1990's Hodgson went on to co-found two companies in South Africa, Enviroil and Amptec. Enviroil is a company that regenerates used transformer oil on behalf of its clients. The ability to restore 20 or 30 year old oil to virgin conditions, in an economical and environmentally-friendly way, is a technological process known only to a few individuals.

An opportunity arose in Canada with a manufacturer of oil, gas and air processing equipment in Cambridge, Ontario. Hodgson was offered a three-year contract to become the Vice-President and to develop a transformer oil regeneration product line. The three-year contract was subsequently renewed and expired at the end of 2004.

Hodgson established the first of the Redragon Group Companies in 2004.