Club chairman

Denis Woulfe OBE

Denis Woulfe has been our Chairman since April 2024.

As Chair of The New Club, he has worked to modernise the club while respecting its long-standing traditions, creating an environment that is welcoming to both current and newer members. Under his stewardship, the club continues to play a central role in Cheltenham’s social and cultural life.

Denis is a former Senior Partner and a Vice Chair of Deloitte LLP, retiring from the firm in 2017 after 21 years. He was a member of the Deloitte LLP board for nearly 8 years.

In 2018 Denis was awarded an MBE for services to Women and Equality in Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours and in 2023 Denis was awarded an OBE for services to Business and Equality in His Majesty’s Birthday honours.

Outside of the New Club, Denis has various business advisory roles and is the Senior Independent Trustee of the RNLI and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. He was Co-Chair of the Leaders as Change Agents (LACA) board. A Government sponsored expert committee from 2018 to 2023. He was a member of the Women’s Business Council from 2014 to 2019.

He served as a member of the Board of Governors at the University of the West of England from 2017 to 2020.

Vice chairman

Sally Dimmer

Sally Dimmer has been a member of the committee since 2021 and was a past Chairman. She is a Patron of the Cheltenham Festivals and her interests include horse racing and theatre.

Sally trained as an Orthoptist and worked in the NHS.

She had many prominent roles with the management of famous pharmaceutical companies and ended by becoming area manager for Boots in the Southwest of England.

But always her great love was racing having had an interest in several successful race horses both National Hunt and Flat Racing. She and her family  are well known member of  the Cheltenham racing fraternity.

Head of House

Marilyn Burn

Marilyn joined IBM from university, following which she was head hunted to help set up and run an MSc in Business Computing at City University Business School. Simultaneously she started and ran a successful computer consultancy company. 

At 40 she changed careers, and became a Chancery barrister with chambers in Lincoln’s Inn, specialising in contentious probate and property litigation, retiring in 2025. She was married to Prof Edward Burn, the well-known and much-loved law don at Christ Church, Oxford.

She has always been a foodie, and has introduced the concept of eating round the world to Club dinners, as well as initiating opera, jazz and other musical evenings for the club. Without doubt, she has been responsible for revitalising the Club. She has lived in Cheltenham since 2015 and is a popular and dynamic Head of House.

Committee member

Dr Moira Hamlin

After initially working as a publisher, Moira studied psychology and following the award of a PhD (Clinical) she pursued a career both as a practitioner and as an academic, becoming Head of the Psychology Department in Bristol NHS Trust. She rose to become Vice Chairman of Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority. Moira’s other area of interest and expertise is the criminal justice system.

In addition to having been a magistrate for 17 years, Moira was also Chair of the Avon and Somerset Police Authority for 10 years and Deputy Chairman of the National Association of Police Authorities for 4 years. For 10 years (5 as Vice Chair) she served on the University of Bristol Board.

Committee Member

Christina Potter CBE

After an early career in Computing, Christina Potter moved into Education, first as a lecturer then,  after several senior management roles, she became Principal and CEO of Dundee & Angus College. She served on the Board of St. Andrews University and in 2015 was awarded the CBE for services to Higher and Further Education in Scotland.

Christina has been on the committee of The New Club, Cheltenham since 2023 and lives happily with her husband Tom in Cheltenham.

Head of marketing & public relations

Jane Moyle

Jane was expecting her life to be as a housewife and mother to four children. But when young, she became an entrepreneur and founded a successful corporate events company, specialising in corporate tourism and events in the Heart of England and London. Having founded another very successful incentive and motivational company, which her son ran, in 1987, she won the title of ‘Midlands Businesswoman of the Year’.

Subsequently, she was appointed Non-Executive Director of the West Midlands Ambulance Trust, a West Midlands Arts Board member, President of the East Birmingham Family Service Unit and Governor of Malvern College. She has been a member of The New Club Cheltenham since 2018 and our Head of Marketing and Public Relations. She loves her life here, being surrounded by her family and many friends.

Committee Member

Patrick Brooke

Patrick Brooke retired as an equity partner at Grant Thornton UK in 2009, after a career managing a wide-ranging client portfolio across the UK and internationally. In the 1980s, he served as Finance Director of an Irish marble company that expanded into the US before being sold to a Houston-based oil firm. Since retirement, Patrick has worked as a non-executive adviser to businesses.

In the not-for-profit sector, he has held senior roles including Chair of Audit Committees at Cheltenham Festivals and the University of Gloucestershire, and governor roles at Cheltenham College, All Saints’ Academy, and Hartpury University and College, where he currently chairs the audit committee. He is also a trustee of the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum and a founding member of the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire, where he served as Warden.

A Cheltenham resident since 1970, Patrick is a keen golfer and past Captain and Treasurer of Cotswold Hills Golf Club. He has been a member of the New Club, Cheltenham since 1986.

Committee Member

Frances Patterson

With a background in Pension Fund Management, Frances Patterson was Head of H.R and a Board Director of Mercer UK, the actuarial consulting arm of Marsh McLennan inc. She specialised in mergers, acquisitions and the divestment of less profitable parts of the UK business and, as a Worldwide Partner, travelled extensively for the group, particularly in Europe and the USA. Frances moved from Surrey to Cheltenham in 2020 and became a member of the New Club in 2021, joining the Committee in February 2022.

honorary secretary

David Mills

David Mills was born in Johannesburg and following a university and military career, became a company secretary at the Chamber of Mines of South Africa.

Having then lived in New Zealand and spending five years in Rome, he moved to England in 2002. He has been a member of The New Club since 2023 and is a very welcome member of the Committee, taking part in a great deal of social activities.

Hon. Treasurer

Guy Biggin

Guy is a partner at Crowe U.K. and lives in Cheltenham. He joined the committee in 2024.

Outside of work, Guy is a member of Lilly Brook Golf Club and has also completed in four London Marathons in his time.  He enjoys the arts as well as being a trustee of a number of charities, including Berkhamsted School, Cheltenham and the Dame Violet Wills Will Trust.

Sir Robert Wright KCB AFC FRAeS RAF

Air Marshal Sir Rob Wright is a long-standing member and Trustee. He served in the Royal Air Force for 40 years as a fighter pilot with over 3,500 hours on a variety of aircraft. He rose in the RAF through many prestigious appointments in the US, Germany, the MOD, Sarajevo, NATO and the EU, rising to become Air Marshal. He was awarded The Air Force Cross in 1982 and knighted in 2003.

He is now happily retired to Cheltenham where he lives with his wife Maggie and gives a lot of time and service to the Club.

Bettina Carr-Allinson

Bettina grew up in the Netherlands, studied French at the Sorbonne and started her career at the Dutch Foreign Office. 

After the family moved to France, she worked at Insead in Fontainebleau and set up the Anglophone Section at the College International, which now offers Oxbridge exams to many expats’ children. 

She then founded the European Youth Parliament (EYP: non-political charity) to bring together young people from the whole of Europe to discuss the future. Sessions were held in the national Parliaments. The EYP now has 30 000 participants a year. Bettina received the Cross of the Order of Merit (Germany’s highest order) in 1995 and was elected Woman of Europe in 1997. 

Bettina moved to Cheltenham in 2013, together with her husband Mike Evans, who had a long successful career in writing, publishing and promoting deserving causes. She states that one of the best things they did was to join The New Club!

David Mason

David Mason was educated at Dean Close School and has spent his life in Cheltenham.  He is the partner/owner of Christopher Davidson Solicitors LLP and has been there over 35 years specialising in a broad spectrum of business and charity related law.

His hobbies are fishing and boating at sea (not sailing) and has a house and boat in far west Wales. He is also an active Freemason and a member of several Lodges in Gloucestershire, South and West Wales. He is a member of Suffolk Square Bowling Club and The Honourable Company of Gloucestershire and the East India Club in St James Square, London.