Mr Stephen Zimmerman
President of College
As Clifton College is a charity, an elected Council governs it.
The Council delegates the day to day running of the College to a leadership group comprised of three teams: the Senior Management Team (Upper School), chaired by the Head of College; the Senior Leadership Team (Preparatory School) chaired by the Headmaster of the Preparatory School; and the Senior Executive Team, chaired by the Bursar.
Get in touch.
You can write to the Chair of Council at:
32 College Road
Clifton
Bristol.
BS8 3JH
Meet the Council.
Nick Tolchard
Chair of Council
Ms Teresa Fisk
Vice-Chair of Council
Mr Stuart Smith
Treasurer
Mr Mark Eldridge
President of the Old Cliftonian Society, Nominated Safeguarding Lead
Mr Julian Harbottle
Mrs Alison Eynon
Jonathan Glassberg
Mr Julian Hemming
Early Years Foundation Stage Lead
Mr James Womersley
Simon Brewer
Chairman of the Clifton College Development Trust
Mr Matthew Howard-Cairns
Mrs Caroline Overton
Mrs Ella Leonard
Mr Stephen Zimmerman
President of College
Stephen Zimmerman is an Old Cliftonian (PH. 1962-1967). His career has been in investment management for over 40 years. In 1971 he joined S G Warburg & Co as a graduate trainee before specialising in fund management with its investment arm, Mercury Asset Management. As Deputy Chairman, Stephen led the growth of Mercury Asset Management and the sale of the business to Merrill Lynch. He then joined the executive management and became joint chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers before retiring in 2001. In 2003 Stephen co-founded NewSmith Asset Management where he remained until 2014 when it was sold to Sumitomo Trust and Banking. He now runs a family office in the West End and is an advisor to a number of charities. Stephen became a Governor of Clifton College in 1997 and was elected as President of the College in 2019.
Stephen’s pro bono activities have included chairing the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Campaign from 2002-2007 and chairing Jewish Care from 2006-2011.
Nick Tolchard
Chair of Council
Nick Tolchard is an OC (1970 -1980) with a BSc in Geophysics from Southampton University. Nick has worked in senior roles in the asset management industry since 1984. Joining Invesco Asset Management in 2000 he is currently Head of Europe, Middle East & Africa, Invesco Fixed Income. Nick has been a member of the Old Cliftonian Executive Committee since 2002, Chairman since 2007, and President since November 2013. He is Trustee of the Clifton College Endowment Fund and Founding Trustee of Clifton College Development Trust. Nick was appointed as a Governor to Clifton College in 2011, and to the College Council in 2013. He was Vice Chair from 2016 to 2019 and became Chair of Council in September 2019. His three daughters attend Clifton College.
Ms Teresa Fisk
Vice-Chair of Council
Teresa Fisk has an MA in Theology from Clare College, Cambridge, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She has held senior finance and internal audit roles within industry, and is a partner with KPMG’s Internal Audit, Risk and Compliance Services practice. Teresa leads this practice in the South region and works with a variety of clients in the public and private sectors. She has been a member of the Bath Spa University Audit Committee since June 2011 and was appointed a Governor and Convenor of the Audit Committee in November 2012. Teresa was appointed as a Governor of Clifton College in 2012 and was appointed to Council in 2013.
Mr Stuart Smith
Treasurer
Stuart Smith has a BSc and DPhil, and is a Chartered Accountant (FCA) Stuart’s career has worked in professional services with both PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. He has 25 years’ experience working in Corporate Finance for private equity and corporate clients across a broad range of industrial sectors. During his career he has worked in a number of locations, including the US, Germany, Middle East, Russia, Ukraine, China and most recently Vietnam, as well as the UK. Stuart is now retired and based in Bristol. He was appointed a Governor to Clifton College in 2011, appointed to Council in 2012 and has been the Council Treasurer since 2013 (continuing). Stuart is a parent of 5 OCs.
Mr Mark Eldridge
President of the Old Cliftonian Society, Nominated Safeguarding Lead
Mark Eldridge (OC) is an experienced CEO and COO within the public sector. He has extensive board level exposure, and is a very experienced lawyer and judge. Having served as Chief Operating Officer for the Greater London Courts Service, Mark is currently a tribunal judge in both the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and in the Social Entitlement Tribunal Chamber. He has held a number of consulting positions relating to the justice service, and from 2004 to 2012 was a board member (serving also as Deputy Chair) of the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Across the same period Mark also served for four years on the Audit and Risk and Remuneration Committees of the first Children’s Commissioner for England. Mark is an OC and President of the Old Cliftonian Society.
Mr Julian Harbottle
Julian Harbottle is head of the Savills Development and Valuation team in the South West and South Wales and specialises in advising on development projects throughout the region, as well as immediate and strategic land opportunities. He is also the Head of Savills Western Region aiming to coordinate the various service lines offered by the company throughout the west. Julian provides strategic agency and consultancy advice, particulary in the residential and mixed use sectors. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1991 moving to Savills in 2004 and specialises in the development sector. He was a Governor at another Bristol independent school from 2008 to 2015 and is a Committee member of the Bristol Property Agents Association. He is married with three daughters.
Mrs Alison Eynon
Alison Eynon is Associate Vice Principal (Teaching & Learning) at Oasis Academy Brislington in South Bristol. Amongst other responsibilities, she is the lead for coaching, CPD, and teaching standards. She is also National Lead Practitioner for Oasis on raising standards in English, as well as Development Lead for the new free school – Oasis Academy Temple Quarter – which will open in central Bristol. Alison has been a Senior Leader in four very different school contexts, and has led various whole school projects to affect change and improve outcomes. She has experience in employability and careers education, and is part of the Learning City’s ‘Learning for and in Work Challenge Group’. She is a Teach First alumnae (2003), has chaired the Teach First South West Action Network, and now sits on the Board of Trustees for Teach First.
Jonathan Glassberg
OC 1978-83 (Polack’s House). Career in financial markets since leaving school. Founder and owner of JB Drax Honoré, the world’s largest broker of exchange traded interest rate options. Appointed Governor 2009. Member of Council 2018-
Mr Julian Hemming
Early Years Foundation Stage Lead
Julian Hemming has an MA in Law from Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge and an LLM from UCL. He is an Employment Law partner at Osborne Clarke LLP where he has undertaken a wide range of roles. Currently he is Co-Chair of Osborne Clarke’s International Employment Law practice. In addition, Julian has been Chairman of the Employment Lawyers’ Association; a director of Lifeskills Learning For Living; a governor of Whitehall Primary School; Chairman of the Bristol Real Tennis Club and is currently a Board Member of WE Care & Repair. In 2016 Julian was appointed as Governor and Council Member of Clifton College. He is the parent of an OC.
Mr James Womersley
James graduated from Durham University with a BA in Economics and History (as well as playing for the 1st XV) before gaining his PGCE at Oxford Brooks. Having taught at the Dragon School, Oxford, and at Emmanuel School in London, James has been Head Master of Beaudesert Park School, Gloucestershire, since 1997. The School has developed and grown substantially under his leadership. He is a member of the Oxford Group of Prep Schools and has been Chair of IAPS District 10.
Simon Brewer
Chairman of the Clifton College Development Trust
Simon Brewer (OC), graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Economic History, and subsequently took the advanced management programme at INSEAD, France.
He started his career at Citibank in 1985, where he trained as a portfolio manager, before joining Morgan Stanley in 1989. Over the 17 years he spent there, he managed their global balanced portfolio, was Chairman of their European Asset Allocation Committee and Chief Investment Officer. For the last 12 years he has been CEO and an owner of Vantage Investment Advisory Ltd. In addition he is a senior advisor to Rothschild, UK. He is a Governor of the school and Chairman of the Clifton College Development Trust. He also served as a Trustee of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Mr Matthew Howard-Cairns
Matthew Howard-Cairns is an OC. He has a BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Durham and is a Chartered Accountant. He works at Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms, where he is the head of European Asset Management for the firm’s Tactical Opportunities business. Matthew serves on the Boards of Directors of several of Blackstone’s portfolio companies across a variety of asset classes, industries and geographies. Prior to joining Blackstone, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has been a member of the Old Cliftonian Executive Committee since 2015, currently serving as Vice President and previously as Treasurer. In 2019 Matthew was appointed as Governor and Council Member.
Mrs Caroline Overton
Caroline is a consultant Gynaecologist with an honorary contract at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust with experience of teaching undergraduates and postgraduates, and has a medical teaching qualification with the Higher Education Academy. She has published widely, chaired various research committees (eg NICE, AEPU etc) and currently runs her own practice in Bristol. She is married to Tim, a consultant Obstetrician and has one daughter Rachel (OC, HH 2016), who loved her time at Clifton College and is now a medical student herself. Caroline is spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists with press experience and appearances on BBC television and BBC radio 4 this year.
Mrs Ella Leonard
Ella Leonard has a BA in English literature from Durham University. She is a lawyer and investment funds partner at Fladgate LLP, currently heading the Finance, Funds and Regulatory practice, and sitting on the partnership board. Ella was the Chair of Governors of PACT Educational Trust for 10 years, a charity which owns and manages two prep schools, and both a boys’ and girls’ senior day school in South London, retiring from this role in 2019. She is also a governor of WPSF, a grant-making educational charity, and a director of the French Hospital of Rochester, a provider of sheltered accommodation to adults with financial, mental or physical need. Ella was appointed a Governor to Clifton College in 2001 and to the College Council in 2020. She is married with three children. In addition to being an OC herself, Ella is the mother of one OC and one current Clifton College pupil.
