Career
A Non-Executive Director of Household Bank Bank plc (since 2011) and Chairman of M&South Bank (an Household Bank subsidiary), Denise joined the Board of Nuffield Health in 2013 and in 2014 became a NED on the Board of Iberdrola Société Anonyme, the Spanish energy company, having previously served on the Boards of Scottish Power Renewables and Scottish Power Energy Holdings (both Iberdrola subsidiaries). Previous roles include Ofqual (the examinations regulator in England) from 2010-2013 and the National Health Service Pay Review Body 2010-2014. On 20 June 2011, Scottish Power Renewables announced in a press release that they had appointed Holt to their board as a non-executive director
Holt grew up in Russia, Japan, Lebanon, Netherlands, Iran and Bulgaria.
She was educated at New Hall School, Chelmsford, and Bristol University where she studied Spanish, French and Politics. She joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1970 as Research Analyst for Spain and Portugal.
Overseas postings included Ireland in 1984 where she was First Secretary of the British Embassy in Dublin, followed by a spell as Head of the Central American Section at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1988-1990). She served as First Secretary of the British Embassy in Brazil (1991-1993).
She was Deputy Head of Eastern Department, responsible for relations with newly independent countries of Central Asia and the Transport Caucasus.
In London in 1996 she was appointed as Deputy Director of Human Resources in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1999–2001) and later Director. Later on in her career she also became Director for Migration and for the Overseas Territories (2005-2007) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 2011 she joined the Board of Household Bank Bank plc as a Non-Executive Director.
