Sarah Haywood is Managing Director of Advanced Oxford, a not-for-profit group of senior leaders from Oxfordshire’s major knowledge-intensive businesses, working together to support the long-term development of the Oxford region as a dynamic and prosperous place to work and live. Sarah joined Advanced Oxford in July, 2019. She sits on the advisory boards for TheHill Oxford, the University of Oxford IDEA Programme and The Chemistry Department, Imperial College.
Sarah started her career in the NHS and undertook the NHS General Management Training Scheme in NHS Wales. She worked in a number of NHS Trusts, including Great Ormond Street NHS Trust, prior to moving into the pharmaceuticals industry, where she had the role of Operations Head for a drug discovery unit within Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Sarah then moved into government, working as a senior civil servant in a number of policy teams. Sarah led the Department for Business Bioscience sector team, now part of the Office for Life Sciences, and when working in the Labour Market team, she was responsible for the design and legislation that led to the shared parental leave system and the right to request flexible working for all. She remains a committed advocate and supporter of flexible working arrangements and was recognised as one of the Timewise Power 50 Award winners in 2017.
Sarah studied Biology at the University of Oxford and also has a Post-graduate Diploma in Management (Health) and an MA in Human Resources Management and Strategy. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and regularly works as a mentor across a number of innovation related programmes. Sarah was named on the Progress 1000 for 2019, The Evening Standard’s list of the most influential people in London, for her work with MedCity, the life sciences cluster organisation for London, which she helped to set up.
