Sarah Glendinning

Director of Business Partnerships, Northumbria University

Sarah joined Northumbria University as Director of Business Partnerships in early 2024. With more than twenty years’ experience supporting the growth and development of businesses across the North East, including her last role as CBI Regional Director, Sarah focuses on identifying, initiating and catalysing opportunities for collaboration with organisations across the UK, connecting partners and facilitating engagement with the University for mutual benefit.

She is passionate about raising aspirations and is engaged with a number of education and diversity initiatives. She served as Vice Chair of the North East LEP Skills Advisory Panel and has continued as Chair of North East Ambition after the transition into the North East Combined Authority. Over the last decade she has facilitated a senior women-in-leadership network in the region, bringing together female leaders from the public, private and voluntary sectors and is currently an Ambassador for the Community Foundation’s Women and Girls’ Fund whilst serving as a trustee at Community Foundation North East.

Sarah is a management graduate from Aston University and spent time working in senior commercial roles in the graphic arts, manufacturing and IT sectors before returning to the North East in 2003.