Sarah Winmill

“At the MoD Sarah lead the recovery and rebuild of the Defence Academy of Great Britain following a complete cyber compromise”

Part of the Tech Women Celebration 50 – a curated list of some of the most inspirational women working at all levels of tech

Sarah Winmill is President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. She joined the Ministry of Defence in 2020 as CIO Business Functions and has headed Software Products for Defence's Digital Foundry. Previously CIO for the British Transport Police, she delivered ICT services to 3,500 police officers across Great Britain.

A past Chair of Charity IT Leaders, her career has seen her deliver award winning tech to iconic visitor attractions including the V&A Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Academy of Arts, Hampton Court Palace and HM Tower of London, as well as University College London.

Throughout her career she has pursued her passion for delivering high-quality outcomes where there is only one chance to get it right. Sarah is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and member of the Army Cyber Reserve.

Tell us about the nominees biggest achievement to date

As President of BCS, Sarah is leading the drive for professionalism and ethics in the IT profession. This includes BCS being selected to lead the UK government AI Assurance Stakeholder Consortium established by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to build the professional foundations of a recognised AI assurance profession in the UK.

As a 'out' gay woman with cancer Sarah is conscious of being a visible role model. This year she gave a keynote speech at the BCS Lovelace Colloquium for women and non-binary students of computing and related subjects and a BPP Tech Degree Ceremony.

At the Ministry of Defence Sarah lead the recovery and rebuild of the Defence Academy of Great Britain following a complete cyber compromise. At the British Transport Police she delivered handheld tech to 2,000 front line officers enabling an additional 45 minutes of visible policing per officer shift.

At the Victoria and Albert Museum she published the Museum's catalogues and 'free to download' print quality images winning Best Research Site at Museums and the Web 2010 and protected the first 'digital first' items of the national collection attracting a ComputerWorld Laureate.

What is the most significant challenge the nominee has overcome?

In July 2021 Sarah was diagnosed with incurable Stage 4 ovarian cancer. Following an extended absence for initial surgery and chemotherapy she returned to work at the beginning 2023 and has continued to work full time through subsequent treatment regimes.

Sarah uses her cancer experience for good and is Champion for the Defence Cancer Support Network supporting others impacted by cancer. Her tenacity was recognised in the 2025 Women in Defence Awards where she was a Finalist for the Resolute Spirit award.

Tell us something about you people would find surprising

Sarah was an undergraduate at the Royal College of Music studying viola on a four-year Performance Diploma course. She failed her final recital and left with no qualification.

Happily, this led her to turn her student job at the Royal Albert Hall into full-time work and it was here that she was introduced to computers and 'fell' into her career in tech.