Sarah Cairns-Smith

Sarah Cairns-Smith is a retired senior partner and managing director, and current senior advisor, for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). At BCG, Cairns-Smith focused on innovation and organizational strategy in the private, public, and social sectors. She was a member of multiple global leadership teams and led the Scientist Network, a group of over 500 life scientists. In the social sector, she worked across a diverse array of therapeutic areas within global health, including reproductive health, and across multiple global development sectors for leading foundations and development organizations. She has worked across all major continents, with her global health and development work primarily focused on sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Cairns-Smith holds a bachelor of science from University College London, a doctor of philosophy in biochemistry from London University, and a master of business administration from Columbia University. She conducted post-doctoral research at the Columbia Presbyterian Center for Neuroscience and was a 2019 fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University.