Meet Sara Hydon, Our Leadership Summit 2024 Alumna
With over 30 years of experience in the public sector, Sara Hydon has built a distinguished career in local government and now serves as Head of IT Services at Companies House. Throughout her journey, she has held a variety of IT operational and strategic roles, leading multi-million-pound digital change programmes and developing innovative service strategies and policies that deliver real impact.
Sara is deeply committed to providing excellent digital services and is especially passionate about bringing young people into the digital workplace. Outside of work, she’s an avid skier, enjoys long walks, live music, and describes herself as a social butterfly who thrives on connecting with people and hearing their stories.
Her journey with Pipeline's Leadership Summit began in 2024 when her Director shared the opportunity with her, saying the content looked excellent. She agreed and quickly applied. That decision marked the beginning of her career growth journey.
What Was Your Did Programme Experience?
A Transformative Experience
The Leadership Summit was a truly transformative experience for me. It created an informal, inclusice environment where aspiring female leaders could come together to connect, share, and grow.
One of the key highlights for me was the Acing the Interview session. Being interviewed in front of my peers was honestly terrifying, but the headhunter running the session was so encouraging. The real challenge came with receiving direct, critical feedback from both the interviewer and my peers. They were incredibly kind but their suggestions on how to adjust my interview style were genuinely valuable.
Championing Diversity & Empowerment
The Summit also offered access to other inspiring women leaders and provided us with a platform that truly championed diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. Critically, it created opportunities for myself and my cohort to break barriers within our own organisations and excel in our leadership roles. The insights and practical strategies I took away were second to none. I left feeling energised, confident, and ready to take on the world.
What Impact Did The Programme Have?
Leadership Techniques & Growth
The personal branding workshop has had a lasting impact on me. I have since used those techniques while coaching colleagues, helping them recognise and amplify their leadership strengths. I’ve also applied them with my wider service to gain feedback on my leadership style - it's been an insightful and empowering tool for my self-awareness and growth.
Having experienced the Summit and its impact firsthand, I can confidently say it is helping to shape the future of leadership by enabling women to lead with authenticity, resilience, and confidence. It was both a celebration of how far we have come and a call to action for a brighter, more inclusive future.
Lifelong Connections
On a personal note, I have kept in monthly contact with my Summit Buddy and we’ve since become close friends. We regularly share our professional experiences and continue to support and champion each other’s growth.
“Thank you so much to the Pipeline team. I genuinely cannot speak highly enough of my experience and of the inspiring women I met over those three incredible days.”
With over 30 years in the public sector, Sara Hydon has led major digital transformation across local government and now heads IT Services at Companies House. Her journey with The Pipeline began at the Leadership Summit in 2023.
