Building and sustaining cultures of innovation, growth and connectedness through periods of unrivaled disruption requires a new kind of leadership imperative.

Sarah Francis

EY Americas Financial Services Strategic Relationships Leader

Builder of future-focused boards. Intrapreneur. Value creator. Connector. Next-gen talent spotter. Athlete’s mindset. Mom of two.

Sarah oversees the firm’s strategy, brand positioning and the coordinated approach to serving C-suite executives and boards of financial institutions.

Sarah serves as a trusted advisor to hundreds of public, private, pre-IPO and nonprofit organizations in their corporate governance and board advisory transformation initiatives. She brings 15+ years of experience in director recruitment, succession planning, board composition and diversification. She previously served as the firm’s Executive and Board Network Leader, spearheading the successful launch and scale of a leading markets initiative to assist clients in their board and C-suite sourcing efforts as well as leading the design of a technology infrastructure to enable the Financial Services Organization’s board relationship efforts.

Before joining our firm, Sarah worked in talent strategy at a Philadelphia-based venture capital firm.

She received her BA in Philosophy from Villanova University and is the 2019 recipient of Villanova’s Young Alumni of the Year award.

How Sarah is building a better working world

Sarah works with CEOs, nominating committees and boards to build the diverse leadership benches critical to delivering long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders alike. She also helps advise and support the next generation of organizational leaders in navigating pathways to the boardrooms and executive suites of tomorrow.

Sarah currently serves on the Advisory Council for the McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership at Villanova University and on the Board of Directors for Marjorie’s Fund, a nonprofit devoted to empowering people living with type 1 diabetes in under-resourced locations across the globe.

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