Sarah Jardine

Biography

Sarah Jardine has a track record of delivering strategic transformation, scaling operations, and driving innovation across regulated industries. She is a recognised industry leader - previous Chair of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Board, Manufacturer Top 100 recipient, and Strathclyde University Alumna of the Year 2018 – with deep expertise in strategy, operational excellence, and organisational development.

After gaining a BSc (Hons) in Laser Physics and Optoelectronics and an MSc in Laser Engineering from the University of Strathclyde and Heriot Watt University respectively, Sarah began her career as a Laser Engineer with Thales Optronics in 1993. She moved to Optos Plc as a Senior Optical Engineer in 2000, holding various roles within the company, including Head of R&D and Senior Director of manufacturing. In her 20 years with Optos she successfully embedded a culture of continuous improvement, delivered global certifications, and a ten-fold increase in production capacity.

Sarah moved to the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) in early 2020 where as COO of NMIS she had responsibility for delivering a £43M HQ facility whilst leading the organisation through the pandemic as interim CEO.

In late 2022 Sarah joined handheld retinal imaging start-up, epipole as COO and then CEO, before establishing her consultancy in early 2026. As CEO of epipole Ltd Sarah delivered multiple products including an AI-powered medical device; secured multi-million pound funding rounds; and led teams through a successful FDA inspection.

Through her consultancy Sarah is currently working with a broad range SME’s at various stages of maturity with manufacturing strategy, processes, transfer, etc, and various organisational development activities. She’s keen to collaborate with those working to bring high-value, high-quality manufacturing roles to their communities.

A keen advocate of young people, Sarah mentors a number of young women at various stages of their career and has had the privilege of being a Career Ready mentor and has served as a member of the Local Advisory Board for Career Ready Fife for a number of years.

Qualifications

• 1993 MSc Laser Engineering (Heriot-Watt University)
• 1992 BSc (Hons) Laser Physics and Optoelectronics (University of Strathclyde)