Doctor of the University
A business leader in marine and maritime science and technology, committed to boosting skills and diversity.
Sarah Kenny is the Chief Executive for BMT, a leading international scientific and engineering technical services and consulting business. BMT has deep specialism in defence and security, specialist ship design and surveys, critical infrastructure, and environmental modelling.
Before joining BMT as CEO in 2017, she was Managing Director for the Maritime Land and Weapons business at QinetiQ. A marine environmental scientist by profession, she has worked in marine and maritime science and technology businesses throughout her career.
Sarah is Chair of Maritime UK, a board member of Maritime London, and a Trustee Director of the National Oceanography Centre. She is also a member of the UK Defence Innovation External Advisory Panel, and of the UK Maritime Enterprise Working Group.
She served for many years on the board of the Society of Maritime Industries and on the UK Department for Transport’s Expert Panel, building the Maritime 2050 strategy.
Proud to be an Honorary Captain of the Royal Navy, Sarah is also an Honorary Member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors.
She is passionate about sustainment of the UK engineering, science and technology skills base, committing considerable time to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects in the maritime field.
In 2019, she was awarded an OBE for her services to the maritime industry, including her work on STEM and on promoting the importance and value of diversity in the sector. In the same year, she was delighted to be awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Portsmouth.