Sarah Munby

Sarah Munby
Permanent Secretary of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
In office 7 February 2023 – July 2025
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer
Minister	Michelle Donelan Chloe Smith Michelle Donelan Peter Kyle
Preceded by	Office established[a]
Succeeded by	Emran Mian
Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
In office 20 July 2020 – 7 February 2023
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak
Minister	Alok Sharma Kwasi Kwarteng Jacob Rees-Mogg Grant Shapps
Preceded by	Sam Beckett[b]
Succeeded by	Gareth Davies (DBT) Jeremy Pocklington (DESNZ) Herself (DSIT)
Personal details
Born	May 1982 (age 43)
Nationality	British
Occupation	Civil servant

Sarah Anne Munby (born 1982)^[1] is a British civil servant who served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from February 2023 to July 2025.^[2] She was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from July 2020 to February 2023.

Munby was born in May 1982. As a schoolgirl, at James Allen’s Girls’ School, she was a member of the runner-up team in the 2000 World Schools Debating Championships held in Pittsburgh, USA.^[3]

Munby has a PPE degree from Oxford and a Master's degree in Economics from the LSE.

Munby started her career working as a civil servant at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as an economist.^[4] She later worked for the management consultancy McKinsey & Company for fifteen years, where she "led the company's strategy and corporate finance practice in the UK and Ireland".^[5][6] She joined the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in July 2019 as director general for business sectors.^[7] The permanent secretary at BEIS, Alex Chisholm, became chief operating officer of the civil service in April 2020. Munby replaced Sam Beckett, who served as acting permanent secretary at BEIS, as permanent secretary in July 2020.^[5]

In February 2023, Munby's department was split into three and she became Permanent Secretary of the newly-established Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.^[8]

In March 2024, Munby became embroiled in the scandal of Michelle Donelan using government funds to settle a libel claim made against her.

In April 2024, Munby was implicated by Henry Staunton (former Chair of Post Office Limited) in the Post Office scandal for applying pressure on the CEO of Post Office to cut costs, including on Horizon's replacement and compensation for sub postmasters innocent of wrongdoing.^[9]. However, in Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry's final report ^[10] Sir Wyn Williams said "If, as Mr Staunton would have me conclude, Ms Munby had even hinted at it being the desire of Government that the Post Office should “go slow” on compensation, either at that time, or at some future time in the lead up to a general election, I would have expected that to have been clearly recorded in the notes of the meeting. His suggestion in his oral evidence that his notes were never intended to record all that was said was I fear, unconvincing.”