Siobhan Gardener
Leadership Biographies
Siobhan has long had a sustainability focus in her personal, academic, and professional life. She grew up in a mixed-race household, a farmer’s daughter and a strong advocate for diversity in STEM fields. From this foundation, Siobhan pursued a PhD on sustainable smallholder livelihoods and protecting ecosystems in Northern Madagascar, on completion of which she joined One Young World’s longstanding partner Unilever.
Siobhan became R&D manager for future flavours, and due to her sustainability background, became involved in driving the adoption of technologies and sustainable agricultural practices in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to her leadership in this area, Siobhan was selected to be part of the Unilever delegation at One Young World The Hague 2018.
Returning from The Hague, Siobhan participated in mentorship programmes, volunteered for One Young World-led SDG hackathons, and continued to attend One Young World community events. This sat alongside her day-to-day role as Senior Manager in Unilever’s Global Sustainable Technology programme. In recognition of her excellence in the field of sustainable development, Siobhan was selected for a Woman of the Future Award by the Chief Executive of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust.
In January 2020, Siobhan began a new role leading the new Climate Change & Environment Studio at Deloitte (another long-standing partner of One Young World). Within Deloitte Ventures, Siobhan creates cross-industry tech collaborations between research bodies, start-ups, and large corporates to tackle global sustainability challenges. A snapshot of these initiatives includes AI in smart agriculture, remote sensing to monitor endangered habitats, and tracking blue carbon sequestration by protecting whale populations. This all sits within Deloitte’s global climate strategy to commit to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030 through driving responsible climate choices within the organisation and beyond.
Siobhan continues to develop her leadership credentials as a visiting lecturer on Food Systems at Cranfield University and mentor for the Conception X Deep-tech PhD Accelerator and is the perfect example of how young leaders can use their passion and expertise to create global impact for a better world within multinational corporations.