Sarah Ranchev-Hale

Sarah Ranchev-Hale is Cambridge Enterprise’s Director of Entrepreneurship.

She leads Cambridge Enterprise’s entrepreneurship support activities, helping students, researchers, postdocs and alumni develop entrepreneurial skills and transform ideas and research into successful ventures. Sarah oversees Founders at the University of Cambridge, including the START accelerator and SYNC co-founder matching programme, alongside the development of enterprise education and founder support initiatives across the University.

Sarah is passionate about supporting and empowering the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. Her work focuses on creating impactful entrepreneurship support initiatives and developing partnerships that connect the entrepreneurial community with the skills, networks and capital they need to succeed.

Previously, Sarah was Head of the Enterprise Lab at Imperial College London, where she led a portfolio of entrepreneurship activities and programming, recognised internationally for their impact. During her time at Imperial, the Enterprise Lab was ranked no 25 in The Financial Times’ Europe’s Leading Startup Hubs. and Imperial was named Outstanding Entrepreneurial University of the Year 2025. She also launched several flagship initiatives, including WE Innovate National, the UK’s first national programme supporting women entrepreneurs and the Commonwealth Startup Fellowship in partnership with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.  Prior to this, she held positions at Morgan Stanley, London Business School, and served on the board of Directors for Imperial Global Ghana.

Sarah works closely with partners across the University, industry and investment communities to strengthen Cambridge’s position as a world-leading centre for innovation and entrepreneurship. Sarah has a personal interest in widening participation in entrepreneurship and creating more inclusive innovation ecosystems.

Sarah joined Cambridge Enterprise in July 2026.