Sarah Jane Cork has built a career spanning more than three decades across security, loss prevention, financial crime, risk, governance and business leadership, while using that experience to create opportunities for people traditionally underrepresented within the sector.
As Founder and CEO of Milieu Associates, Sarah advises organisations on growth, strategy, leadership and organisational development. Her wider contribution, however, extends well beyond commercial consultancy. In 2025 she co-founded Women in Security Enterprise UK with Emma Harris and Liz Lloyd, providing the organisational structure behind the Women in Security Network and expanding its focus on connection, professional development and practical routes into employment.
Turning inclusion into practical opportunity
Sarah’s work with Women in Security Enterprise UK goes beyond promoting representation. A central focus is creating pathways into security for women facing barriers including domestic abuse, homelessness, insecure housing and financial disadvantage.
The model connects specialist support, training, SIA licensing and employment rather than treating training as an isolated intervention. It recognises that access to work can depend on factors including stable accommodation, childcare, transport and personal safety, and seeks to build those considerations into the route towards sustained employment.
That approach has been reflected in WiSE UK’s growing industry presence during 2026. Its International Women’s Day event in Birmingham brought together around 180 women and raised more than £5,000 for Women’s Aid in Luton. A subsequent event at Tesco Headquarters brought together more than 250 women and allies and 36 speakers from across security, strengthening the network’s role as a national platform for women within the profession.
Extending security beyond traditional boundaries
Sarah’s wider work connects security leadership with safeguarding, ethics, violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and suicide prevention. She is a Board Member and Trustee of the Consortium for the Prevention of Suicide, an Ambassador for Our Safer City and a Specialist Advisor to the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety UK Chapter.
In 2026, she was admitted as a Freeman of the City of London, recognising her work addressing violence against women and girls and domestic abuse. This builds on earlier industry recognition including the Women in
Security Awards Contribution to Industry Award in 2023 and the Retail Risk Hall of Fame Award in 2022.
Her professional career also includes senior executive and operational leadership across security and related sectors, managing major budgets, transformation programmes, large workforces and commercial growth.
Sarah’s contribution demonstrates that improving the security profession requires more than advocating for change. Through industry networks, employment pathways, safeguarding initiatives and professional leadership, she has helped create structures through which that change can be delivered.
