Consultant

Dr Jennifer Barnes joined Saxton Bampfylde in 2016. Following four years in the consulting team, advising on board-level roles in the high education and arts and culture sectors, she is now an Executive Coach, regulated by the EMCA, and a Senior Advisor. Jennifer works with individuals who are navigating leadership roles, creating a confidential space to reflect, plan, solve issues and expand perspectives and capabilities.

Jennifer’s interest in the relationship between coaching and performance started as a competitive swimmer and associate coach. Years later, seeing parallels in exceptional sporting and musical performance, she designed a programme based at the Royal College of Music that brought together physiology, psychology and neuroscience to enhance performance by approaching musicians as athletes, with the same challenges technically and psychologically. Leaders must be soloists as well as a defining member of a wider team, and that duality provokes dynamics that coaching can address to enhance performance.

Jennifer’s background was initially performance driven in sports and music,  followed by leadership experiences in industry and higher education. From 2010-15, she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor and a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cambridge, and President of Murray Edwards College (2008-2012). Prior to that, she worked as an academic leader in conservatoires, and was BP’s first Global Director of Education, working with governments, universities and industry.