Experience

Laura Sandys is an innovator who seeks to challenge incumbent thinking in public policy and business in order to increase competition, productivity and creativity. She specialises in the energy, food and resource sectors, focusing on energy markets, food and energy security and resource management. She is a leading advocate of the low carbon economy, promoter of increasing demand reduction policies and active innovator in food systems policies.

In her business career, Laura founded two companies that focused on energy and the environment. Her corporate work has involved her in the Caucasus and South America as well as in many parts of Europe and the United States. In that role, she also served as an advisor to the Georgian Government on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and her opinion has been frequently sought on issues relating to Russian energy.

Imperial College London

Imperial College London

Member of Carbon Capture and Storage Advisory Group

The Food Foundation

The Food Foundation

The first think tank looking at the total food system Leading Food Champion - www.foodfoundation.org.uk

The European Movement U.K.

The European Movement U.K.

Chair of the European Movement

King's College London

King's College London

Member of Kings College Advisory Team to Military Intelligence during the Iraq Invasion

Which?

Which?

Which? - Head of Parliamentary Unit

Cambridge University

Cambridge University

Masters Degree (Cantab) International Relations specialising in Iraq

The Open University

The Open University

Trustee of Open University, Deputy Chair of the Civic Trust & Chair of Open Democracy

European Mainstream

European Mainstream

Mainstream of the Conservative Party, fundamentally united by our belief that the UK national interest is best served working for changes within the EU

POWERful Women

POWERful Women

Co-Founder of POWERful Women

Following the sale of her last company in 2000, Laura joined King’s College, London, as a Senior Research Associate, and worked with the UK’s military intelligence on a spectrum of risks associated with the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Cambridge in 2004 specialising in Iraq. Her own perspectives on the invasion were reflected in her contribution to The Conflict in Iraq 2003, a publication edited by Professor Paul Cornish.

As the Member of Parliament for Thanet South between 2010 and 2015, Laura served on the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, and subsequently became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Greg Barker.

Laura established the Food Foundation, an independent policy think-tank to explore the changing challenges facing UK and international food systems. She is also a co-founder of POWERful Women, a group whose purpose is to ensure that women have equal access to senior executive positions in the energy sector.

She is Chair of the 2020 Productivity and Efficiency Commission, and a Member of Imperial College’s Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage Advisory Group, the largest research programme of its kind in the United Kingdom.

Her commitment to Britain’s continued membership in the European Union has led her to become the spokesperson for a group of ‘Euro-Realist’ MPs, known as European Mainstream. This commitment along with her active interests in the low carbon economy and food security have resulted in regular appearances on radio and television as well as frequent contributions to newspapers and through social media.

Politics: MP 2010- 2015

Energy

  • Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Greg Barker Minister for Energy & Climate Change
  • Former Member of the Energy & Climate Change Select Committee
  • Electricity Market Reform:
             –   Pre-Legislative scrutiny of Electricity Market Reform
             –   Member of the EMR Bill Committee
  • Leading on Demand Side Response and Demand Reduction
  • Chairman of the Efficiency and Productivity Commission

 

Food

  • Founder of The Food Foundation – the first think tank looking at the total food system
  • Leading Food Champion
  • Author of ‘Consumers at the Heart of Markets’
  • Chair of the Smarter Consumer Commission on Food
  • Key campaigner for the successful reintroduction of ‘food education’ onto the national curriculum
  • Leading in Parliament on global food security; safe supply chains; nutrition; resources and food affordability

 

Other

  • Chair of All Party Groups: Civic Voice; Epilepsy; Behavioural Change
  • Convenor of Turquoise Tories – Green Conservatives
  • Convenor of European Mainstream
Laura Sandys Houses of Parliament
The Food Foundation

Business: 1982 - 2006

2003 – 2006: Government of Georgia – Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

  • Head of London office
  • Negotiator with UK and US partners
  • Strategic advisor to Chair of National Georgian Oil Company

 

1992 – 2000: LSA, a Pan-European communications consultancy

  • Founded and created a successful business that set new standards of business practice
  • Operated in London with small Istanbul satellite
  • Worked across the EU, in Accession countries and on key issues in the Middle East
  • Clients included BP plc, BT plc, Severn Trent, UKOOG & Natural Environmental Research Council and Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
  • Focused on energy and regulated industries with Pan-European interests
  • 20 staff, £2 million t/o in 1999 when sold to a leading global communications company

 

1990 – 1991: Which? – Head of Parliamentary Unit

 

1988 – 1989: Sunday Trading Campaign – Head of Communications

 

1983 – 1987: Founded and ran PR and Marketing Consultancy

Government of Georgia – Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline - Laura Sandys
Laura Sandys, BP
Which? - Laura Sandys, Head of Parliamentary Unit

Academia / Voluntary: 1999 - 2007

2002 ‐ 2005: Senior Research Associate, Kings College, Centre for Defence Studies

  • Energy and Food Security Expert
  • Iraq Specialist
  • Member of Kings College Advisory Team to Military Intelligence during the Iraq Invasion

 

2002 – 2003: Masters Degree (Cantab) International Relations

  • International Relations specialising in Iraq

 

1999 – 2007: Held the following positions:

  • Chair of Open Democracy
  • Trustee of Open University,
  • Deputy Chair of the Civic Trust
Laura Sandys King's College London
Laura Sandys Cambridge University

Publications

Publication

Publication

ACCESS ALL AREAS
Building a majority

Publication

European Mainstream

Publication

Distributed Generation: from Cinderella to centre stage, a report by Carbon Connect

View all publications

Challenging Ideas | Laura Sandys