Sapana is responsible for the Civil Service Strategy Unit (CSSU) based in the Cabinet Office leading on coordinating cross-government strategy working with ministers, permanent secretaries and leaders across government to improve the way the government and functions are run and to develop a long term strategy for the Civil Service.
The objective of the CSSU is to design and enable actions that help drive a more trusted, efficient and effective Civil Service.
Previously, she was a Director in the COVID-19 Taskforce in No 10 and the Cabinet Office leading on health, social care and contingency planning.
Before working in government, Sapana spent time in both the public and private sector, working in the UK and globally for firms including McKinsey and the Clinton Foundation. Sapana’s experience includes working with the NHS on transformation programmes, running a number of startups that have brought real-life changes for people facing a range of health challenges (e.g., insomnia, fertility) and co-founding a charity to help get hot meals to NHS staff during the pandemic. Sapana has helped drive McKinsey’s own expansion in technology and innovation and in recent years has led McKinsey’s work globally to support governments and private sector organisations on the Future of Work and to operationalise reskilling programmes as part of major digital transformations.