Saira Demmer

A true trailblazer, Saira Demmer has shattered barriers to achieve remarkable success in business while driving meaningful change for working parents. A woman of colour raised in a single-parent household, in a culture where women like her grandmother were not empowered with literacy, she defied the odds to graduate from Oxford and rapidly ascend the corporate ladder, becoming an equity partner by age 30 and a CEO by age 34.

Becoming CEO of SF Recruitment in 2020 (in a typically white, male-dominated industry), she transformed the company from a niche F&A recruitment firm into a national, multi-service powerhouse, expanding into new markets and specialisms. 

Beyond financial success, her impact on SF’s culture is profound: she’s achieved 0% gender pay gap, with 66% of managers being women, and 95% of employees reporting good work-life balance.

A passionate advocate for flexible working, she is the only recruitment industry representative on an All-Party Parliamentary Group on the topic and a sought-after speaker on panels and podcasts. By championing family-friendly policies, she is reshaping the way her industry and others view flexible working, proving that inclusivity drives employee wellbeing and business success