Amanda Johnston is Director of Innovation at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Food Innovation Centre (AFIC), where she provides strategic leadership for the Centre’s innovation portfolio. Her work drives sustainable income growth, high performing external partnerships, impactful regional and national engagement, and strengthened knowledge exchange and commercial outcomes.

Amanda began her career in the food industry, holding management roles at Northern Foods and Cadbury Trebor Bassett. Over more than eight years, she gained extensive hands on experience in blue chip food manufacturing before moving into academia. She has spent nearly two decades at Sheffield Hallam University, leading research, innovation, project delivery and external engagement activities, and has been part of AFIC since its launch in 2014.

Her work centres on delivering healthy and sustainable innovation for the food and drink sector by bringing together industry, academia and wider stakeholders. Amanda’s expertise spans deep sector knowledge, partnership brokering at regional, national and international levels, securing funding to accelerate research and innovation, and identifying practical applications for emerging technologies across the food and drink industry. In addition to her role at AFIC, Amanda is part of the Food and Federation’s Technology Task Force and serves on the board of Made Smarter Yorkshire & Humber, supporting the strategic development and delivery of the region’s manufacturing digital adoption programme.