Catriona Schmolke CBE FREng
Biography
Board skills and experience:
Catriona brings four decades of expertise in the infrastructure sector as a hydrogeologist and engineer, with a distinguished track record in Executive, Board Chair and Non-Executive roles, spanning private equity, public and charity organisations.
She is a recognised technical authority in Safety, Sustainability and Engineering Hydrogeology, with a focus on environmental stewardship and the growth of climate adaptation technologies.
Her varied career spans major capital investment projects for private and public sector clients across multiple markets and sectors, including nuclear, energy, water, waste, and contaminated land.
She had a successful 35-year executive career with Jacobs Engineering, holding senior global leadership positions including Chief Safety Officer, Chair of Global Risk and Chief Executive for two European and Middle East operations.
Catriona is one of a small number of women to have been awarded both a CBE for Services to Engineering and a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
She is also a past Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a former Visiting Professor of Sustainability, Risk & Resilience at Newcastle University and Honorary Lecturer in Hydrogeology at Glasgow University.
External appointments:
Catriona currently holds the positions of Chair at Artus Air Ltd, Chair of Nuada Ltd and Chair of Remuneration Committee at Scottish Water.
Additionally, she is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Programmes at the National Physical Laboratory and a Non-Executive Director with NES Fircroft Ltd.
Catriona is a Lay member of the University of Strathclyde Court and Convener of its Statutory Advisory Committee for Safety Health and Wellbeing.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Board
Appointed: 1 June 2025
Term ends: 30 November 2028
Appointed Interim Chair of NDA: 17 April 2026
Interim Chair
The Chair of the NDA is responsible for leading the organisation and making sure that it fulfills all of its goals.
The Board:
- monitors the NDA’s performance and directs its business effectively, including playing an active role in stakeholder relations
- receives frequent updates on the NDA’s financial position, forecasts and sensitivities
- ensures that a balanced assessment of performance is reported to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and regularly debates the main (corporate strategic) risks facing the NDA
Previous roles in government
-
Senior Non-Executive Director
-
Non-executive Director