Catherine McKenna is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Climate and Nature Solutions. She is Canada’s former Minister of Environment and Climate Change and former Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. She is Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments for companies, financial institutions, cities, and regions. Catherine founded Women Leading on Climate and hosts its new podcast. She is a member of Temasek’s Global Sustainability Advisory Panel and Singapore’s International Advisory Panel on Carbon Credits.

She serves on the advisory boards of several private sector companies and is a frequent global speaker on climate action, net-zero leadership, and women’s empowerment. Catherine was named a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur by the French government, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and holds an honorary Doctor of Science degree from McMaster University.

Prior to entering politics, Catherine practiced corporate, trade, and competition law at leading firms in Canada and Indonesia. She served as lead negotiator on the Timor Sea Treaty with the UN Peacekeeping Mission in East Timor. She founded the charitable organization Canadian Lawyers Abroad (now Level Justice). Catherine is barred in Ontario and New York. She is the author of Run Like a Girl, a memoir about ambition, resilience, and fighting for change. She is a mother of three children and an avid open-water swimmer