Catherine Duggan

Catherine is a geologist with 18 years of global experience who joined Grant Thornton in 2021 to lead the sustainability offering within Advisory. She holds a Ph.D. in Geology, a science integral to understanding climate change and associated physical risks.

Catherine is a frequent speaker at financial and non-financial industry fora, offering insights shaped by her work with stakeholders across politics, civil society, industry, and senior management. Her experience enables her to balance diverse perspectives with long-term strategic ambition.

She brings a distinctive ability to translate complex regulatory landscapes into actionable strategies, and is known for her collaborative leadership style, which fosters alignment across diverse teams. Catherine’s work is marked by a forward-looking, systems-based approach, helping organisations navigate uncertainty while maintaining strategic clarity and purpose.

Professional experience

Catherine leads sustainability strategy and regulatory readiness projects across financial services and industry. Her recent work includes:

• CSRD leadership: Project lead for CSRD implementation across multiple sectors, including pillar banks and multinational insurers, aviation, data, technology and retail. She has designed reporting frameworks, delivered C-suite training, and overseen the development of audit-ready disclosures.
• EU regulatory advisory: Led applicability assessments for major institutions on SFDR, EU Taxonomy, and CSRD. She supports clients in aligning internal governance and risk frameworks with evolving EU sustainability regulations.
• Sustainability-linked finance: Industry workstream lead for a pillar bank’s Sustainability-Linked Lending programme, translating policy ambition into measurable KPIs across sectors such as transport, healthcare, and retail.
• Training & capacity building: Delivered bespoke, CPD-accredited training on sustainability reporting, regulatory readiness, and ESG integration for boards and senior leadership teams.