Katherine McGrady, Ph.D.

Katherine McGrady serves as President and CEO of CNA, providing more than three decades of research and leadership experience since she arrived at CNA in 1988. Her leadership is backed by deployments into conflict zones, from Somalia to Operation Desert Storm, where she gained operational experience serving side by side with Marines.

Becoming CNA's CEO and President in 2015, McGrady developed a new plan and vision for the organization, emphasizing CNA's uncommon approach to gathering data first-hand in order to better understand both clear and underlying dimensions to problems. McGrady’s roles at CNA have included Director of the Marine Corps Program, Director of Fleet Level Operations, Vice President and Director of Research and Chief Operations Officer.

As a field representative, McGrady was embedded with I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. She has also served as a scientific analyst to both the Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policy, and Operations at U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters and to the Chief of Naval Operations.

McGrady earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Smith College.