Kate Platonova

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2026.

Kate Platonova is Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer for Shell's Downstream, Trading & Renewables business. Appointed in 2023, she leads the global Information & Digital Technology organisation, delivering business value through a broad digital, data and AI agenda, and is a member of both the Downstream & Renewables Business Leadership Team and the Shell IT Executive Team.

In 2026, Kate also took on leadership of Shell's Digital Technology Office, shaping enterprise architecture, data foundations, digital standards and generative AI governance. Previously, she was Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer at HSBC. Kate has over 25 years' experience in technology leadership and is based in London.

What's the most exciting part of your current role?

Scale and consequence. In my role as the CIO for Shell's Downstream, Trading and Renewables businesses, I get to shape technology that underpins global, always-on businesses – while redefining how IT creates value. We're simplifying legacy complexity, embedding AI into the core of decision-making, and modernising platforms that millions rely on every day.

What excites me most is that IT is no longer a support function – it's a shaping force. The choices we make influence speed, safety, customer experience and competitive advantage.

Equally important is the people side. Building curious, diverse teams who feel trusted to experiment and lead is what turns strategy into impact. When culture and technology move together, transformation becomes sustainable rather than exhausting.

What do you do in week one of a new project to avoid pain in month six?

I focus on three things: outcomes, ownership, and adoption. First, I want to get ruthless clarity on the outcomes, why we're doing the work and which trade-offs we're prepared to accept. Most problems that appear later emerge because of fuzzy goals early on.

Second, I make ownership unmistakable – who decides, who delivers, and how we'll measure value. Ambiguity is expensive.

Third, I design for reality, not PowerPoint. If users, data, security, and change aren't considered from day one, month six becomes a rescue operation. Good delivery is rarely about heroics. It's about early clarity and disciplined execution.

What’s the part of your estate you most want to simplify in 2026?

Applications – particularly duplication and complexity that slow teams down and inflate run-cost. We've already proven the value of simplification through application rationalisation, reducing operational applications and unlocking significant savings.

In 2026, I want to push that further: fewer, better platforms; clearer product ownership; and a stronger "build once, reuse many times" mindset. Simplification isn't just about cost – it improves reliability, speed, cyber posture, and the experience for colleagues and customers.

I also want to simplify how we adopt AI: moving from scattered experiments to repeatable patterns with strong governance, so teams can innovate quickly without compromising ethics, privacy, or security. In an increasingly regulated world, responsible AI needs to be designed into the system – not bolted on later.

Excluding smartphones, what piece of technology could you not live without and why?

Books, usually on an e-reader. Reading is how I reset and stay grounded. My work is full of complexity and trade-offs, and stepping into a good book helps me think more clearly about people, storytelling, and perspective — not just systems.

As a working mum, the practicality matters too: ten minutes of reading between travel, school logistics, and late night emails is realistic. The best leaders keep learning, and not all of that learning comes from business or technology books. Sometimes it comes from simply spending time with ideas that remind you how humans think and feel.

What excites you most about the future of IT?

I'm excited by how IT is shifting from "building systems" to shaping decisions and outcomes. Data is no longer just a technical capability – it's a decision-making system, and that changes what leadership in IT really means.

The next wave of technology – AI, digital twins, real-time sensor data, and immersive visualisation – will help organisations understand and operate the physical world in entirely new ways. That creates enormous opportunity: smarter optimisation, better prediction, safer operations, and more personalised customer experiences.

But what excites me most is pairing that innovation with responsibility. As adoption accelerates, governance, ethics, privacy, and security become design principles, not afterthoughts.

And finally: talent. The future belongs to curious teams who learn fast, collaborate across disciplines, and build technology in pursuit of real business outcomes. IT is – and will remain – a people business.

What talent are you quietly proud of that would never show up on LinkedIn?

Remembering that leadership is human before it's technical. I'm quietly proud of my ability to create space for people to be honest – about uncertainty, mistakes, and growth – without fear. It sounds simple, but in high-pressure environments it's rare.

When you can build psychological trust, teams take sensible risks, learn faster, and support each other through setbacks. That's where the best outcomes come from.

On a more personal note, I've always had a deep love of literature, storytelling and poetry, and I use it to connect ideas to meaning – especially when change feels overwhelming. It helps me turn strategy into something people can feel and act on, not just understand intellectually.

What’s your most-used keyboard shortcut or command that you wish everyone knew?

"Rubber duck debugging." It's not a keyboard shortcut, but it's a discipline. When something doesn't make sense, I explain it out loud – sometimes to a person, sometimes to an inanimate object – until the logic breaks or clicks.

I learned this early in my engineering career, and it still works at executive level. Whether it's an algorithm, an operating model, or an AI governance decision, if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough yet.

I wish more people slowed down to do this before adding complexity. Clarity is still the most powerful optimisation tool we have.