Kate Platonova

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2024.

Kate is SVP and CIO for Downstream and Renewable Energy Solutions at Shell, driving digital technology to rapidly deliver business value. Her role spans 160 markets, supports 1 million business customers and serves 32 million people daily at over 46,000 branded retail sites.

Kate is a member of Shell's IT executive team, setting the broader strategy and delivery approach for the organisation. In addition to her CIO responsibilities, she is establishing and managing generative AI governance across Shell.

Kate believes that in a world shaped by the energy transition and digitalisation, it is essential to enhance efficiency through technological improvements and foster a commercial and innovative mindset within the organisation.

Before joining Shell, Kate was the group chief data and analytics officer at HSBC, enabling the business to understand, anticipate and meet customer needs. She led the Data and Analytics Office from its inception, transforming HSBC into a data-driven organisation. Kate also served on the boards of HSBC UK and HSBC Latin America as a non-executive director and was a member of the Technology Advisory Board of Quantexa, a strategic partner to HSBC in the data and analytics space.

Prior to this, Kate held several multidisciplinary technology leadership roles in financial services at Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and JP Morgan Chase.