Meet Cathie’s senior team who lead our 90+ specialist engineers in key locations worldwide.
Meet Cathie’s senior team who lead our 90+ specialist engineers in key locations worldwide.
Sonja is at the helm of Cathie, leading the business through its next phase of growth. Her focus is on providing strategic, trusted expertise to its international clients and partners across the offshore energy sector, driving innovation across its geoscience and geotechnical engineering services, and scaling up its cross-border engineering team.
Joining the business in 2024 as European Operations Manager; Sonja has played a key role in strengthening operational performance and supporting the delivery of Cathie’s strategic objectives across international markets.
With a PhD in Nuclear Physics and more than 20 years’ experience, including 10 years as a Managing Director, Sonja has successfully led business growth, expanded operations and developed high-performing teams across her career.
Prior to joining Cathie, Sonja was Managing Director – Benelux for international testing, training, inspection and certification company TÜV Austria. Her previous roles have included leadership positions at TNO, a Netherlands-based not-for-profit scientific research organisation, IBA, a world leader in particle accelerator technology and Kiwa, a global compliance specialist.
Victor is a Chartered Geologist and Chartered Engineer with over 25 years’ experience in a broad range of geological and geotechnical subjects including regeneration, mining, nuclear power, infrastructure, oil and gas and renewable energy projects (onshore and offshore).
In the offshore sector, Victor has completed a number of high profile foundation design projects, has led multi-year and multi-vessel survey campaigns and has worked extensively in CBRA and burial assessment for subsea cables. Having specialized in engineering geology and geotechnics from the University of Newcastle, Victor leads the engineering teams in the UK.
Neil has over 30 years’ experience in commercial and academic geophysics and geology. A Chartered Geologist bridging technical and managerial skills groups, he contributes systematic strategic direction to the Cathie management team.
For the last decade Neil has worked in the near-surface sector, predominantly on foundations and cables projects for offshore wind. Often supporting the construction of ground models pioneering the quantitative integration of geotechnical, geophysical and geological data, Neil has made a leading contribution to multiple state-of-the-art investigations for site characterisation. As a hands-on project director and coach his connection to technical staff and clients is direct and delivers valuable insight into planning the professional development of Cathie’s people, and technical development of its products.
He has worked in commercial geo-survey from ground, marine and airborne platforms for minerals, water, hydrocarbons, renewable energy and civil engineering projects. Neil holds a BSc degree in Geophysics and a PhD in Environmental Science (Volcanology) both from Lancaster University, UK.
A chartered MCIPD HR professional, Sam has more than 20 years’ experience in engineering, consultancy and private equity-backed organisations. Throughout her career, she has partnered with senior leaders to develop people strategies, build organisational capability and create positive workplace cultures that support business growth.
As Group HR Manager, Sam leads the group’s People and Culture strategy across its international operations. She works closely with leaders across the business on workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management, career development and employee engagement, ensuring the organisation has the capability and talent needed to achieve its strategic objectives.
Sam has a particular interest in helping people develop their careers, creating effective performance management frameworks, and using technology to simplify processes and improve the employee experience. She is passionate about building a positive culture where employees can grow, develop their skills and contribute to the long-term success of the business.
A member of the executive management team, Thomas leads Cathie’s business development and commercial activities in close collaboration with senior engineering teams across the group. This includes spearheading tendering initiatives and nurturing key relationships with developers, contractors, and engineering partners across the global offshore energy sector.
With more than 13 years’ experience in offshore wind, marine site investigations, and energy infrastructure projects, Thomas combines commercial leadership with a strong technical understanding of offshore project development. Working closely with our engineering and geoscience teams, Thomas helps clients to de-risk projects, navigate complex development challenges, and deliver successful offshore renewable energy developments worldwide. with a particular focus in the UK, Europe & APAC.
Prior to joining Cathie, Thomas spent almost a decade with Gardline Limited and the wider Boskalis Group where he was responsible for securing and project managing major offshore geotechnical and geophysical site investigation contracts across Europe, North America, and other international markets. This breadth of experience enables Thomas to bridge the gap between technical project requirements and commercial objectives, helping clients and partners successfully advance offshore wind and wider energy infrastructure projects.
As Finance Director and board member, Ingrid manages the finance team and is integral in supporting the strategic direction of the organisation.
Ingrid brings a breadth of expertise to her role including business partnering, compliance, process improvement and translating financial insights into practical business decisions. She holds a master’s degree in international business, specialising in finance, and has extensive experience with publicly listed medical device and pharmaceutical companies.
Being part of the Cathie team reflects Ingrid’s desire to apply her experience in an organisation where engineering and innovation contributes to making the world a better place. She is focused on supporting sustainable growth and building a strong foundation for the organisation’s continued development.