Katherine McGrady
Dr. Katherine A. McGrady is President and Chief Executive Officer, of CNA, a $150M, 650-person strong research and analyses institute that supports the Defense, Intelligence, Diplomatic, and Homeland Security Communities. McGrady oversees two business units, the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) that pioneered the field of operations analysis in support of the U.S. Navy; and the Institute for Public Research that works on key national challenges spanning emergency preparedness and response, justice, public health and critical infrastructure.
McGrady’s focus as CEO is to bring an operational perspective into all of CNA’s research and support to our clients and partners. She has led the company into emerging areas such as cyber, unmanned and autonomous systems, and advanced technologies in the maritime domain. She has paved the way for innovative tools for analytics like wargaming, exercises and design thinking to aid strategic, operational, and tactical level decision-makers; and has brought focus on non-traditional threats and challenges such as climate, AI and machine learning, and the blurred line between national and homeland security.
Dr. McGrady began her career with CNA as an analyst in 1988, supporting the Commander of Marine Forces Central Command and Commander, I Marine Expeditionary Force. In this capacity she brought operations research directly to USMC leadership in the Persian Gulf during the first Iraq war (Desert Shield and Desert Storm). Dr. McGrady received the Department of Navy’s Superior Public Service Award for her contributions during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. She also deployed as part of the Unified Task Force to Mogadishu, Somalia.
Subsequent assignments led to her selection as Vice President and Director, Integrated Systems and Operations (ISO) Division, where she led a team focused on issues at the interface between the Navy and Marine Corps. She became CNA’s Senior Vice President for Research in 2004, bringing a direct operational focus into CNA’s research processes. In 2009 McGrady became CNA’s first Chief Operating Officer and in 2015 took the helm as President and CEO.
Dr. McGrady earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Macromolecular Science and Engineering (Polymer Chemistry) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Smith College, Northampton, MA.