Emma FitzGerald

Former CEO/Independent Director

Emma FitzGerald is a business leader with a passion for building great teams and bringing innovations to market to address the world’s big challenges, from combating cancer to the application of smart materials to drive performance. She has a particular interest in supporting the energy transition, especially in developing markets.

She has over 25 years of experience in leading businesses in the energy and water sector. Most recently, Emma was the CEO of Puma Energy, which focused on delivering affordable and sustainable energy solutions to emerging markets in Africa, Central America and Asia. Prior to this, she ran gas, water and waste networks for National Grid and Severn Trent in the UK. Emma also spent many years running Downstream Retail, Lubricants and LPG businesses for Shell around the world. Over the last 10 years, she has served on the boards of plc, privately owned and non for profit organizations in both an executive and non-executive director capacity.

Emma is currently a non-executive director of UPM Kymmene, Seplat Energy plc, Newmont Corporation, and Graphene Manufacturing Group. UPM Kymmene is an innovative global paper and biomaterials business that uses biodegradable wood fibres and molecular bio-products to create renewable biomedical solutions and sustainable packaging and labelling. Seplat Energy plc is an indigenous Nigerian energy company playing a key role in providing affordable power and cooking solutions to customers and communities as part of the energy transition in Nigeria. Newmont Corporation is a global gold and copper mining company recognized for its ESG leadership and Graphene Manufacturing Group is an Australian company developing the next generation of batteries to replace lithium ion technologies.

Emma holds a doctorate in surface chemistry from Balliol College, Oxford University and an MBA from Manchester Business School. In her spare time, her passions are photography, hill walking and mentoring technology startups. As a dyslexic herself, Emma also supports various organizations helping children and adults with learning difficulties to realize their full potential.