Originally from Belgium, Katrien Verlinden is a seasoned leader in the energy industry with over two decades of experience.

She commenced her career at Saipem in 2000 as a mechanical engineer and was progressively appointed over the next 15 years to roles including Technical Manager, Project Manager and Project Director, executing large-sized onshore EPC projects mainly across the Middle East and North Africa.  

In 2016, she took on the role of CEO at Saipem Contracting Algérie, relocating to Algeria for three years. 

From 2019 to 2021, she returned to Italy to head Saipem’s New Energies Customer Investment Strategy, alongside responsibilities in Onshore Marketing, External Communications, and Stakeholder Relations.

Since January 2022, Katrien has been based in Houston as Regional Manager for the Americas, with subsequent appointments as CEO of Saipem Canada and Saimexicana in May and November 2022, respectively. Her leadership expanded in May 2023 with the roles of CEO of Saipem America and Country Manager for Canada, the US, and Mexico, assuming P&L accountability across all business lines. Katrien also follows up all initiatives with ExxonMobil and bp globally.

Katrien studied engineering at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and completed further executive education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  She is part of the global team of Stanford alumni who have founded Reaction, where the mission is to measurably improve one billion lives within a decade through responsible investment.  Fluent in Dutch, Italian, English and French, Katrien also has a passion for Korean and Japanese.