Katie McGinty

Vice President and Chief Sustainability and External Relations Officer

Lynn Minella

Kathleen “Katie” McGinty is vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer for Johnson Controls. McGinty is responsible for driving the company’s top-tier sustainability performance, including recognition as one of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations. With her team, she is driven by staying on the cutting edge of new trends, ideas, and themes to tackle climate change, encourage smart buildings and energy efficiency, drive impactful net zero carbon strategies and bring forward initiatives, creative policies, technologies, and partnerships that are needed to solve tough environmental problems.

McGinty has over 25 years of public and private sector experience, and she is a recognized innovator in clean energy and environmental protection. Her public sector career includes being the first woman to serve as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton (1993-1998), as Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection (2003-2008), and as Chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (2004-2008).

McGinty holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from St. Joseph's University and a law degree from Columbia University and served as a Senior Visiting Fellow at TERI in New Delhi, India. She has received awards and recognitions, including honorary doctorates from Muhlenberg University, Dickinson College, and Clarion State University. McGinty currently serves on boards including the International Steering Committee of the World Sustainable Development Summit, Alliance to Save Energy, the Keystone Policy Center, the Carnegie Mellon Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, the Delaware River Port Authority, the Energy Futures Initiative and the Goldman Sachs Renewable Power LLC.

She is also recognized for her commitment to the environment, including being named "Woman of the Year" awardee from the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment, one of the Top Women in HVAC list of ACHR News, one of the Top 100 Women in Sustainability List by Sustainability Magazine and one of 25 women honored for climate leadership by GreenBiz.