Anusha Shah

Anusha Shah is an Indian-born civil engineer. Elected the 159th President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, she became the third woman and first person of colour to hold the position, taking office in November 2023. In 1999, after winning a Commonwealth scholarship, she studied for an MSc in water and environmental engineering at the University of Surrey in the UK.

Professional career Shah specialised in water and environmental engineering from the late 1990s. After completing her first degree, she worked as a project engineer for New Delhi-based Development Alternatives, overseeing production of compressed earth building blocks, and sparking a career interest in sustainable development. She then joined IramConsult, a local partner of Royal HaskoningDHV, to work in Kashmir on rehabilitating a lake. She is currently seconded to the Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial and BAM Nuttall joint venture on High Speed 2 as senior director of environmental consents.

Institutional and board roles Shah is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Shah is a non-executive director of the Met Office, UK and a Green Alliance trustee. She represents Arcadis at the London Climate Change Partnership and 50L Home Initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. In the same year, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of East London for her contributions to climate change in engineering. In 2020, she was named as one of Climate Reframe's leading BAME voices on climate change in the UK.