Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, into a Navy family, Catherine Dahl's upbringing spanned various Canadian cities, including Halifax, Toronto, and Ottawa. She kick-started her career as a manager at the Olive Garden Restaurant in Ottawa after graduating with a commerce degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. She later relocated to Vancouver to explore fresh opportunities.

Throughout her career, Catherine has honed her management and strategic skills as a business manager at several organizations, including CBC Vancouver, Grey Worldwide and the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver. But it was at Ledgers Online, where she served as a fractional CFO/Controller, that started her entrepreneurial journey, leading eventually to her first start-up, Bean Services. Bean Services was a cloud-based solution aimed at automating accounts payable processes for mid- to small-sized businesses. Despite the demise of Bean Services in 2011, in early 2012 Catherine and a small group of former employees recognized the value of the product, secured a buyout and relaunched the system as Beanworks.

At Beanworks, Catherine spearheaded a new growth plan, which included rebuilding the software platform. Over the years, Beanworks experienced substantial growth, reaching over $20 million in annual recurring revenue by 2023, with over 145 employees, nearly 40 per cent of whom were female, and over 2,000 companies globally utilizing the application.

Catherine has been dedicated to empowering women throughout her career, ensuring equal representation in leadership roles and technical positions at Beanworks. She successfully raised over $21 million in Angel and Venture funding to support the company's growth. The $115 million acquisition of Beanworks by Quadient in March 2021 marked one of the largest exits for a Vancouver-based technology company.

Outside of her professional endeavours, Catherine is married with two children in university. She enjoys boating and playing guitar by the campfire in her leisure time.