Catherine Watkins, H2Tech Publisher
H2Tech’s Publisher, Catherine Watkins, and former Editor-in-Chief, Adrienne Blume, have both been selected as 2021 Top Women in Media honorees. Watkins was recognized in the category of “Entrepreneurs” as someone who has launched or rebuilt brands and continues to work tirelessly towards their success. Blume was awarded recognition in the category “Change-Makers” for women who have successfully altered the course of their brands or the industry for the better.
The Top Women in Media Awards are presented by AdMonsters and Folio to honor women who are making a significant impact in the publishing industry.
Watkins joined Gulf Energy Information (Gulf) in Houston, Texas as Publisher of Hydrocarbon Processing and Gas Processing & LNG five years ago, after working as a successful Sales Manager in Europe and the Middle East. She took on the role of Publisher with a solid understanding of advertisers’ needs and balances it with her deep respect for editorial integrity.
She believes that communication and collaboration are critical to success and has maintained and grown strong relationships throughout the male-dominated refining and petrochemical industry. She forged partnerships and developed collaborative relationships with many stakeholder organizations to increase circulation and visibility with professionals at various stages of their careers, from entry-level engineers to CEOs of some of the largest companies in the world.
This connection with the industry has allowed her to quickly launch successful new products. Last year, she recognized the need for a publication to serve the hydrogen community, a rapidly growing segment of the clean energy sector. She and her team quickly responded by launching H2Tech, along with a biweekly newsletter, podcast and technical conference, all within the span of a few months. This drive to create an informative, well-respected publication to help move the world’s energy needs to a more sustainable path has already garnered significant praise from industry leaders around the world.
Adrienne Blume, H2Tech former Editor-in-Chief
Blume has a demonstrated history of superior editorial management for technical journals, including two successful brand launches within an eight-year period (H2Tech in 2021 and Gas Processing & LNG in 2013) while simultaneously co-managing a flagship third brand (Hydrocarbon Processing). Her launch of H2Tech earlier this year is contributing to the energy industry’s move toward a more sustainable future by providing engineers and managers with proven technologies and case studies.
Her industry reach extends well beyond media brand leadership, with frequent invitations to speak as a subject matter expert at international energy conferences and trade association events. These opportunities allow her to discuss solutions with industry experts working in many different areas of energy technology around the world, in a technical and male-dominated industry.
She enjoys connecting professionals to one another by helping build high-level speaker agendas for Gulf's numerous energy, technology and women's leadership events. Additionally, she brings expert insights to the hydrogen community as the host of the H2TechTalk podcast.
She considers the driving factors behind her career growth and success to be a deep interest in technology and energy, ongoing collaboration with her community of colleagues, and the desire to contribute to the expansion of technical knowledge for the betterment of the planet.
The honorees were celebrated at a luncheon on December 1 at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
