Texas Medical Center Welcomes Gretchen Watkins to Board of Directors
Texas Medical Center (TMC) announced the appointment of Gretchen Watkins, former president of Shell USA and executive vice president of Global Shales, to its Board of Directors.
“Gretchen brings decades of global leadership experience and an extraordinary ability to connect innovation, sustainability, and strategy,” said William McKeon, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center. “As TMC continues to grow as a global hub for healthcare innovation, her perspective will strengthen our efforts to attract top talent and investment to Texas.”
Watkins is a global executive with more than 35 years of experience leading complex energy operations. She served for over seven years as president of Shell USA and executive vice president of Global Shales, as CEO and COO of Maersk Oil, and in leadership roles at Marathon Oil Corporation. Her career reflects deep expertise in sustainability, operations, and energy policy.
“I’ve been following the growth and impact of Texas Medical Center in life sciences and in Houston, and I’m honored to join the TMC Board at such an exciting time for innovation in healthcare,” said Watkins. “Energy and medicine both rely on collaboration, technology, and sustainable thinking to address complex challenges. I look forward to contributing my experience and perspective as TMC continues building partnerships that improve lives here and around the world.”
Watkins currently serves as a non-executive director on the board of The Mosaic Company and previously served on the board of WS Atkins Plc. She is a member of the Dallas Federal Reserve Energy Advisory Council and has held leadership roles on the executive committees of the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership.
Gretchen Watkins earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University, completed executive education programs at Stanford University and Cambridge University, and was the 2023 recipient of Penn State’s prestigious Alumni Fellow Award.
Watkins is one of two new members appointed to the TMC Board of Directors. Ferran Prat, chief commercial officer at BostonGene, was also announced as a new board member.
The full list of members of the Texas Medical Center Board of Directors can be found at www.tmc.edu/about-tmc/leadership/
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About Texas Medical Center (TMC): TMC is the world’s most comprehensive life science ecosystem. At the forefront of advancing life sciences, TMC is on a mission to further accelerate the pace of healing by harnessing its collective expertise in innovation, research, development, production, and patient care – all within a single, centralized medical ecosystem. With over 70+ million square feet and 120,000+ employees, TMC is leveraging its collective power by pioneering a revolutionary life sciences initiative that encompasses the entire treatment life cycle, from discovery to delivery, within a single, world-class medical complex, on a scale never before seen.