UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Gretchen Watkins, board director at The Mosaic Company and former president of Shell USA and executive vice president of Global Shales, will give the 2026 G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture in Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State. Her talk, “Leadership challenges in an ever-changing energy landscape,” will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 10, in 22 Deike Building at Penn State University Park. It will also be available online via Zoom. A reception will precede the discussion at 3 p.m. in the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.
Traditionally a formal lecture and Q&A, the new, more conversational format will be moderated by Barbara Arnold, professor of practice in mining engineering and undergraduate program chair of mining engineering. The conversation will cover Watkin’s 35 years of experience as a global executive and board director.
“I'm looking forward to having this chat,” Arnold said. “Gretchen's taken her leadership roles very seriously, and I’m excited to explore her past challenges and look at future opportunities and challenges in the energy industry.”
Watkins has a track record of leading complex, high-performing organizations on both U.S. and the Financial Times Stock Exchange listed boards across six countries. At Shell, she led operational turnaround and transformation, including Shell’s U.S. Energy Transition Plan and represented the company at U.S. Congressional hearings on climate change and energy policy. Previously, as CEO of Copenhagen-based Maersk Oil, she led the Danish company through its separation from its parent group, culminating in a successful $8 billion sale to TotalEnergies.
Watkins currently serves as a non-executive director on the board of The Mosaic Company, is a member of the Dallas Federal Reserve Energy Advisory Council and is a chairperson of the Greater Houston Partnership.
Watkins holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State, attended executive education courses at Stanford University and Cambridge University, and was named an Alumni Fellow by the Penn State Alumni Association in 2023.
About the G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture Series
The G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture Series in Mineral Engineering was established in 1992 by Mercedes G. Shoemaker to honor the memory of her husband, a Pittsburgh civic and industrial leader dedicated to supporting higher education. G. Albert Shoemaker, a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus, had an eminent career in the mineral industries. He was a coal industry leader for many years, serving as president of the Pittsburgh Coal Division of Babcock & Wilcox, and later as president of Consolidation Coal Co. from 1960 to 1966. Among many civic and philanthropic activities, he served as a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees from 1957 to 1978 and as board chairman from 1970 to 1972.