GREENWICH, Conn. – Cathy Steel, a veteran business-to-business public relations specialist, has announced her retirement, effective March 28, wrapping up a 37-year career in the U.S. gift and home industry.
Steel began her professional career in 1988, following her graduation from George Washington University, at George Little Management (GLM), a privately owned tradeshow management company. She developed what she describes as “an immediate love for the exposition industry” and forged lasting relationships with buyers, suppliers, industry service providers, and domestic and international media in the gift, stationery, tabletop, housewares, home textiles, home furnishings, apparel, and hospitality industries.
In 2006, Steel launched her own independent public relations agency, Steel Associates LLC, with GLM’s flagship New York International Gift Fair as her first client. Her roster quickly expanded to include other tradeshows as well as annual industry awards programs and B2B technology providers. In 2012, International Market Centers, now Andmore, hired Steel to assist with its Las Vegas Market, launching a 13-year partnership that included media relations for High Point Market, Atlanta Market, Apparel and Formal Markets in Atlanta and Las Vegas, and JuniperMarket.com, the company’s B2B e-commerce platform.
“I never dreamed that my first job in 1988 would become a more than 30-year career,” said Steel. “I am so fortunate to have grown up in this industry, doing a job I love and surrounded by colleagues and friends who are like family. It’s bittersweet to be stepping away, but I’m looking forward to all that’s ahead.”
During her career, Steel’s industry passion extended to volunteer work. She served for more than 30 years on the board of Gift for Life, the gift industry’s volunteer-led fundraising organization, and was a founding member of Women in the Home Industries Today (WithIt). She will continue to serve as Gift for Life’s marketing/communications co-chair through the summer 2025 markets in Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and New York City.
Outside of her work in the industry, Steel is an active member of her Greenwich, Conn., community. She is currently serving her fourth term on the town’s Representative Town Meeting. She is also a board member of the League of Women Voters of Greenwich, spearheading the League’s National Voter Registration Day efforts, and is an active member of the planning committees for the Planned Parenthood Southern New England’s Spring Luncheon Committee and the Greenwich Alliance for Education’s annual Turkey Trot 5K Fundraiser.
Steel and her husband of 24 years, Alan, who retires on March 31, plan to travel extensively and enjoy time with family and friends.
Credit: homeaccentstoday.com
