Cathy Steel Retires After 37 Years in the Gift & Home Industry

Cathy Steel, a veteran B2B Public Relations specialist, has announced her retirement effective March 28, wrapping a successful 37-year career in the U.S. gift and home industry.

Upon graduation from George Washington University in 1988, Steel started her professional career at George Little Management (GLM), one of the nation’s leading, privately owned trade show management companies. She developed 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 PR agency – Steel Associates, LLC – with GLM’s flagship New York International Gift Fair as her first client. Her roster quickly expanded to include other industry-leading trade shows 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, which began 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 ecommerce platform.

“I never dreamed that my first job in 1988 would become a 30+ year career,” Steel remarked.  “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.”

Steel’s industry passion extends to volunteer work, serving 30+ years on the board of Gift for Life, the industry’s longest-running, volunteer-led fundraising organization, and as a founding member of WithIt (Women in the Home Industries Today).  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 the industry, Steel is an active member of her Greenwich, Connecticut community.  Currently, she is serving her fourth term on the town’s Representative Town Meeting. She is 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 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.