In the male-dominated oil and gas industry, she is often the only woman in the room, but that has never stopped her from gaining the respect of her peers, capturing the attention of senior management, or being valued by her employer. It is because she is one of the best in her field with the ability to analyze, organize, engage, and execute. Meet Tracy Gray, Strategic Business Director of Mobile Oilfield Management at Detechtion Technologies, an oil and gas technology company with products for compression and mobile oilfield management. Tracy’s spectacular career trajectory in the oil and gas industry could be attributed to her ability to turn every challenge into an opportunity. She also possesses the grit, resilience, confidence, and expertise to stand firm amidst the ups and downs and come out on top.
In February 2025, Tracy took charge as Strategic Business Director for the Mobile Oilfield Management product portfolio at Detechtion. She is currently driving the strategy and development of the portfolio. She believes that success is proven not only by growth in market share and revenue but also by the entire division rallying towards a common goal. “The entire team must embrace the goal, own their contribution, and execute the plan,” she says. “Without the entire group 100% behind the new vision, it will be more challenging to successfully achieve the desired results.”
What makes Tracy successful and influential is that she has always taken her job seriously and has always put her heart and soul into it. “It’s just how I’m wired,” she says.
A Recap of the Professional Journey
Tracy is a veteran of the oil and gas industry, with a career spanning almost three decades. In the late 1990s, she worked at Coastal Corporation in their IT department for a year before moving to Royal Dutch Shell, where she spent seven years in technical support roles and project management. “At Shell, I was assigned a mentor and nominated to their fast-track leadership program,” Tracy recalls. “I had some amazing mentors, who I still talk to today, who taught me a lot about career progression and executive presence.”
After seven years at Shell, Tracy, a certified career coach, decided to venture into the career coaching business. So, she took a voluntary severance package from the oil giant. “However, life threw me an unexpected twist when my 15-month-old son was diagnosed with cancer,” Tracy shares. “The following week, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter.” As family became her primary concern, she put her career on hold and stepped into the role of a devoted mother. She stayed home for a couple of years. She spent much of this time in hospitals.
When Tracy decided to work again, she joined Halliburton. She worked there for 15 years, and in her roles, she led large-scale technology-focused transformation programs, marketing, and strategy. From Halliburton, Tracy moved to Sodexo, where she served in their Energy division as Global Director of Strategy. Five years later, she joined Intelligent Wellhead Systems as the Vice President of Marketing, Strategy, and Product Commercialization. “My last 2 roles were really focused on growing the business—studying the market, determining the best path for growth, and executing the plan,” Tracy says. “It’s the space I’ve grown to love and where I am today at Detechtion.”
Dealing with Personal and Professional Challenges
Challenges have been very much a part of Tracy’s journey—both personal and professional. But, for her, the word challenge never had—still does not have—a negative connotation. “I’ve always viewed challenges as opportunities to learn and grow—not always easy, but something that a leader does,” she says.
On the personal front, she faced immense challenges. As she was a single mother to two children, she had to juggle personal and professional commitments. Tracy recalls that she was an overprotective mother due to her son’s cancer diagnosis, but she also had to manage a global role. Staying as engaged as possible both personally and professionally was proving to be tough for her. “I had to learn how to somehow balance that and know when to ask for help,” Tracy shares. “I was blessed to have a daycare at my office, so my kids went to work with me every day.”
Once her children started elementary school, she hired a morning and afternoon nanny to help. She used to wake up at 4 a.m. and be at the office by 6:30 a.m. This allowed her to return home early enough for her children’s sports practices. “I got very little sleep, but I knew I would blink and that phase of life would be over,” Tracy says. “I wanted to spend every second outside of work with my kids.”
When she was in her professional space, she wanted her employer to value and respect her work, which was excellent. “In most cases, I was the only female in the room,” she says. “To be heard and valued, I had to insert my voice and ensure anything I said had substance behind it.”
Tracy recalls being delegated tasks simply because she was “female and good at it.” She had to learn when and how to push back on such tasks. “I had to learn to say ‘no’ because my immediate response was and still is ‘yes,’” she says. Additionally, she had to learn to stop apologizing for things she did not do. “For women, it is our immediate response to say ‘I’m sorry’ for anything that happens to anyone,” she says. “I actually had to work at that one.”
In her professional life, other significant challenges she faced were related to the nature of the oil and gas industry. For example, in 2019, she experienced her first layoff. “Layoffs never feel good, but it’s the nature of the business and zero reflection of the contribution,” she says. Her second layoff was because of an acquisition, which, according to her, was the result of a lot of hard work and great success. “I see that as an accomplishment and something to celebrate even though the result was me looking for another role,” Tracy says.
“I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and the result of each of these was a better place and a better role, moving me to the next level in my career,” she adds.
Remarkable Achievements of a Stellar Career
Tracy’s professional journey is dotted with achievements. All the credit for that goes to her hard work and the courage to do something that is not the norm. One major achievement of hers is the creation of the first diversity network at Halliburton. It required a “ton of work” on her part to make it happen. “I was passionate about it, had a great team to help make it happen, and knew the benefit it would have on others, the company, and the industry,” Tracy says.
Expecting negative press at the onset, she made sure that everything was perfect when it was ready to roll out. “And it was perfect, embraced, and still going today,” she says.
For almost ten years now, Tracy has been on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy. As part of it, she is helping develop the agenda and topics relevant to the industry to have a successful, impactful conference. “It’s fun, engaging, and truly inspiring to see those attending walk away with knowledge and new relationships each year,” Tracy says.
She is also proud of the work she did at Intelligent Wellhead Systems to create the strategy for growth, execute it, and help position the company to the point of acquisition. In a short time, Tracy was able to accomplish a lot by creating processes, driving results, and engaging with customers. She points out that she created a Customer Advisory Board that not only provided input to help mold their product development roadmap but also worked to solve industry challenges, which led them to earn a Gulf Energy Award nomination. During her tenure, Intelligent Wellhead Systems also received an award for “Top 10 Companies Revolutionizing the Oil and Gas Industry.” Additionally, Tracy was also one of 25 women who received the “2024 Houston Business Journal Women Who Mean Business in Energy” Award.
If Tracy had to choose the most important achievement of her life, it would be her children. “Life was not always easy for us, but my kids are both thriving, exceptional human beings,” she shares. “Both are in college with almost perfect GPAs, having fun in majors they love—one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in Radiology Technology. I can’t wait to see the impact they make on the world!”
About Detechtion Technologies
Detechtion’s innovative products are currently making an impact in the oil and gas industry. Innovation is a constant at Detechtion. Tracy underscores, “Innovation is the key to staying relevant in any industry, especially technology.”
The goal of Detechtion’s products, specifically in the Mobile Oilfield Management portfolio, is to bring efficiencies to field operations, which will result in more profitable wells for customers. “Our EZOps platform is the only system needed to manage day-to-day field operational tasks in drilling, completions, and production operations,” Tracy points out. “It replaces paper processes and disjointed systems with a single, mobile platform.”
In the Mobile Oilfield Management portfolio, Detechtion has added AI to further enhance their products. For example, they have a module in EZOps called Operator Optimization, which uses AI-guided algorithms, user input, and business logic to prioritize a task list. This ensures that the highest priority tasks are completed each day, Tracy explains.
She and her amazing team have accomplished many milestones in a short period of time. “We have some great products that are already providing a lot of value to existing customers,” she says. “Some have stated several million dollars in savings with the implementation of them.” Now, Tracy and her team are focused on expanding the application and geographical presence of their products. They have already started moving in this direction. Additionally, they intend to improve their market presence with upcoming podcasts, conferences, and content. “It’s been a busy, exciting journey to get us where we are today,” Tracy says.
Tracy informs them that there will be a greater presence of their EZOps product across the USA and Canadian basins across drilling, completions, and production operations. For field operations, there is a core set of baseline modules such as HSE, MOC, Compliance, Maintenance, Ticketing & Hauling, and Inspections. We can ingest any SCADA data into custom forms and then export that data into any back office system for further analysis. There is also a task list that all actionable items are put into and prioritized each day to ensure the most critical items are completed first. The value add for customers is efficiency gains and the reduction of unplanned downtime or risk. When the average day rate in the oilfield is $300,000 a day, saving minutes can add up to millions of dollars annually. These are the savings we want to get to our customers.
“Operational Efficiencies” is the theme of the oil and gas industry in 2025. Tracy informs us that most boards of directors are demanding efficiencies while reducing their workforce. They expect technology to help produce more with less. Tracy points out that Detechtion’s products deliver just this on both the compression side and the mobile oilfield management side.
To meet their boards’ demand, operators are increasingly searching for new ways to maximize efficiencies. “I believe the products we offer will now become more standard in oilfield operations as further efficiencies are sought out,” says Tracy.
“My vision is that EZOps will be a standard in managing oilfield operations through drilling, completions, and production operations across all USA and Canadian basins,” she adds.
There Is No Work-Life Balance
“Anyone who knows me knows I run a million miles an hour,” Tracy says. She blames her father for it. He always used to say, “If you’re gonna do something, do it right,” plus the man never stops moving. So, she graduated high school at the top of her class and graduated with her bachelor’s degree, double major, in three years. “I went back and graduated with my master’s degree in a year and a half while working full-time,” she says. “Not to mention the six certifications I’ve received over the years.”
Although she has always taken her job seriously, Tracy has always made sure, especially after understanding how precious life was with her son’s cancer diagnosis, to never put her family second to her professional life. “There is no balance,” she says. “It’s more like 100% and 100% for me, but I always make it work.”
When her children were younger, she never missed an opportunity to be with them or attend their events. She even coached every sport her children played for about eight years. In addition, she spoke at their schools for Junior Achievement and read to their classes. “I’d do it all over again if I had the opportunity,” Tracy says.
“It’s a bit easier today because both of my kids are in college,” she adds. “But I still make a point to be as involved as they allow me.”
A String of Advice for Aspiring Women Leaders
Tracy advises aspiring women leaders to recruit mentors and learn from those who have already reached where they want to be. She advises them against making statements before understanding the playing field. “Gather all facts before forming and voicing your opinion,” she adds. She also encourages them to volunteer to take on tasks no one else wants. “Volunteer for those extracurricular activities,” she says. “These are great for learning outside of your core area and networking with people who could help get you to your next position.”
She tells aspiring leaders to identify competencies they need to succeed and start working on mastering them. Additionally, she stresses the importance of making one’s voice heard. “In oil and gas, you may always be the only female in the room,” Tracy says. “Don’t feel as if you are less than the men in the room. Take your seat at the table.”
