Adriana Lopez
Adriana Lopez is a seasoned marketing and communications leader with nearly 30 years of experience in the global energy industry. Based in Houston, she currently serves as an Internal Communications Advisor at TotalEnergies, where she partners with business units across exploration and production, refining and petrochemicals, marketing and services, and carbon capture initiatives. In her role, Adriana works closely with C-level executives and senior leaders to develop internal communications strategies that keep employees informed, engaged, and aligned with the company’s mission and values. She believes employees are a company’s strongest ambassadors and focuses on creating meaningful, relevant communications that support both local and international teams.
Before transitioning into her current role, Adriana spent seven years at TotalEnergies leading marketing and external communications efforts for downstream businesses. Earlier in her career, she spent 15 years with Tenaris, where she managed global marketing communications strategies across Houston, Beijing, Jakarta, and Singapore. Her international background also includes time in Egypt and Southeast Asia, where she led multicultural teams and gained firsthand experience navigating cross-cultural communication in global business settings. While living in Beijing, she worked as a journalist and documentary anchor for China Central Television, creating a Spanish-language series called “Traveling Across China” that aired internationally during the 2007–2008 Beijing Olympics.
Adriana’s educational background reflects her global perspective and passion for communications. She holds a degree in communications, journalism, and advertising from the University of Houston, completed graduate studies in global media and communications at New York University, and earned additional certifications in Mandarin and energy transition studies. Fluent in both English and Spanish, she is deeply motivated by the opportunity to support the energy transition through strategic communications, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement. Outside of work, Adriana remains active in mentoring students, supporting the Houston Hispanic business community, and promoting sustainable energy solutions through her professional and volunteer efforts.
• Energy Transition Certificate
• New York University
• University of Houston- B.A.
• University of International Business and Economics
• IFP School
• University of the People- M.B.A.
• Has a documentary was broadcast all over the world called Traveling across China" was in Spanish 2007-2008 while she was covering the Olympics in Beijing
• Jakarta World Academy
• Houston Food Bank
• Stamford American International School, Singapore
• Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to not only my expertise within my current role and the experience that I have, but also to my ability to work with different groups of people at different levels - senior level, middle management, at all different levels. Having lived overseas with my previous employer for 10 years in Egypt and Southeast Asia was incredibly valuable. I managed teams in China, Indonesia, and Singapore, even though I was not fluent in those languages, and I was able to work within marketing and communications, working with country chairs and the media, having that media relations experience in those countries. That's what I find is one of my strongest assets.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to make your voice count and make sure that you have a seat at the table. I work in a very male-dominated industry, so I'm sometimes the only female at the table, and it's so important to make your voice count. I've also been told don't give up, keep going, and that's advice I carry with me.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Make your voice count. Make sure that you have a seat at the table. I work in a very male-dominated industry, so that's one of the main challenges. Sometimes I'm the only female at the table, so it's critical to make your voice count.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field right now is making sure that the communication and the content that we are publishing is aligned with the corporate strategy. In other words, making sure that we are aligned and we are creating the content that is aligned with the company as a whole, across different branches. Another challenge is being able to understand content that needs to be validated or approved, and being able to discuss differences and work with different levels. It's cross-cultural and cross-management with different personalities, so that's a challenge - being able to juggle and being able to understand and listen to different opinions. It's complicated, but I think I've done a pretty good job.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in my work and personal life are integrity and transparency.