Deborah Finestone
Alumna credits many hands-on experiences at Daniels in discovering and building a career path
Ask Deborah Finestone (MS 2017) anything about marketing—then sit back and enjoy the ride.
As she talks about her profession, it’s like watching a rose bloom. Proof that she has found the kind of work she loves is evident by the glimmer in her eyes and the excited tone in her voice.
It wasn’t always like that. Back in 2012, when Finestone started her undergraduate degree, she admits she wasn’t sure what she wanted to study.
“I was kind of all over the place,” she said.
She eventually settled on a major in strategic communications and took enough classes in marketing to earn a minor. She fondly recalls her internship at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
“I did a lot of social and digital media in the internship, and that really sealed the deal for me to get into marketing.”
Any remaining fog that might have clouded her career path had vanished.
Associate Professor Melissa Akaka
After graduating in 2016, she searched for a job but had no luck, so she returned to Daniels to learn more about the master’s in marketing program. She liked what she found—namely that in addition to strong academics, she’d get a lot more hands-on experiences working with actual businesses.
During the 15-month program, Finestone consulted with seven clients.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, as a graduate assistant, she worked with professors Melissa Akaka and Ali Besharat in the Marketing Department’s Consumer Insights and Business Innovation Center (CiBiC). This program gives undergraduate and graduate students firsthand practice conducting market research, collecting and interpreting data, and doing qualitative and quantitative research.
“Working with Melissa and Ali in the CiBiC was pivotal. They gave me a great behind-the-scenes look at marketing, a chance to really understand the language of consumer insights. They set me up for success,” Finestone said.
Finestone appreciated her time at the CiBiC so much that she now makes an annual donation to the center.
“The opportunities it provides students to apply what they’re learning in the classroom is incredible and invaluable,” she said. “It gives students the skills they need for the future, and I want to see students get the same kind of experience I had.”
Finestone capped off her graduate studies with an internship at Danone North America, a health-focused food and beverage company in Denver. She refined her analytics skills enough that the company offered her a full-time job. Today, she is a marketing analytics manager at Danone, where she analyzes data from grocery stores and uses it to explore product distribution opportunities and craft compelling stories.
“What I think about a lot is how to put together stories because it’s not just about data or sharing data. It’s also taking the information and using it to tell the best possible story—pulling all the pieces of puzzle together to give us the big picture of what’s really happening in the marketplace,” said Finestone.
As president-elect of the Colorado chapter of the America Marketing Association, she’s planning to connect members with DU students at a pilot event this spring.
Looking back at her journey through Daniels, Finestone said it’s not only where she found her passion but also where she honed it through experience.
“It really goes back to all the client projects and case competitions, getting to touch on all the areas of marketing, and then focusing on the areas I was interested in and building the skills I needed for my career,” she said. “There were just so many opportunities. I think Daniels does such a great job of bringing companies on and hosting client projects—it was pivotal.”
