Daniella Valeriano
“I got lucky to be in a team of talented, smart, responsible, and supportive people! We work well together; we complement, support, and challenge each other, and each of us has a strength that has helped the team get stronger through the program. I have the certainty that we’ll remain close friends after graduation.”
MSQM: Business Analytics
Industry:
Prior Education:
University of California, Berkeley
Integrated Marketing Communications, 2008
Reflections
I wanted to pursue a master’s degree to become a stronger, more rounded, and well-versed professional in analytics and, at the same time, I wanted to become a role model for my 7-year-old son. As a mom, wife, and professional, I was ready for the challenge and my son was big enough to understand why education is important to accomplish things in life. We visited Fuqua during Orientation (yes! I took my family with me—that was part of the plan) where my son declared, “Mommy, I want to be a scientist at Duke University!” I believe in the power of intentionality, and sparking this interest in him was very important to me.
Before Fuqua
As the Director of Sales at Meta Miami, I am responsible for a portfolio of regional advertisers that have commercial focus in Latin America markets. In this role, I help clients grow their businesses with the use of the Meta suite of apps and advertising solutions. We provide strategic and consultative support across different industries with a specific focus in digital transformation.
After Fuqua
I’m already applying my program learnings in my day-to-day work responsibilities. I’ve become more strategic and more analytical, using data to make evidence-based business decisions. I’m infusing this analytical behavior into my team and other teams we work with on a daily basis. With my increased comfort level with data analytics, I’m making better forecasts that are key for my work.
My Favorite Professor
It is difficult to pick one because the level of the Fuqua faculty is outstanding, so I will pick 2!
- Professor Pino Lopomo: Because Professor Lopomo has the ability to translate complex economic topics into simple everyday concepts, I was able to apply almost immediately to my work—and my life—so many things he taught us during class.
- Professor Joe Mazzola: Operations Management is my favorite class—Professor Mazzola is such a good professor that he made me become more interested in Operations. I was so looking forward to this class because I do lots of operations work in my current job, but I never had the opportunity to learn more advanced managerial topics like I’m doing right now.