Alumni Spotlight: Katie Clifford

Katie Clifford (’98, Communication) lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and is the International Category Marketing Manager responsible for Golf and Women’s Fitness for PUMA Shoes.

After graduating from SUU, Katie served an LDS mission in Switzerland, returning home just in time to work in the Sport Department for 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.  She was assigned to Short Track and Figure Skating and quickly fell in love with the world of sports. 

Following the Olympics Katie was hired by a small women’s fitness shoe company called RYKA where she coordinated marketing activities and events.  A year ago she began working for a small fashion brand owned by PUMA called Tretorn, before making the jump to the “Big Cat” (PUMA).

In her new role with PUMA, Katie is part of a team that sets the strategy for the Golf and Women’s Fitness category.  Once the strategy is set, her team works with all the global markets to develop a marketing plan that will work for each area.  Katie is the coordinator between the creative department, the PR department, the product team and each market, and works to ensure that all their communication is as smooth as possible.

Katie has worked with Apolo Ohno , Geoff Ogilvy and Kelly Ripa, and has helped organize events such as the Avon Walks for Breast Cancer and the Iron Girl Race Series.   But even with all of that excitement, there are still stressful days filled with strategy planning and bottom line watching.  After a rough day, she admits that she pinches herself and says, “But seriously, you get paid to think about golf all day?  I’m a pretty lucky kid.”

One great SUU memory for Katie is the Unplugged Concert Series that was held every Wednesday in the Sharwan Smith Center Living Room.  She and her friends planned their class schedules around Unplugged and enjoyed a nice two-hour break with a slice of homemade bread with honey butter from the Country Store and a giant Coke.  They would sit up front and come away with a crush on whatever band was playing that day.  “The Student Center always felt like the pulse of campus – no matter what time of day you wandered in you would always find something going on.  I still miss having such easy access to my social network (with live people, not Facebook friends!).”