Debra Bates

BA, Economics and Managerial Studies, 1977; MBA, 1979

Debra Bates holds the distinction of being a member of the first class of the Jones School. “I would like to tell you it was part of a long thought-out strategy, but that wasn’t the case,” she confesses.

In fact, Bates never gave the pursuit of an MBA much thought. She already was well into her senior year, thinking about graduating and evaluating job prospects, when she decided to apply.

Bates heard the dean of the Jones School talk about his vision for the program. “I liked what he was saying about his plans for the curriculum,” she says. As promised, the MBA program provided Bates a real-world approach to education. “Theory is nice. But we needed the grounding that comes from real business experience,” she asserts. “All the professors had it.” The faculty even included President George H. W. Bush, who taught the course in international relations that Bates took.

After earning an MBA, Bates worked for a public utilities company that was in a diversification mode. She was responsible for valuing companies in different industries. She later joined a small company as its most senior financial person. As the company rapidly grew, her responsibilities broadened. At the age of 28, Bates held the position of chief financial officer. “I had a staff of 25 people, including three controllers, reporting to me,” she says.

Heeding her entrepreneurial spirit, Bates launched several ventures and developed a strong background in real estate. Her client base included prominent real estate developers like Dolce International. Bates worked on hotel acquisitions, strategic plan development, and raising equity and debt capital for Dolce. “It was very successful,” she says. “They lured me away from my own company to become head of acquisitions. A few years later, I was promoted to CFO.”

Dolce International owns and manages conference and resort destinations in North America and Western Europe. It is a leader within this niche of the hospitality industry. “It’s a fun and fascinating company,” says Bates. “We have 4,000 employees and 5,000 rooms in Western Europe and North America. We buy, reposition, and run hotel conference centers and resorts. It’s a big enterprise.”

As CFO, Bates manages the finances of the company, provides investment oversight, arranges debt and equity capital, and is involved in acquisitions. International business is a big part of her job, and she has a focus on international currency and hedging currency exposure overseas. “When I was working on my MBA, I specialized in finance and international business. Finance was a clear requirement for the type of job I wanted,” she explains. “The international part was just something I wanted to be involved in, but it turned out to be a real advantage. I had no idea I would work and travel all over the world.”