Diane Steinkamp, MBA ’04, came to WashU in 2002 looking for a change. She had been working in consulting since graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1996, and she was ready for a new challenge in her adopted home of St. Louis.
“I always knew I was going to get an MBA, and WashU was the perfect place,” she says. Currently a vice president and the privately held investment manager at Commerce Trust, she brings her WashU experience and years at Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Monsanto (now Bayer), and Clayton Capital Partners to the Olin Eliot Society Committee, where she has recently been named co-chair. We sat down with Steinkamp this fall to discuss her Eliot Society experience and what motivates her to give back.
What inspired you to make your first gift to WashU?
It was 2008, and I was looking to make a career move. I had heard that what is now known as the Center for Career Engagement had a specific program for alumni, so I reached out. It was so nice to have someone to talk to and give me pointers. We did a practice interview, and it was great. I tapped into career services twice as an alum, and I felt motivated to support this program.
How do you give of your time to the university?
I’ve been a member of the Olin Alumni Board for six years now. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity it has afforded me to interact with Olin students. For instance, I’ve been part of a program that listened to students’ elevator pitches and gave feedback, and I’ve participated as a mock shareholder in class projects that are trying to save a mock company. Now I’m co-chairing the Olin Eliot Society Committee, and I’m just excited to learn more about the Eliot Society and what the Olin committee specifically can do to support the university and the business school.
Why is supporting the Annual Fund important to you?
Overall, I think it’s important to give to the Annual Fund so we can help uplift business students and, in turn, the business community in St. Louis. But I also like the fact that a flexible donation could provide new furniture or library books or something else that benefits all students. Because the Annual Fund can go to a variety of things, it can touch so many people. Recently, I heard someone say that nobody cares about donating to infrastructure, but I actually do, because it impacts everybody.
How has your WashU education helped you in your career?
On the technical side, valuation classes with Professor Todd Milbourn have been useful every day. My team values the interests of privately held assets, so that’s a direct line I can draw. But the communications classes taught by Annette Veech had the most lessons I use every day. The farther along I get in my career, the more I realize it’s the preparation you get from the soft-skills classes that is the most important.
What excites you about the future of WashU?
I’m excited about Dean Mike Mazzeo and the new strategic plan for Olin, All Together Now. The dean is very committed to being even more connected to the St. Louis business community. There’s a lot to be gained for both students and alumni in the plan. It’s very forward-thinking. I’m also looking forward to the evolution of the MBA program, especially what’s next for the full-time program.
How has being involved in the Eliot Society affected other aspects of your life?
Soon after joining the Eliot Society, I received the invitation to the Eliot Society annual dinner. Condoleezza Rice was going to be the guest speaker, and I really wanted to go. It was a formal event, though, so I didn’t want to go by myself. I had known a man named Darin for years through mutual friends — we were always at our friends’ kids’ birthday parties and that sort of thing. I asked my friend if she thought Darin would be interested in going with me to the dinner. He said yes. Our first date was that Eliot Society dinner on April 18, 2019, and the rest is history. We were married Sept. 9, 2023, and now we’re making our new house in Creve Coeur, Missouri, a home.