Douglas Allan is a second year student in the Full-Time MBA program.  He is focusing on Marketing with an interest in Finance.  He is President of the Grapevine Wine Club.  Douglas holds a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Cornell University.  During his time at Cornell, Douglas was a member of the varsity men’s soccer team including earning team MVP his junior season.

Prior to attending the Merage School, Douglas spent his career in the food and beverage industry.  After spending a few years in restaurant operations in Los Angeles, he immersed himself into the wine business at Chateau Montelena Winery in Napa Valley.  While at Chateau Montelena, Douglas worked as the Retail Sales & Hospitality Manager.  This allowed Douglas to learn the wine business from the ground up at a world class brand.  Douglas has also earned a Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, a rigorous sommelier degree.

Douglas is also a Faculty Fellowship recipient.  He chose Merage for its tight knit student body and its commitment to helping its students pursue non-traditional MBA career paths.  He also chose Merage because of the close relationships that can be formed with faculty and staff.  From the moment Douglas became a part of the Merage community he felt welcomed by both students and faculty.  Merage has a unique momentum from each successive class that imparts Merage’s warm aura throughout the entire school and he is proud to perpetuate that momentum.

Outside of class, Douglas enjoys cooking, dining, playing soccer, traveling and of course, wine tasting, and he will be happy to offer his opinion on any wine related topic.

This summer, Douglas worked as a sales and marketing intern for Marriott Resorts Hawaii.  He is continuing his internship by organizing all sales, marketing and public relations activities for the upcoming Spirit of Aloha Bus Tour in winter 2011. The Spirit of Aloha Tour is a specialized marketing campaign to promote Hawaiian culture and to invite visitors to select Marriott as their destination for Hawaiian travel. He will be traveling the country this winter with the  bus tour acting as the tour manager.