Carol Kauder prepares to feast during a business trip to South Korea.

By Erika Usui

It may appear that Carol Kauder (MA '96) has left the field of journalism to become a strategist at a branding company, but she said uses her reporting skills every day.

At Egg Strategy of Boulder, formerly Kindred-Keziah,  Kauder is the only one with a news background, and it makes perfect sense to her. Most of her co-workers have MBAs or ad agency experience.

"So much of my job hinges on listening to what consumers say and observing what they do, then organizing the information and communicating it in such a way that it means something to my corporate clients," Kauder said. "Ultimately, my job still revolves around asking people a bunch of questions and writing down what they say, and distilling that into something that has value to someone else."

As corporate initiatives to "get to know the consumer" are becoming ever more essential, it becomes vital for firms Egg Strategy to offer insight and guidance, Kauder said. Because Egg specializes in conducting qualitative research for developing a strategic vision for clients' brands, Kauder said asking the right questions and knowing what to listen for is important. "And to me, that's journalism," she said.

Previously, she held a similar position at Radar Communications in Boulder for four years. She said she flew 100,000 miles for the agency in 2005. Projects with Radar took her to England, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Germany and India.

The former newspaper reporter continues to pursue her passions: writing and skiing.

Kauder, a ski aficionado who skied 57 days in the 2004-2005 ski season, lives in east Boulder with her husband. She writes a free-lance column for the Boulder Daily Camera called "At Altitude." Last month she competed in the U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Telemark Championships in Crested Butte. Carol@eggstrategy.com