From International Student to Amazon Leader

Outstanding Recent Alumna
Katrina Phiri, ’17 MBA
Albers School of Business and Economics

A planner at heart, Katrina Phiri, '17 MBA, didn't take her decision to attend Seattle University lightly.

Today, she transformed that careful decision-making into a thriving career at Amazon, where she is a Senior Product Manager and Business Strategy Leader within its Web Services division. And she is on a mission to connect fellow Redhawks with opportunities at the tech giant.

After graduating from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, she moved to Japan to teach English, where she met and fell in love with her future husband, Marc, who grew up in Tacoma.

“I moved here for love, the age-old story,” says the Outstanding Recent Alumna of her move to Seattle 10 years ago.

True to herself, she mapped out and executed a plan for graduate school, including extensive prep for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and campus and classroom visits to major higher education institutions across the Puget Sound region. Phiri left no stone unturned.

"I really wanted to get a feel for each opportunity that I was looking at and which would be the best fit for me," she says of the process.

Ultimately, Phiri picked Seattle University, where she earned an MBA with a focus in Data Analytics. "It's one of the best decisions that I could have made," she says. Though Seattle University's mission resonated with her personal values, she was drawn to the smaller class size, where she could get to know faculty and peers.

As an international student and Genevieve Albers Fellowship recipient, she worked on campus as a graduate assistant, completing research for faculty and learning new skills and software that sharpened her professional capabilities.

Fresh out of business school she worked for PwC, a management consulting company, and six years ago started at Amazon, where she currently works in a team of 70+ people.

“The academics at Seattle University definitely prepared me for success at Amazon,” she says. “What stood out for me is that I know that I got a world-class quality education.”

Phiri's impact extends far beyond her individual success. She founded and leads the Seattle University at Amazon Affinity Group—there are more than 500 SU alumni working at Amazon—that creates pathways for Redhawks to access career opportunities at one of the world’s largest employers.

Partnering with Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Communications & Corporate Responsibility and SU Board of Trustees member Drew Herdener, '01, who serves as an executive sponsor, Phiri assembled a leadership team of Redhawks to drive strategic initiatives and build a robust community that helps connect SU students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Under her leadership the program has created numerous student engagement and mentorship opportunities, including campus tours at Amazon, panel discussions featuring alumni and hosting underrepresented high school students as part of the Summer Business Institute.

“I’m really passionate about working with students and youth," says Phiri.

In addition to her work with the affinity group, Phiri served as president for SU’s International Student Board, helping to sustain the community of international alumni. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Albers School of Business and Economics Marketing Department Advisory Board, which helps shape curriculum while connecting industry and academics.

For the past five years, she has also served as an Albers mentor, a role that was especially meaningful when she was a student.

“… Paying forward the incredible mentorship that I received as a student has been just such a joy.”

It’s from these one-on-one interactions that Phiri derives satisfaction. And this care for the person continues to drive her commitment to opening doors for the next generation of SU graduates, demonstrating that success is most meaningful when it benefits others.