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As a leader in Apple’s global business planning function, Leavey alumna DeAnna Kneis sits at the intersection of strategy and execution. Every day brings something new, shaped by the dynamic nature of the company’s global reach. The challenge of identifying strategic growth opportunities while executing across multiple teams keeps Kneis motivated to make an impact.

After graduation, Kneis joined Apple’s Finance Development Program, rotating through multiple Finance roles supporting different functional sales roles for Apple’s reseller, education, and direct businesses across regions and products “It was a really great opportunity early in my career to try many different jobs and figure out what I liked. I loved getting exposed to different management styles, ways of working, and cultures,” she recalls.

Following the program, Kneis grew her career within the Sales Finance organization, building out a team, driving new innovative ways of working, and presenting directly to Apple’s executive team. Through these experiences, she was drawn to leveraging financial insights to put some “logic” around ambiguous challenges, and developed a guiding philosophy: if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. 

Today, Kneis leads Worldwide Business Planning for Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Her early roles in Finance built the foundation for analytical discipline she brings to complex decisions. Just as influential, her time at Santa Clara shaped how she approaches problems with curiosity and openness, giving her an experiential-learning mindset that makes her comfortable diving into the nuances of markets around the world. She’s energized by the fact that no two days look the same, and credits her love of constant learning for keeping her work exciting: “I love my job because if you stay curious, you’re never bored.”

Mentorship has been a common thread throughout Kneis’s career and is something she credits as central to her success. Her approach has always been to surround herself with people who inspire her to rise to their level. “That’s been my career strategy,” she says. “Find people who challenge you, who you can learn from, and who set the bar high.”

She’s especially grateful for two female managers from her first team in Finance, both respected business leaders and working mothers who gave her the confidence to “go for it” as a woman in the workplace. “They set the tone for what strong leadership looks like: driven, values-based, and deeply human,” Kneis reflects. “Having those examples early in my career gave me the courage to grow into my own, and I try to give that back whenever I can.”

Leavey Provided Foundation for Success

Kneis’s path to success at Apple began early during her time at Santa Clara University. For her, Santa Clara was a family tradition. Both of her parents and several relatives are alumni. Choosing Santa Clara felt natural, but also, as she puts it, “a leap of faith.” She explains, “You have to go with your gut when picking a college; I just had that feeling that I could see myself here.” Remaining in the Bay Area, close to the heartbeat of Silicon Valley, proved to be a natural fit for her future in tech.

The experiential learning she gained at Santa Clara helped Kneis develop not just the hard, technical skills she needed for this range of roles, but also the soft skills—flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to learn quickly in different environments—that have fueled her success.

Leavey’s Accelerated Cooperative Education (ACE) Leadership Program proved transformative. “It connected theory with practice early on,” she says, “giving students technical prep, a flavor of what the real world is going to be like, and important principles such as business ethics and leading with integrity.” Those lessons in integrity and purpose would become a throughline in her career.

A Balanced Approach

Now, as a senior leader and working mom, Kneis embraces a long-term view. “Your career is a marathon, not a sprint,” she says. “It’s important not to burn yourself out, and to set yourself up to be a sustainable leader who is efficient and mindful with your time.” That mindset shapes how she leads teams, develops talent, and measures success; not just by title, but by the positive impact she leaves behind.

Kneis credits much of her growth to the mentors and peers who have supported and challenged her along the way. “I’ve been surrounded by people who are passionate, curious, and constantly raising the bar,” she says. “It’s hard not to grow when you’re in an environment like that.” For now, she’s savoring her dream role while balancing family life, confident that when she’s ready to take a new path, she can. That adaptability, she notes, is the kind of grit Santa Clara instilled in her.

When asked what advice she hopes to one day share with her daughter, Kneis reflects: “Stay curious. Don’t be afraid to pivot and seek out roles or experiences where you are learning, even if they feel slightly uncomfortable at first. Don’t underestimate the value of relationships. And be authentically yourself.”

Wise words from a leader who has built her career on exactly that.