Cathey Finlon

Cathey Finlon retired as CEO/owner of 26-year-old McClain Finlon Advertising, ranked as one of the top independently owned advertising agencies in the US and consistently ranked as a top woman-owned business in Colorado.  She also served as President of the Denver Art Museum during an important transition period, and retired once again.  She continues to serve on the board of the Denver Art Museum.

A community leader, she has chaired the boards of Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Rocky Mountain Junior Achievement, History Colorado, Denver Advertising Federation and the Denver Scholarship Foundation.  Her past and present board service also includes the Denver Public Schools Foundation, University of Denver Daniels College of Business Advisory Board, Colorado Outward Bound, National Repertory Orchestra and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (NYC).

She was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame and has received many advertising awards, including AdWeek’s and Ad Age Top 100 US agencies, BtoB Magazine Top 100 Most Influential Business to Business leaders in America, Denver Advertising Federation Lifetime Achievement Award and Professional of the Year, Colorado Biz Magazine Top Professional Services Company, Denver Business Journal Outstanding Woman in Business, Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction, Colorado Historical Society Community Preservation Award, INC Magazine Top 100 Inner City Award, and hundreds of creative awards including 5 Clios. She is proudest of her lifetime achievement awards from the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, the Denver Advertising Federation and the Denver Art Museum.

She served on two elite think tanks at the University of Denver, which studied economic policies of Colorado and the state’s constitution over several years.  She also worked diligently to reauthorize SCFD in both 2004 and 2016.

Ms. Finlon has a BA in Fine Art, College of Wooster, Ohio, and an MA in English, Penn State.  She started her career in development at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia and the Denver Art Museum.

An avid sportswoman, she has cycled all over the world and climbed almost half of Colorado’s 14ers.   She has been married to Richard Finlon for over 40 years.