Doug Burke attended Stanford, graduating with a degree in economics. He made the 1980 US Olympic team for water polo, but they could not compete because of the Jimmy Carter-led American boycott. Burke relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1980s to train with the US National Team, and also attended business school at UCLA, obtaining an MBA. After the 1984 Olympics, Burke married Candy Costie, gold medalist in 1984 in duet synchronized swimming, although they would later divorce.
Burke used his love of baking, aided by Costie, to start Integrated Bakery Resources (IBR), a bread research and development company based in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He spent 20 years in the bakery business, also founding Innovative Cereal Systems (ICS), a bread enzyme research company that served large commercial bakeries. In 2005, Burke sold IBR to Cargill and ICS to Associated British Foods, although he remained with Cargill as an executive. He stayed with Cargill for four years before taking a sabbatical, and then forming Whiteboard Team, a business consulting service.
United States