Class Notes

1953-BS

Don Erickson

Don lives in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and is the coordinator of a study group researching the feasibility of establishing a National Heritage Area for the Red Cedar Watershed. The United States currently has 62 NHAs. President Ronald Reagan dedicated the first one, the Illinois and Michigan Canal NHA, in 1984, calling NHAs a “a new kind of national park.” Don is pleased to discover that his business education prepared him to collaborate with colleagues from scientific and cultural disciplines.

1963-E&W

Joseph Kater

After a successful business career in the Chicago area, Joe moved to Asheville, North Carolina, in 1979 with his wife, Mary. Now in Weaverville, just north of Asheville, Joe and Mary have seen tremendous growth in the area. Joe retired in 1989 after 10 years as a stockbroker. Now he’s well known to his neighbors because of his bountiful vegetable garden.

1968-BS

Jerry Juska

Jerry ’68, ’69 MS, ’88 PhD is semi-retired but still teaching doctoral and MBA classes online. He lives in a city outside of Orlando, Florida, writing textbooks while relaxing in the sunshine. He says his motivation to become a marketing professor came from three Northwestern professors: Steuart Henderson Britt, Vernon Fryburger and Philip Kotler.

1972-FT

Dwight Koop

Dwight is the CFO of Cohesive Networks, a Chicago-based developer of security and networking software. He previously served as treasurer of the InfraGard National Members Association, a nationwide public-private partnership between the FBI and the business community that focuses on local educational programs, training and information sharing.

1976-FT

Michael Sapienza

Michael ’74, ’76 MBA is enjoying grandparenthood while staying engaged in business building for DataPulse, a data company (datapulse.global). “I just had the pleasure of attending the inauguration of Michael Schill in my role as Alumni Regent for Ohio. Go ’Cats!”

1979-FT

Bruce Reed & V.J. Singal

Bruce and V.J. wrote to say that they are well and will definitely attend their upcoming 45th reunion. They urge their fellow graduates from the Class of 1979 to do the same. Bruce and V.J. both attended the 40th reunion and said it was extremely rewarding.

1980-FT

Mansoor Shafi

Mansoor is currently completing his studies at the International Academy of Classical Homeopathy in Alonissos, Greece, while trying to build up his classical homeopathy practice. He shares that his first homeopathy case report will be published in the journal Homeopathy for Everyone.

1982-E&W

James Reynolds Sr.

Jim received the Lincoln Presidential Foundation’s Lincoln Leadership Prize at an honorary dinner in June. Recognizing notable individuals for a lifetime of exceptional service in the spirit of the 16th U.S. president, the prize has previously been presented to heads of state, civil rights activists, and leaders in the arts, philanthropy and business. Jim is the founder, chairman and CEO of Loop Capital, the largest minority-owned investment banking firm in the U.S.]

1983-E&W

Karen Boyd

After graduating from Kellogg, Karen earned a multidisciplinary PhD in human services and spent 30 years in corporate strategic planning and marketing. Then she started a culinary business in Tampa, Florida. Now based in Kansas City, Missouri, and known as Patrice’s Culinary Collective, the business provides high-quality catering services and custom baked goods throughout the United States.

1985-FT

Victoria Anstead

Victoria is celebrating 34 years of work in the art world with her company, Victoria Anstead Arts Advisory. She is one of a few in her field with an MBA and professional experience in international banking. As she guides her clients through the exciting but complex and challenging art market, she is grateful for the Kellogg experience and the ability it gave her to understand value — not only in a financial sense but also from cultural, creative and interpersonal perspectives.

1985-FT

Mark Blackwell

Mark ’83, ’85 MBA is EVP of leasing for Brookfield Properties. He and Beth moved back to the Windy City after 25 years in St. Louis, and they’re thrilled to be near their two grandchildren, Katherine and Nickolas. Their three daughters are all married and live in Chicago, Philadelphia and Helsinki. Mark and Beth spend lots of time in Evanston cheering for the Wildcats in various sports.

1985-FT

Greg Williamson

After a long career as a chief investment officer, investment banker and co-founder of an asset management firm, Greg ’84, ’85 MBA was recruited to lead business recruiting and entrepreneurial investment for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Greg is especially excited to fund innovative and disruptive technologies in Wisconsin and to support traditionally underfunded minority entrepreneurs. A resident of Racine, Wisconsin, Greg continues to enjoy salmon and trout tournament fishing on Lake Michigan.

1987-FT

Scott Cragin

In retirement, Scott is enjoying his grandson and granddaughter-to-be and checking items off his bucket list. Recent travel included a retreat in Jamaica and a trip to Scotland, Ireland and Iceland that featured a visit to Cragganmore distillery. He plans to visit the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia next spring. He also offers some health advice: “If you haven’t gotten a colonoscopy, do so. It literally (really!) saved my life.” Scott (far right) is pictured here with his band, Higher Ed.

1987-FT

Michael Holling

Mike writes to say that friends from the Class of 1987 met for get-togethers this year in Deer Valley, Utah, and Pinehurst, North Carolina. Those in attendance included Jack Blunt, Jeff Coyner, Paul Embree, Tim Grell, Mike Haddad, Cam Krueger, Richard Mandel, Sheldon Reynolds and Doug Rotatori. “After 35 years, these Kellogg guys are still the best,” says Mike.

1987-FT

Doug Milliken

Doug retired from Clorox after 35 years of leadership roles in the marketing function. Now he’s beginning a new chapter as a founding partner of Creamer & Milliken, a boutique consultancy focused on helping companies transform their corporate cultures. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

1987-FT

Tom Olive

In May, Tom retired as president and CEO of Crystal Flash, a Michigan-based company that delivers propane, premium diesel and other fuel products. During his tenure, he transformed the family-owned company to a 100% ESOP, generating significant growth in shareholder value. Crystal Flash was Tom’s third and final corporate turnaround or transformation. He joined the Aquinas College business department as an assistant professor in August 2023. Tom and his wife, Kelly, plan to continue living in Grand Rapids so they can spoil their granddaughter.

1988-FT

Michael Docherty

Mike is staying busy with innovation consulting and leading a nonprofit that supports industrial decarbonization across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. He also recently took over his late sister’s modeling and talent agency in Pittsburgh after her courageous battle with ALS. Mike and Theresa are celebrating 39 years of marriage this fall.

1988-FT

Loretta Whitcomb-Jacobs

Loretta has enjoyed raising three kids and is now living in Breckenridge, Colorado. She is currently pursuing a chaplaincy degree at Denver Seminary and will start working as a chaplain in January 2024! This will be her third career, after having spent time in marketing and not-for-profit leadership. She and her husband, Roland, are enjoying spending their time between Chicago and Breckenridge.

1989-FT

Steve Frazier

Steve serves on the board of directors of the Canadian Tire Corporation, based in Toronto, and of Pacifiko.com, a Guatemala-based startup. He’s also a senior adviser for McKinsey & Company and a member of two advisory boards at the University of Kansas.

1989-FT

Christian Vandendriessche

Christian continues to work as managing director at Miami-based investment bank BroadSpan Capital, advising on middle-market cross-border M&As and financial restructurings (corporate and sovereign) in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States.

1990-FT

Andy Mallinger

Andy writes to say he had a blast skiing at Deer Valley, Utah, in March with classmates Rob Cappucci, John Palmer, David Froelich and Amy Lewis. He also shares that after 30 years of full-time work, he has joined the consulting ranks and is enjoying the flexibility. He focuses on helping early-stage software companies by providing product management direction and support, and sends his thanks to Brian Hall ’84, ’89 MBA who provided excellent guidance on getting started. “Life is good in Colorado!”

1990-E&W

Rebecca Wear Robinson

Rebecca was a member of the steering committee for the first U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan and a co-author of its report. The evidence-informed recommendations for water safety and drowning prevention provide a road map for change for communities, counties and states.

1990-FT

Marie-Eve Rougeot

Marie-Eve lives in Madrid and says she would love to meet up with fellow 1990 or 1989 Kellogg graduates. If you are ever in Madrid, make sure to contact her! She is happy to have recently been in touch with David Anderson ’90 MBA and Rocio Haskell ’90 MBA. She raised three boys, ages 24, 21 and 17, while enjoying an exciting career turning around companies in distress and working with various private equity firms. Come and visit!

1991-FT

Paul Fingersh

Paul writes to say that his daughters are attending Northwestern and that he recently had a chance to see the Global Hub, “which is a touch nicer than the older building.” Paul has been running a multifamily investment and management business in the Kansas City area, and he misses drinking aquavit with his Scandinavian classmates.

1991-FT

John Vano

John reports that a group of friends from the class of 1991 met up in Washington, D.C., to reconnect. Alex Treveza and his son visited from Geneva; Vincent Palmade lives in D.C.; Cedric Jeanson came down from Brooklyn, New York; and John traveled from San Diego.

1992-FT

Matthew Allgood

After seeing his fourth and last child graduate from high school, Matthew is “graduating” himself to empty-nester status. His youngest son, David, attends Embry-Riddle University on a Tier 1 Air Force ROTC scholarship, while his third child, Joe, will be finishing college at Pepperdine University. A “pay raise” is in the forecast!

1992-FT

Vinod Dasari

Rewired, not retired! Vinod left the corporate world in August 2021, a week after he and his wife, Sarita, opened a not-for-profit super specialty hospital in Chennai, India. “I quickly learned that I know nothing about the healthcare field, but it felt great to be able to serve society,” he says. Vinod is also an operating partner with PE firm Advent International and spends a third of his time investing in and mentoring several startups.

1993-FT

Roman Pongracz

Roman writes to say, “While I could not make it to the 30-year reunion, I enjoyed tremendously looking at the class of 1993 online book and seeing the various paths that everyone has taken. It’s still missing many faces and stories of people, and I urge everyone to add their stories and updates!”

1993-FT

Michelle Rider

Michelle (right) was listed as one of the “Top 50 Women to Watch for Boards” by 50/50 Women on Boards, a nonprofit dedicating to accelerating gender diversity in corporate leadership. Michelle was chosen from among 400 applicants for her outstanding leadership, innovation and commitment. Her selection recognizes her readiness to drive positive change in corporate governance and promote diversity in boardrooms.

1994-FT

Rick Smith

Rick’s sixth company, CNEXT (C-NEXT.com), recently launched a major new development program for diverse leaders in partnership with founding members Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks, Raytheon, Corning and several other companies.

1994-E&W

Greg Washington

Greg is principal and owner of Financial Strategists, a business advisory firm based in the Chicago area. The company recently launched a new website (financialstrategists.biz) featuring Capital Quest, an interactive educational software product that teaches users about financial analysis, loan proposals, accounting methods, small-business financial management and how banks make funding decisions.

1995-FT

Heather Beatty Raker and Todd Raker

Heather and Todd are empty nesters! They spend their time in Darien, Connecticut; Sarasota, Florida; and Forestburgh, New York. Heather invites alumni in those areas to give her a call. Heather is executive director at the Mather Homestead, a historic home and museum in Darien, and Todd is a portfolio manager at Iridian Asset Management.

1995-FT

Jeff Hyman

After two decades in Chicago, Jeff and his wife moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he continues to lead the company Recruit Rockstars.

1995-FT

Leslie Kleinheksel Coote

Leslie and her husband, Gavin, have lived in Melbourne, Australia, with their children, Ben (21) and Tessa (18), since 2004. Leslie is COO of Green Capital Partners, a small private-capital family office where she has worked since 2016 following a stint in investment banking after graduation. She says it’s great to have classmate Barbara Wansbrough (Toth) ’95 MBA back in Melbourne with her family! When not fussing around with Excel and ChatGPT, Leslie enjoys hiking, gardening and traveling — particularly around Western Australia and New Zealand.

1995-E&W

Andrew Long

Andy was recently appointed EVP and CEO of the Products and Healthcare Services Segment at Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 global healthcare solutions company based in Richmond, Virginia.

1995-FT

Cindy Lundin Mesaros

Cindy says hello from the Bay Area! For five years she’s been at San Francisco-based Foresite Capital, a life sciences and healthcare VC where she leads marketing and communications as well as people management. She also runs branding and talent for sister company Foresite Labs, a life sciences incubator. She is continuing her lifelong quest for learning by taking up guitar, songwriting and surfing, and she recently formed her first band, The Audacity. She lives in Lafayette, California, with daughters Veronica and Julia.

1995-FT

Win Reis

Win recently got his WSET Level 2 certification and is loving his “pre-retirement job” in the tasting room at Beaulieu Vineyard in Napa Valley. He and Marie are enjoying a truly empty nest and more golf, now that the kids are fully off the payroll. Win’s younger son, Gordon, graduated from Santa Clara and works at CrowdStrike. His older son, Tom, is a mechanical engineer at the Newport News Shipyard in Virginia, working on the new Ford-class aircraft carriers.

1996-FT

Greg Sigel

Greg has co-led four companies to acquisition, most recently with a leading fintech and payments provider where he ran the global digital media business. Since then, he has been consulting with digital merchants (OTT, gaming, edutech, dating, productivity, etc.) and matching them to telco payment partners. Greg writes that he’s currently looking for his next gig leading commercial efforts for a series A/B firm in the same space or with a venture firm as a go-to-market specialist.

1997-FT

John Ganz

After four and a half years of prosecuting federal drug cases in El Paso, Texas, John ’97 MBA, ’06 JD recently moved to Houston, where he joined the Violent Crime Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. He’s excited to dig into Houston and all it has to offer. Call if you’re in town!

1997-E&W

Doug Meyer

In January, Doug was named global head of strategic development for Bonaccord Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm providing growth capital to private equity, private credit and private real asset managers in the middle and lower-middle markets.

1998-FT

Derek Gaskins

Derek gave a keynote at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago in May. In August, he was featured at ASD Market Week in Las Vegas.

1998-FT

Melanie Mityas

Melanie is co-founder and CEO of the Chicago-based meal-kit service Madison & Rayne. The company recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary by expanding its reach across the Midwest! Check it out at madisonandrayne.com.

1998-FT

Thé Truong

Thé ’98 MBA, ’99 JD writes that it was great seeing everyone at reunion. “I still cannot believe that it has been all these years since we traveled the hallowed halls of Kellogg as students,” Thé writes. “You are the best! I have recently moved to the Bay Area. If you are in the area and want to meet up, just let me know.”

1999-FT

Ravee Kurian

Ravee has served as COO/CFO of the American College of Cardiology for the past two years. He took this position after working at Sapient (now Publicis Sapient) for 21 years and before that at EY. After 24 years post-Kellogg, the course Ravee still finds useful every single day is the one students nicknamed Power and Politics. “Fact: Kellogg’s organizational behavior faculty prepares you well for the really important parts of leadership,” he writes. Ravee lives in Arlington, Virginia, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and can be found looking at airplanes in his spare time.

1999-FT

Joyce Yao

Joyce sent her oldest daughter off to Notre Dame this year — “one down and one to go,” she writes. “After having played a ton of golf during COVID, I came to the conclusion that maybe I wasn’t done working. So, I applied to some returnships and am now working full time at Natixis. It was quite a shock after having been a full-time mom for the last 18 years! At the same time, it has been extremely stimulating.” Joyce says she’s happy to share her experiences with anyone who is considering doing the same, and that the Kellogg Career Center was instrumental in her transition.

2000-FT

Justine (Dube) Donnelly

Justine ’00 MBA, MS is celebrating her 23rd year at Johnson & Johnson, where she heads up global brand and commercial strategy excellence in the firm’s pharmaceutical global strategy organization. Her work includes global branding, portfolio strategy and product strategy, all at the intersection of R&D, product design, commercial strategy, medical education and marketing. She says she’s proud to use her knowledge from the MMM Program in her daily work across functional groups.

2001-E&W

John Lynch

John joined global sustainability consultant ERM as a partner in Chicago, where he will focus on securing land rights for large capital projects in the sustainable and renewable-energy sector.

2001-E&W

Girish Pathria

Girish is the EVP of product and marketing for HighRoads, a provider of healthcare software solutions. Previously, he led revenue growth and profitability for leading healthcare companies and led product, marketing and operations at Citicorp, TransUnion, UnitedHealth, UST Global and Wolters Kluwer. Girish lives in Boston with his wife and 15-year-old son. He is excited to travel post-COVID-19 and recently visited beautiful Ireland. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him @pathria.

2001-FT

Jennifer Zierden Maurer

Jennifer is celebrating her 20-year anniversary with Deloitte — a milestone she never would have thought possible when she arrived at the firm in 2003 planning to work there for a couple of years. Jennifer lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, with her husband, Jim, and their twin boys (age 7). In addition to her day job, she is starting a small business focused on interior decor and paint color consultation services.

2002-E&W

Nicki Hines

Nicki was named executive managing director of retail corporate services at JLL, focused on strategic consulting and expansion management for premier global brands. A Fortune 500 company headquartered in Chicago, JLL provides commercial real estate and investment management services across the globe.

2003-FT

Karin Larson-Pollock

Karin ’02 MD, ’03 MBA was recently promoted to chief of health outcomes analytics and chief quality officer of the North Division (western Washington and Alaska) at Providence, the third-largest not-for-profit healthcare system in the U.S. A graduate of the MD-MBA Program, Karin has a certificate in business analytics from Harvard University’s Business Analytics Program.

2003-CERT

David Rambhajan

David sold his firm, Industria Construction Services, which delivers commercial construction projects for federal and government clients. An entrepreneur, investor, small-business advocate and mentor, David has spent his time paying it forward since exiting Industria. He shares lessons learned and advises founders, owners and startups, helping them hit their personal and professional targets. He shares experiences, mind-shifting ideas and mental models for those who want more but don’t know where to start.

2004-E&W

Sesh Iyer

Sesh, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, took over as the regional chair of North America for BCG X in June 2022. BCG X is the firm’s tech build and design division, focused on AI, software, deep tech, digital growth and sustainability.

2004-FT

Brano Jakabovic

After stepping down from executive roles at the nongovernmental organization and education projects he co-founded, Brano has become a proud midlifer and joined the Modern Midlife Mentors team to offer different growth programs for open-minded peers stepping into the third quarter of their lives. He and his peers are seeing their kids leave for university and learning to rebalance their health, sense of purpose and enjoyment in life.

2005-FT

Dan Davidson

Dan is a volunteer firefighter with the Roslyn Highlands Fire Department in New York. A New York State-certified firefighter, he is learning new lessons in leadership and management on the fireground. Dan responds to emergency calls when he’s not working as a consultant for banks or spending time with his wife, three children and two dogs.

2005-FT

John Hamilton

John sold his connected-TV startup, TVDataNow, to Moloco. He’s super excited about this outcome and would like to thank the many Kellogg classmates who were involved in this success.

2005-FT

Sameer Mehta

Sameer ’05 MBA, MS writes that the Kellogg Northwestern Madras Forum has completed two years of companionship, fellowship, learning, support and wisdom. Based on the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and Young Presidents’ Organization, the Chennai forum has four trained facilitators. Members include Full-Time and Part-Time MBA graduates as well as Northwestern University students. The forum has held a retreat, more than 30 meet-ups and more than 10 learning sessions with industry leaders, fund managers, NU alumni, entrepreneurs, professors, award-winning authors and social impact leaders.

2006-FT

Analiza Quiroz Wolf

Analiza and Alex Wolf ’05 MBA are enjoying life in New York City with Bryson, 11, and Scarlet, 7. Analiza is an executive coach and author of the books “Asian Americans Who Inspire Us” and “Native Americans Who Inspire Us.” She also hosts a podcast, “Women of Color Rise.” Alex works in treasury at Mizuho Financial Group. Analiza recently visited class of 2006 friends Emily Raman, Ben Chuba, Shalini Bhatia and Sharad Bhargava in San Francisco.

2006-E&W

Tom Williams

In 2015, Tom accepted a position as vice president of the eBusiness Practice at C2, a struggling consulting firm in Vermont that had fallen on tough times and posted 26 months of losses. With a mandate to turn the business around, Tom moved his family to Essex, Vermont, where he returned the practice to profitability in 11 months and grew it by 263% over six years. Tom acquired 10% of the company in 2017, and C2 was sold to Xerox Corp in 2021. Tom relocated back to Columbus, Ohio, and is currently vice president of data solutions at Xerox.

2007-FT

Danielle Robinson Bell

Danielle was appointed director of the IMC Professional Master’s Program at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. She joined Medill in 2020 as a clinical assistant professor. Her areas of expertise and teaching are culture, inclusion and strategic marketing communications.

2007-FT

Jate Samathivathanachai

Jate joined San Francisco-based Foundery Innovations, an immunotherapeutics-focused venture studio fund, as chief business officer in December 2022. Foundery validates and develops preclinical drug concepts sourced from world-class academic institutions to produce first-in-class pre-IND candidate packages. New companies are built around selected drug candidates and sold to biopharma industry partners for downstream clinical development.

2008-E&W

Jason Trombley

JT was recently named head of U.S. development for Guzman y Gomez (GyG), a fast-service Mexican restaurant with more than 200 stores in Australia and Southeast Asia. GyG currently has three locations in the Chicago area (Naperville, Schaumburg and Crystal Lake) with a fourth set to open in Buffalo Grove in 2023. JT will be responsible for growing GyG throughout the U.S. with the goal of 175 stores in the next five years. He continues to be supported by his wife, Courtney, and children, Teddy (10), Campbell (7), Everett (5) and Jet (3).

2009-FT

Esther Choy

Esther’s daughter, Alina Choy Krieg (above), was born in 2008, the summer between Esther’s first and second years at Kellogg. Soaking up the school’s creative energy in utero, Alina grew up to become a published author at the age of 13! In 2022, Alina published her debut novel, “The Spirit Hunters,” a young-adult book available on Amazon. A great gift for young people searching for themselves, the book is about 13-year-old Brianna Davis, who goes on an unexpected journey to save her best friend from an angry spirit world.

2009-E&W

David Hornthal

David is a founding recruiter for Forbes.jobs, an innovative platform created by the Forbes team that seeks to reinvent how elite talent and leading companies collectively advance career goals. David’s recruiting expertise is in the field of analytics and data science.

2009-FT

Justin Meli

Justin pivoted a COVID-19 layoff into a mindful-leadership coaching practice by harnessing leadership experience across multiple functions and sectors, startup experience, a BS in human development and his Kellogg MBA. His mission? Empowering clients to navigate life transitions, find greater meaning in their work and cultivate joy and balance in their lives. Justin also works with leaders and teams to develop healthier, more human-centered and sustainable work cultures.

2009-FT

Nicole Tilzer

Nicole was recently promoted to vice president, all-inclusive and resort strategy at Hilton. In this role she has the pleasure of shaping the global resort strategy for Hilton and bringing to life unique experiences for guests all around the world — as well as traveling to some pretty amazing locations herself!

2010-FT

Prasanna Dhungel

Prasanna is co-founder and managing partner of GrowByData, a Boston-based marketing intelligence firm founded in 2014. The company provides top agencies and brands with holistic visibility into the digital shopper journey.

2010-FT

Emal Dusst

Emal and his wife, Humaira, welcomed a son, Ayden Alexander Dusst, who was born in Santa Monica, California.

2010-FT

Johannes Endhardt

Johannes fulfilled his life dream of building and opening a winery when he opened Endhardt Vineyards in Northern Virginia. He invites alumni passing through the area to swing by for some award-winning wines and spectacular views.

2010-FT

Andy Hung and Dan James

Friends and classmates Andy and Dan have launched “Adventures in Growth,” a podcast and newsletter that share stories of exceptional Kellogg founders and leaders in startups and tech. Each week, guests dive into their playbooks on building careers at game-changing tech companies, leading outstanding teams and designing the life they want.

Sign up for exclusive updates at adventuresingrowth.co!

2011-FT

Zander Baron

Zander is living in Denver and recently left his job as chief content officer at Outside Inc. to start The New Wine Review, a digital media company for people who love wine.

2011-E&W

Aaron Davidson

Aaron ’04, ’11 MBA recently joined Relay Platform as chief executive officer and will lead the company in exploring the next phase of digital insurance focused on cyber insurance. Aaron previously served as global head of insurance at ServiceNow, where he led digital transformation for the insurance sector across business, employee and IT workflows. Aaron and his wife, Jill, live in Denver with two children and three dogs.

2011-FT

Scott Kaplan

Scott started a new nonfiction production company called Cover Story. His first feature, “Queenmaker,” premiered as the top trending film on Hulu in May. His next project is slated to debut this year on Amazon with Adam McKay (“Succession,” “The Big Short”) as executive producer.

2011-FT

Jonathan Printzian

Jonathan and his family recently went all in on their passions by purchasing a vineyard in the Crystal Springs area of Napa Valley. Estate-grown grapes will be used to make wine under their Prism Vineyards wine label. Jonathan continues to broaden his experience in business planning and will soon celebrate his three-year work anniversary at Google.

2012-CERT

Joseph Garrett

Joe will soon celebrate 20 years at Elevance Health, where he has held several positions, including product P&L, operations for five Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and chief of staff for several divisions. He recently led a rebranding effort for Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, which serves 4.7 million members.

2012-FT

Jessica Lee

In July 2023, Jessica started a new position as VP of philanthropic initiatives and development with Full Frame Initiative, a systems change organization working to build a country where everyone has a fair shot at well-being. Jessica lives in the Boston area with her husband, Henry, and her two children, Nathaniel (8) and Louisa (4).

2012-FT

Tyler Palmer

Tyler relocated from northern Indiana to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2014 to join BSN Medical, owned by private equity group EQT. Tyler stayed with BSN through its acquisition by Essity, serving in various strategy, M&A and business-unit leadership roles. In 2022, Tyler accepted a role with AQuity Solutions as SVP of corporate development, strategy and product solutions. Tyler and his wife, Lindsey, have four awesome kids: Nell (7), Edith (3), Rhys (1) and Olwyn (1). They enjoy short drives to the mountains and the beach with the family.

2012-E&W

Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey has acquired American Backhoe Service & Excavating Co., a construction firm in Chicago focused on excavation and electrical contracting. After years of running a successful capital markets advisory firm, Jeffrey transitioned into private equity with his first acquisition. The firm will continue its long tenure of industry leadership and improving America’s infrastructure, buildings and utilities.

2013-FT

Kim Cerato and Chris Rosenbaum

Kim and Chris ’13 MBA, MS welcomed daughter Lily Marie Rosenbaum on March 9, 2023. Maddie is thrilled to be a big sister!

2015-FT

Anwar Ali

Anwar is thrilled to announce the birth of his third child, a daughter named Maryam, in June 2022. As the family prepared to celebrate Maryam’s first birthday, they were also preparing to relocate from Seattle to Dallas. Anwar has secured a new role as a vice president of product management at a financial services company. He welcomes connections from fellow alumni in the Dallas area.

2015-FT

Ricardo Amack

Ricardo recently relocated to Santiago, Chile, from Mexico City to lead the expansion of the Tierra Hotels platform in South America as head of corporate finance and development.

2015-FT

Sandeep Satish

Sandeep was a recipient of the Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award for the Class of 2023. Since 1999, SBJ has recognized more than 900 exemplary leaders across sports for their outstanding contributions to the industry. Many past recipients are among the most influential executives in sports today.

2016-FT

Andrea Crane

Andrea founded Bigwin Talent, an executive recruiting firm focused on operator roles at companies backed by PE and VC firms, search funds and family offices. Having been a CEO, COO and head of strategy for PE-backed companies, Andrea knows firsthand that talent is the most important aspect of a company. Finding amazing operators and retaining that talent is what differentiates great companies from good companies. Andrea invites classmates to contact her at andrea@bigwintalent.com.

2016-FT

Matthew Heintz

Matt welcomed his first child, James, in November 2022. Career-wise, he is currently the head of strategy for JPMorgan Wealth Management Solutions, where he leads strategic priorities around workplace, retirement, personalization at scale, ESG, direct indexing, OCIO, democratization of alts and investments, helping the company grow through organic and inorganic means.

2016-E&W

Kwesi Quaye

Fairview Capital, one of the largest minority-owned investment management firms in the United States with over $10 billion under management since inception, recently announced Kwesi’s promotion to partner, effective June 1, 2023. Kwesi focuses on research, due diligence, deal sourcing, investment monitoring and business development for Fairview’s venture capital and private equity partnerships and direct co-investment portfolios. He is based at the firm’s West Hartford, Connecticut, headquarters.

2017-FT

Alexander Tsado

Alex was recognized on several global channels recently. He and two co-founders of Ahura_AI received the Education Impact award from Prince Albert II of Monaco, and he was featured on i24 News discussing how AI should develop across the world. He also appeared on BBC World News discussing how African governments plan to engage in the age of AI.

2018-E&W

Molly Curry

Molly ’02, ’18 MBA, a member of the International Coaching Federation, has launched an independent practice focused on career and leadership coaching. Molly Curry Coaching LLC merges creative and corporate insights to empower senior executives to refine their leadership style and executive presence, guide management teams to develop and communicate unifying visions, and support individuals in achieving not only major career milestones but also meaningful personal breakthroughs.

2019-FT

Jessica Cheng

Jessica and Doug Olivier ’18 MBA met at Kellogg on a bus from Evanston to Chicago, where they were in the same class, Selling Yourself and Your Ideas. The class must have worked, as Doug sold Jessica on the idea of a dinner date after the last day of class. And they got married this spring in California!

2020-FT

Ned Moffat

Ned and his wife, Sarah, welcomed baby boy Mac to the world in April 2023. Mac made the rounds along the lake in Chicago this summer, giving a whole new meaning to “bottle service.” Ned is still focusing on medical devices and medtech with L.E.K. Consulting, where he met Sarah. The all-star new mom specializes in business development for L.E.K.’s organization and performance practice.

2021-E&W

Rebekah Howland

Rebekah recently married and relocated to Portland, Maine. She has taken on a people management role and is applying many Kellogg principles as she leads her two direct reports.

2021-FT

Gaurav Mokhasi and Alison Pincus

Gaurav and Alison got married on May 28, 2023. Having met as students at Kellogg, they felt it was apt to come back to Evanston to get married. The ceremony took place at the Winnetka Community House, followed by a party at Evanston SPACE. Alison and Gaurav were surrounded by family and friends, including over 30 of their Kellogg classmates.

2021-FT

Marissa Wizig Klegman and Andrew Klegman

Marissa and Andrew ’21 MBA, MS were married on June 3, 2023, on Cape Cod with more than 20 Kellogg classmates in attendance. They met in their introductory marketing class and got to know each other while planning a KWEST event at Day at Kellogg.

2022-FT

David Matthews

Dave and his wife, Kelsey, welcomed their second daughter, Meredith Grace Matthews, in March 2023.

EMBA Cohort 9

Janice Pyrce

Jan continues to provide behavioral-health consulting services nationally as the managing partner of Pyrce Healthcare Group and has been a lecturer at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Her consulting services include strategy, strategic planning, management development and organizational development. She says she appreciates the academic foundations provided by her Kellogg MBA, because they have helped her provide services to more than 300 health systems, behavioral-health community agencies, government entities and community health systems.

EMBA Cohort 20

Gene Quinn

Gene is an investor, adviser and board member at companies in financial services, travel and media tech. The sole proprietor of Confluence Partners LLC in Connecticut, he is also the co-founder and chair of TravelScrum Inc., a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit providing information and education to current and new entrants in the travel industry. In addition, he serves as a mentor to travel entrepreneurs at New York University’s Tisch Center of Hospitality Innovation Hub.

EMBA Cohort 28

Birgitta Kuehn

A retired healthcare executive, Birgitta is the second woman ever elected to the Planning Board of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the first woman to be appointed chair. In addition to her involvement in town politics, she is enjoying the beauty of the sea and forest in Plymouth. Birgitta responded to the dearth of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic by coming out of retirement to work with Corazon Consulting Inc. to bring open-heart surgery services to the Hannibal, Missouri, region through Hannibal Regional Health System. The program is scheduled to start in fourth quarter 2023.

EMBA Cohort 42

B. Sonny Bal

Previously a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Missouri, Sonny is now CEO of SINTX Technologies, a company focused on the development and commercialization of advanced ceramic material technologies. “The Kellogg MBA helped me make the transition from surgeon to CEO!” he says.

EMBA Cohort 88

Mark Richardson

Since completing his MBA, Mark has continued to rise through the ranks of the OSI Group, overseeing the food company’s operations in Europe and Asia. He has represented OSI on a number of international boards, which culminated in his current role as senior executive vice president in the international division of OSI. He is responsible for all operations outside of North America, including 57 facilities in 17 countries. He represents OSI on all of its international joint-venture boards.

EMBA Cohort 92

Katie Banks

Katie joined EquiTrust Life Insurance Company in 2015 to build the company’s first in-house human resources and talent acquisition strategy. In 2023 she was promoted to chief people officer. Katie previously held HR and talent acquisition executive and leadership roles in asset management and the rental car industry.

EMBA Cohort 98

Dr. T. Clark Gamblin

Clark completed the Abbott World Marathon Majors on March 10, 2023, by finishing the Tokyo Marathon. Over the course of five years, he ran six major marathons — in Boston and New York (2018), Berlin (2019), Chicago (2021), London (2022) and Tokyo (2023) — and raised more than $40,000 for the American Liver Foundation and CARE. Clark says many thanks to Dr. Jan Gamblin, whose love and support made the project a reality.

EMBA Cohort 100

Matt Huebner

Matt ’02, ’16 MBA co-founded OnRamp Advisors at the beginning of 2023. The company mainly works with early- and growth-stage businesses, providing strategic advisory, capital raise and M&A services. OnRamp is also raising a small fund to invest in early-stage businesses, with most opportunities originating from two prominent California universities. Distinguished Kellogg professor José María Liberti is OnRamp’s senior financial adviser.

EMBA Cohort 104

Leslie Gibbs

Leslie opened Strategic-Branding-Matters.com, a strategic consulting firm, in 2022. Working with companies across North America, she leads branding and rebranding efforts, builds marketing infrastructure, optimizes customer acquisition and serves as a fractional CMO. Leslie works in all industries but has a sweet spot for healthcare and technology. Leslie also serves on two boards and has a beautiful 1-year-old granddaughter. She lives in Manhattan Beach, California, and is an active Kellogg alumna.

EMBA Cohort 113

Ritu Mangla

Ritu writes, “During my time at Kellogg, I got my energy by seeing what other people were doing and how they were approaching tough problems.” She has had the opportunity to work closely with Meta’s state and policy team on various initiatives for economically disadvantaged communities. She has also worked with WordPress VIP to cater to federal clients within the U.S. “As a leader, I was able to create that impact because of bold moves getting into new markets, and the strong execution that I learned from Kellogg,” she says.

EMBA Cohort 124

Glory Linsley

Glory was promoted to director and head of CPG partnerships and ad sales at DoorDash, where she is responsible for growing revenue for DoorDash’s convenience and grocery businesses.

EMBA Cohort KH14

Olivier Berger

Olivier writes in to say that he is looking for a new challenge in the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia. Olivier is pictured here attending the Dakar Rally race in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia in January 2023.

EMBA Cohort KR04

Avi Shai

Avi started his own coaching and consulting practice and created The Art of Being on Target, a leadership framework. In his work with leaders and teams, Avi is leveraging his 30-plus years of engineering leadership experience, most recently with Google Cloud and Google Search.

EMBA Cohort KS06

Olivier Favre

Olivier is happy to announce his marriage to Pam on August 10, 2023, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since meeting in early 2022, Olivier and Pam have shared many experiences, including a night stuck in a gondola in Whistler and walking the Inca Trail.

EMBA Cohort KW04

Harald Boysen

Harald recently celebrated his 25th work anniversary with insurer and asset manager Allianz. A managing partner at Allianz’s in-house consultancy, Harald works with clients around the globe on technology and innovation, while continuing to support the Kellogg-WHU community as a volunteer interviewer.

EMBA Cohort KW08

Juergen Roider

Juergen founded a nongovernmental organization with an embedded robotics company that cleans plastic from seas, rivers and inaccessible coasts with specially developed robots, drones and wing gliders. Powered by electricity or hydrogen, the robots are controlled with Python AI. Funding for the startup came from the sale of his company. Initial field projects were carried out in South Africa and Panama and will be followed up in India in 2024. More than 135 students, alumni and professionals from all parts of the world contribute to it.

EMBA Cohort KW15

Ingo Weiss

Ingo continues to focus on real estate investment, and he is also entering into a new venture in the wine industry — because, as he writes, “Nothing connects better than good wine.” He is a co-founder of Aliestre Vineyards in the city of Estremoz, Portugal. The venture includes winemakers Inês Capão and Luis Louro as well as five longtime friends from Berlin. He invites alumni to learn more at aliestre-vineyards.com.