2011 Siebel Scholars named

9/3/2010 - Five second-year Kellogg students have been named 2011 Siebel Scholars, joining a network of elite students from 16 of the world’s leading graduate business, computer science and bioengineering schools.

Kellogg students Jessica Isaacs, Mads Johnsen, Thomas McKiernan, Kasey Smith and Sean Twersky, all ’11, were honored for their leadership and academic excellence.

The prestigious international award recognizes five exceptional students at each of the schools, which include the Sloan School of Management at MIT, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. Recipients receive $35,000 for tuition and other educational expenses during their final year of study.

The Siebel Scholars Program seeks to create a community of leaders who will make important social contributions and solve some of society’s most pressing issues. A selection committee of Kellogg deans nominates the Siebel Scholars based on a pool of students who are in the top 10 percent of each academic department. Key criteria include academic merit and leadership qualities.

“We congratulate our Siebel Scholars, who have earned this award through their outstanding performance within and outside the classroom,” said Jan A. Van Mieghem, senior associate dean of curriculum and teaching. “We’re confident these students will go on to make important contributions, and we are honored to be a part of the Siebel Scholars program.”

The Kellogg students join more than 600 Siebel Scholars worldwide who have been honored since the program was founded in 2000 through the Siebel Foundation by Siebel Systems founder Tom Siebel.

The scholars will meet in October to address energy and climate issues with other Siebel Scholar alumni and renowned scientists, lawmakers and experts.

Kellogg’s 2011 Siebel Scholars include:

Jessica Isaacs ’11. Isaacs has demonstrated a strong interest in corporate social responsibility and nonprofit management. She has worked as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman and as a development and communications associate at Voices for Illinois Children, a nonprofit children’s advocacy organization in Chicago. Isaacs serves as the president of Kellogg Board Fellows and is on the board of Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education. Isaacs has also been named an F.C. Austin Scholar.

Mads Johnsen ’11. Johnsen has worked for Nokia in Copenhagen and Dallas developing global mobile services, and led the deployment of Nokia’s first consumer services portal. He spent his summer with McKinsey & Company’s technology practice in Dallas. Johnsen holds a master’s degree in computer science from the Technical University of Denmark. At Kellogg, Mads is part of the High Tech Club leadership team and is a research assistant for Assistant Professor of Finance David Matsa, analyzing patterns in corporate governance.

Thomas McKiernan ’11. McKiernan has worked at Deutsche Bank’s M&A Group in New York and Madison Dearborn Partners in Chicago. At Kellogg, McKiernan competed in the Renewable Energy Case Competition and traveled to Brazil to study the role of private capital in funding emerging market infrastructure development. He is also captain of the Kellogg rugby team and fundraising chair for the Fabretto Foundation, a nonprofit youth organization in Nicaragua.

Kasey Smith ’11. Smith has worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and on the consumer insights team at Victoria’s Secret. She has applied her marketing expertise at a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, where she sought to improve membership retention, and at a New York-based food bank to expand its reach. At Kellogg, Smith is vice president of marketing for Net Impact, a director of Kellogg’s annual marketing conference, and marketing director of the Kellogg Ski Club. She was also selected to be a 2010 Global Scholar for the Kellogg Innovation Network.

Sean Twersky ’11. Twersky worked as a litigation consultant for Cornerstone Research, where he also ran recruiting at one of the firm’s core schools and edited the firm-wide newsletter. Twersky is also an ambassador for the Lisa Fund, an annual grant established by his late mother for colorectal cancer research and treatment. At Kellogg, Twersky is the executive vice president of the Kellogg Student Association and president of the school’s Complete Immersion in Management orientation program. He also sits on the board of Children’s Oncology Services Inc.

“We welcome these talented individuals to the Siebel Scholars Class of 2011,” said Karen Roter Davis '00, executive director of the Siebel Scholars Foundation. “Our conference on Energy and Climate this October, as well as this year’s thought-provoking regional events, will provide immediate opportunities for them to join our active, lifelong community of leaders who are committed to working together with the Siebel Foundation to address critical social issues.”