1998

Those chilly winter winds have sent Kellogg 98ers packing for the indoors. Seems that most are staying put for now in the uncertainty of the market. I got loads of notes that said "nothing to report but can you wave to the Queen and eat a crumpet for me." Okay, not really. But those that were busy this winter were really busy -- with babies, marriages and trans-continental moves.

The biggest trend is the move back to big businesses. Yes, it's shocking, but we Kelloggians cannot be in denial of our true heritage anymore. We are the Future of Corporate America. We are not afraid to wear suits. We relish a 401K and dental plan. We will take cash over equity. We might even strive to stay in the same company for more than five years. Of course, we will have more fun doing it than the average wonks we work with. Am I right?

Robert Kennedy writes, "We are still in Atlanta and the family is doing great. I left Coca-Cola in February 2000 to join a dot-com and left the dot-com in August to join Miller Zell, Inc. (a retail agency based in Atlanta). MZ designs environments that strengthen retail brands. MZ believes that Œthe more you do the more you can do.' So I serve as both the general manager of our technology solutions group and vice president of the strategic services group."

Laura and Rob Leach had a boy, Mason Patrick, who is now 15-months-old. "The family is keeping me close to home and really enjoying the Pacific Northwest lifestyle. I am still with Intel and developing a new Solution Services business. Lots of day trips to Santa Clara and Folsom (Sacramento) Calif. I did a fantasy football league this past fall with Alastair MacPhail, Jerry Joliet and some others."

Doug King writes: "I left Booz€Allen in September and accepted a position as chief information officer with Magnatrax Corporation. Magnatrax is a $1 billion manufacturing holding company in the engineer-to-order construction and building products industry. My wife Lisa and I have relocated from Cleveland and are now living in Eufaula, Ala. -- quite a change for us! We recently were blessed with the birth of our second child: Anthony Douglas King, born Nov. 3. His older brother, George Franklin King III, is 18-months-old and very jealous!"

May Wu was promoted to vice president from associate at JP Morgan Investment Management in New York. She writes, "I am a buy-side equity research analyst. After being a generalist for a while, I now specialize in small-cap software companies, and am a member of our small-cap portfolio team with over $4 billion assets under management." She also informs us that Chiaki and Kenji Imada welcomed a baby girl, Koyomi, on Oct. 17, in Tokyo. "The name has rich meaning, and can be described as a season of change reflected in trees, leaves and fruits. Those of us who know the couple well hope the baby girl will grow up as cute as they are."

Lisa and Matt Cole, along with big brother Nathan Cole, welcomed Annalise Frances Cole on Nov. 17. Matt says, "Everyone is healthy and happy!"

Rick Keller is still living large in L.A. at Artists Direct. "Maybe it helps that there are three Kellogg grads working with me here. Personally I spend time with Kellogg folks, including playing golf with Scott Goss and Jon Boris last weekend (Will Suvari backed out. I guess new-born twin boys keeps you busy)."

Elizabeth Carlson is now part of the Kellogg Mafia here in the U.K. "I am still working for Johnson & Johnson but now for McNeil Consumer Nutritionals UK. I am marketing manager for the Benecol brand here in London and will probably be here for a year to a year-and-a-half. I attended my first Kellogg U.K. TG last week and saw several Kellogg '98 folks including Dave Rollier and Michael Moran.

Speaking of Michael Moran, he writes, "I suppose there's a lot for me to update. On Dec. 9, I married Kimberly Fitzgerald in Chicago. Everything went off without a hitch. Among the Kelloggians in attendance, Mark Van Genderen was one of my groomsman, and Tim Simmons was in the wedding. After two fantastic weeks honeymooning in Hawaii we were welcomed back home to the cold of Chicago. Now, I am surviving the gray of London. A month after the wedding I have been shipped off to a project in London for at six weeks (still consulting at AT Kearney)."

	Peter '98 and Anna Harvey (MALS '98) introduced their three sons to football at Northwestern¹s 1999 Homecoming game. In hand are Robert, Mosby and William.

Christina Kramlich writes, "I met the newest Xenakis who is totally adorable. I run into Heather Lamm at Dolores Park every so often walking our dogs; I avoid Glenn Shapiro's job advice, but accept his wisdom about cars; I still work with Brett May and, no, our music software company is not a dot-com."

On Sept. 23, Jennifer Forsyth married Perry Pinto in Chicago. In attendance were 1998 Kellogg grads from all over the Western Hemisphere. Paula Abramovicz, who flew in from Sao Paulo, held the distinction of traveling the farthest for the celebration. Other frequent flyers included Jodi (Marcussen) Coulter and her husband, who came in from Houston, Megan (O'Scannlain) McDonagh who flew in from Portland and John ('97) and Tina Brzezenski who arrived from Boston. Local Chicagoans included Amy and Scott Barnum, Rana and Andy Brown, Beth and Tim Eachus, and Jeff ('99) and Samantha Lichtman, whose three-week-old son Jake held the honor of being the youngest guest at the wedding. It was a fun reunion complete with cocktails, dinner and dancing at The Drake.

Mike Murray is still in Dallas but is moonlighting as a rock star. "My big news is that I completed my first solo CD and it's available for sale and sampling at: www.michaelmurray.com. It's got a lot of great love songs and a couple repeats from the Bottom Line. I'd love support from the class! I'm working in Mexico and Dallas for CGEY doing telecom consulting work."

Vijay '98 and Sukanya Sankar were married in December in India. Here they are surrounded by a few of the Kellogg alums who made the trip to celebrate with the couple.

Sarah McDonald Murphy and Sean Murphy '97 had a little boy on May 20, 2000. She writes, "His name is Ryan Alaster Murphy. I love being a mom and there is no question that Ryan is the toughest but most adorable boss I have ever had. I am lucky enough to have a wonderful playgroup of women and their babies to keep me sane. Jen Gilroy (Jon Boris' sister) is in the group, as is Abigail Sinwell and her daughter Eloise, as well as Julie Maner '96. Small world."

Mark and Pallavi Homan and welcomed their first child, Maya Taylor Homan, born Oct.16. "She is the light of our lives, having an indescribable ability to make the stresses of work melt away with her smile. We are still living in Mountain View, Calif., and I am still with Cisco, managing large cross-functional IT projects; currently replacing the software that enables customers to correctly configure our routers and switches from the thousands of possible permutations, as they place orders on our Web site. I feel fortunate to be doing something I love, with people I consider friends as well as colleagues, and get paid to do it. This past August we got together with Terri and Rob Webb, Kelly and John Carroll, Tracy Anderson McEuen and her husband Will, and Elizabeth Henna in Charleston, S.C. We feared sweltering weather, but were pleasantly surprised. Great time playing golf and meeting the newest additions to the Webb and McEuen households. We plan to catch up with Tracy and Will again this summer in Colorado."

Leif Welch is still lurking in the smoky music bars of San Fran. He writes, "I got married and now have five children. Not. But I did finish recording my second solo album, I Was Naked and So Were You, which is posted at www.leifwelch.com. Anyone who wants to check it out can go there to listen to samples, or just write me for a CD. Anyone who wants to sign me to a major label is also welcome to do so."

Ted Arnstein is still enjoying life in Boston with Alison, Jacob (3) and Sophie (born last July). "Amazingly, I am still in the same job with the Technology Investment Banking group at DeutscheBanc Alex. Brown. For the past two years, I've been focusing on mergers and acquisitions. 2000 was a great year and 2001 is shaping up to be, well, interesting. I am down the hall from Doug Able and Peter Thomas, both of whom are helping me fight the good fight for Kellogg in investment banking. I see John Carroll frequently at Summit Partners when I'm on the VC rounds locally."

Grillo Grimaldi loves his job and for good reason. "Still at South-Net, I was able to sell one of our incubated companies for $22 million after one-year of work. I am planning to go to Austin with the Œold Kellogg alumni (soccer) team' early March. I hope Moretti, Gordon, Adams, Kornblum and some other 98ers can make it. By the time this goes to the press we will probably have the Soccer Cup in our hands!"

Golan Pratzer just got back from attending NATPE (the National Association of Television Producers and Executives) in Las Vegas. "Afterward, I decided it was time to hook up with Kellogg people. I took the first plane to San Francisco and spent the weekend with Bob Teree, Dale Smith, Philippe Meyerson, Wendy Park, Caity Meany, and Lisa Rosenberg. It was so much fun!"

David Ransburg has lots to report from frosty Chicago. "Most significantly, I got married! Jennifer Scheff '00 and I were married on Dec. 10 at the Chicago Cultural Center, surrounded by several Kelloggians. Michael Frank, Alex Fuller, Greg Gutierrez, Charles Hauck, Herd Rogers, and Peter Salvage were the ushers. Also in attendance from our class were Jen (Meyer) Ryan, Kris (Cho) Frank and Beck Barendrick. Other members of the Kellogg community included Jill Sharp '99, Eric Attkisson '99, Dorit and Gilad Sokolov '00, Emmanuel Hemmerle '00, Niraj Singh '00, Beth Pierson '00, Charlie Sultan '00, Julie Grusin '96, Associate Dean Ed Wilson, Professor Phil Kotler, Professor Mitch Petersen, and Professor Joanne Scheff (the mother of the bride!). I also just started a new job. On Jan. 8, I joined Roberts, Nathanson & Wolfson, a boutique consulting firm that focuses on organization effectiveness. Our office is located on Sherman Avenue in Evanston, so after two years of trying desperately to get out of Evanston, I find myself back at Œground zero' on a daily basis!"

After Kellogg, Joseph Solari headed to Greenwich, Conn., where he worked as a special situations/healthcare analyst at investment banking boutique Credit Research and Trading. "I left CRT to join Internet.com in business development. Around that time I started the Idea Incubator, a regular Silcon Alley get together for new media professionals and began working with a variety of internet companies -- folks interested in checking it out should shoot me an e-mail. I recently joined a company doing some innovative and powerful things in the privacy/security space called Ponoi, started by a classmate of mine from prep school, where I'll be assisting corporate development efforts."

Val Kucherenko is thrilled to be in his current role at Nortel Networks. He writes, "I am done with start-ups. I am in my sixth month in Nortel Network in eBusiness division as director of strategic alliances. I love the company and culture. I moved recently with my wife (yes, I got married) to a beach house in Capitola, Calif., and am getting equipped for some major surfing. I hang out with my buddies from school, Hunter Middleton and Elena Ropaeva, '00. There are a few of Kelloggians I stay in touch here: Doug Martin, Roark Pollack, Mike Avila, Raymon Ayroso '97, Rami Akamba (who is my hero: he commutes to San Jose from Concord North-East Bay every day, two-hour trip without traffic) Peter Kim and Sergey Shnierson. I stay in touch with Walt Ling who works in Japan. Jeannie Kim, after spending a year in London, visited us here a few weeks ago."

Brad Armistead is about to start his third career since Kellogg "and both friends and family agree that I should stay at this one for a while. After a year-and-a-half at BCG, five months at Stamps.com and a four-month vacation (this was my favorite career of all), I have accepted a position at Mattel in strategic planning. But I won't start warping the minds of children for another couple of weeks in order to accommodate a ski trip to Whistler. I'm really excited about the position due to the people at the company, the opportunity for real growth, and the new CEO, Bob Eckert (himself, a Kellogg grad). And now that I've been in L.A. for two years, I figured it was time to find a creative partner and bang out that first screenplay."

Mark Strauch recently joined Business Engine Software in San Francisco. Dave and Adriane McDermott had a baby girl just in time for Christmas on Dec. 22. She writes, "Actually, I had the baby and Dave was good enough to massage me, let me bite his knuckles, and allow me to kick him a few times during the 23-hour delivery. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 9 ounces. Her name is Madeline Rose and, of course, she's an angel. I know all parents say this, but in our case it's true, (he!). I am at home on maternity leave and she's sleeping and feeding away the days and nights. I discovered that it's hot here in a Sydney summer without an air-conditioned office to go to. I have to piddle away my days pushing the stroller around shopping malls and beach sidewalks just to get a bit of cool air. She's only just two-weeks-old so life may get tougher once she is awake more often!"

Antonio Somma and family have moved back to the United States. They now live in Dallas, where Antonio works for BCG. It was the wedding of the year as India's most eligible bachelor -- Vijay Sankar -- tied the knot with Sukanya Vaidyanathan on Dec. 14 in Chennai, India. Though there were some 4,000 guests in attendance, Vijay and his family rolled out the red carpet for the large Kellogg crew with unparalleled Indian hospitality. The visiting Kelloggians were treated to a week of partying, sightseeing, and shopping, capped by an unforgettable two-day traditional Hindu South Indian marriage ceremony. Partaking in the festivities included a Kellogg contingent consisting of Jason Ayroso, Bill Chan, Asda Chintakananda, Bill Dubinsky, VaNae and Read Flake, Belen and Alex Fuller, Paz and Matias Galarce, Christian Hackett, Victor Hartono, Kido Ishikawa, Rami Kahlon, Peter Kim, Yasuko and Akira Kokubu, Yoram Levy, Walt Ling, Cecilia and Mario Maza, Amol Patel, Sergey Shneyerson, Tamaki Tanaka '99, Shravan Todi '99, Amanda and Avi Tesciuba, Jessica Yeh, and Kellogg Professor Bala Balachandran. Everyone looked fabulous. Men wore traditional Indian Kurtas and women wore silk saris. Especially noteworthy were Christian in his Dhoti and Sergey in his high-rupee designer garb. As for Rami, he always wears a turban so that didn't count!

Vijay and Sukanya honeymooned in the Mauritius islands for a week before getting back to their schedules. Sukanya works for a tech start-up. Vijay is an executive with Sanmar Engineering Corporation."

Sarah and Chris Ehrlich write: "We have moved to San Francisco. I know you never thought I'd move out of New York (and neither did I) but Chris got a great job working at a venture capital firm in Menlo Park focusing on healthcare deals. I have not given up my job based in New York but am splitting my time between SF and NYC. It's challenging and I hate working from home when I'm in San Francisco, but those are the breaks. We have renewed some of our Kellogg ties out here. We had brunch with Jen James, dinner with Coline David and dinner with Dave Aufhauser. All are doing well. In New York we recently had brunch with Valerie and David Contract. David is now on his second dot-com job for the year and is trying to not to let market circumstances get his entrepreneurial spirits down. Ari and Vanessa (Melman) Yackobson are still doing well, although had to close the doors on MyVirtuaLife.com. We also recently saw Steve Gwodz at the Robbie Stephens Health Care conference in New York. He's doing well -- could be the only one from our class (besides Scott Smith) still in his initial job after business school.

In addition, Chris and I sat on a panel at the Business of Health Care conference. We had a great time and in addition to seeing lots of old friends and professors, we saw David Gibel who is still working at Guidant and living in San Francisco. He is very happy!"

Jon Boris recently joined ING Barings in L.A.

Matt Candler writes, "All is well in Charlotte. I still dig my consulting work on charter schools and new learning designs. I took some of the guys to Tahoe to hang out, including Peter Harvey and Freeman Hall '00. Two feet of snow landed right before we got there."

Anna and Peter Harvey write: "We just moved from Evanston (where our triplets were born Feb. 5, 1999) to Rhode Island. In addition to the parents being NU alums, the triplets' aunt Julie Cathcart is CAS '98 and their grandparents, Paul and Lois (Lione) Cathcart are are CAS '66 and Speech '66 . We bleed purple and we're hoping for three members of the class of 2017."

And of course (only because you asked), London is still cool Britannia. I am still with BSkyB Television (a News Corp Company) and still living in Notting Hill. Apparently Madonna and I go to the same juice bar, and Claudia Schiffer lives on my street. Life in the U.K. continues to be an adventure and the offer still stands to give me a shout if you will be passing through. Now that I can actually cross the street without having to look down and read the signs on the pavement that say "Look Right" or "Look Left," I am a much safe and more efficient tour guide. Hope you all are well and have a great spring. Take care, Melanie.