1990

I received this happy news from Anne Marie (Johnson) Splitstone in September, “My husband Mark Splitstone and I just had twins. Their names are Matthew John and Allison Marie and they were born Aug. 25. They were a couple months premature but are both healthy and growing quickly.” Mark recently added, “They’re both over 15 pounds now and are sleeping through the night pretty regularly.” Anne Marie is currently a senior category business director at Kraft and Mark is a finance director at R.R. Donnelley.

Then this ecstatic e-mail from Kevin George on Dec. 19: “Just a note to let you know that I’m a Dad — woohoo! Madison (4 lbs., 10 oz.) and Jack (5 lbs., 7 oz.) were born last night at 7:45 and 8:15 respectively — on Brad Pitt’s birthday I might add. The delivery was an amazing experience. Mom and kids are all doing fine.” In a more recent follow-up, he says: “Jack and Madison are 7-weeks-old and have crossed the 9-pound barrier. They are growing like weeds.”

Now, I had heard not a peep of news from the rest of you since the last issue. This was going to be a short column. Having not had twins recently, I couldn’t really lengthen the column with news of my own. I just had no choice but to send threatening e-mails to alum friends: cough up contact info of other alums or appear yet again in this column. They responded appropriately and their fellow alums were gracious enough to offer the following news updates.

From David (Dino) Rohal: “I’m still working in the railroad industry, with the same company I worked for before Kellogg, only now in a role linking the old economy with the new information economy as AVP of customer operations for CSX Transportation. My job is to lead the department that translates customer requests for service into work orders for train crews, and then keep all the information straight so everyone can tell through either the company systems or through the Internet where all the railcars are located, and where they are supposed to go. I’m living in Jacksonville, Fla., with my wife Meg and our two kids. Our daughter, Christine, who you might remember playing with Kelly LaPorte’s son Ryan at the TG parties (she got caught in Dean Jacobs’ office with him at age 4) is now a 16- year-old high school sophomore, learning to drive, and growing up fast. Our son, Jack, who was born June 9, 1990, just as we were graduating, is approaching 12 years old as a smiling friendly boy who would rather play video games than anything.”

From Scott Gode: “I’m continuing to love it out here in Seattle with my wife Kelly and two boys. I’m still at Microsoft (nearly nine years now) where I’m director of marketing for the Mobility Division — Pocket PC’s (not Palm’s) and Smartphones. What a fun product and what a great company — don’t believe anything you read! Other classmates: I just got a Xmas card from Ginna Zinke who recently moved from Seattle back to Cambridge MA where she is consulting to a Dept Chair at Harvard Med School, supporting his work on cross-boundary cancer research initiatives (whatever that means). I just saw Virl Hill and Nancy Hill over Xmas —- they’re here in Seattle with me —- Virl’s at Real and Nancy is in the process of winding down her career at Immunex after they just got bought by x? They’ve got their hands full with three boys (two of them twins only 15 months or so old). I also talk to Dean Egerter quite a bit who’s still out in Winnetka with Laura and their three kids (also two twins!). Dean accepted early retirement from Heller Financial when they were bought by GE back in December and he’s spending lots of time with the kids and training for the Big Sur Marathon while he decides what he wants to do when he grows up.”

From Brad Sterner (his e-mail address is brad.sterner@danaher.com; his telephone is 847.360.5306): “I accepted the position of vice president/general manager for Encoders Business Unit Danaher Industrial Controls Group last September after 11 years with Emerson. My wife Paula and I had our third son, Albert on Jan. 22. Max (5) and George (2) are thrilled with their new brother even trying to feed him crackers and asking why he does not have teeth. Needless to say we are busy with the new job, new town, and new baby.”

From Lizanne Cooper: Last May 25 “my husband, Abu and I, along with my daughter Amira, welcomed the birth of our twins, Joseph and Laila. For four months I had three kids under the age of two! Now it is a breeze, I have three kids under the age of three (smile).”

Elizabeth Boniecki Blinderman, Midwest region general manager for Otis Elevator Co., was inducted into the YMCA of New York’s “Academy of Women Achievers” in November. Congratulations!

From Charlie Brown, vice president, controller for Chemicals Vulcan Materials Company (Tel: 205.298.3545): “I live an exciting life of international travel and activities vicariously through Shaila Bettadapur’s annual holiday letter. I register the disbelief associated with the recent tragedy when I talk to Craig Stinebaugh and other friends in NYC and D.C. And I recall the honeymoon-bliss when I talk with Gregg Anderson. Beyond that, I have hunkered down in my adopted southern world, taking on new responsibilities at work and just hanging with the wife and kids.”

From Mike Backus: “I’m leaving Cain Brothers to go back out and freelance consult again. IT and Healthcare (hospitals and payors). Now racing a Miata instead of a BMW.”

Ronald Miller writes: “I am managing director for investment banking at Cleary Gull Inc. A group of senior Cleary Gull professionals agreed in January to purchase the company from RBC Dain Rauscher. I live in Milwaukee with my wife Susan and our three daughters.”

From Mohamed Amer (Tel: 661.263.7185): “So how does a former naval officer having flown missions and done the intelligence side of things leverage that at Kellogg? I know, go for general management opportunities and end up discovering the world of office products. Following the graduation euphoria, we traded in the super economy-sized Dodge Colt for a family-sized, let’s-drive-across-country station wagon. We were ready for Boise Cascade Office Products in Menlo Park, Calif. Big bucks, or so we thought, until Big Bucks crashed into the Bigger Mortgages of California real estate. We were ready to ride that equity-appreciation rocket ship; problem was it was doing re-entry and burning up fast. Six months later, and still living the ‘I can do anything’ attitude from Kellogg, I was flirting with an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“Off I go to Washington, D.C., as a senior executive with another office products company with Danish parents. Paula stayed behind with Omar and Nadia and made the sale, fought the termites and the home inspectors, and passed the Feng Shui test. We established roots in that model community of suburbia, Columbia, Md. The roots didn’t take very well, about two years into the East Coast experience, we were engulfed in reorganization, mergers, and management elimination. No problem. Time for that consulting gig, now that I can talk logistics, distribution, purchasing, information technology, and customer needs. The recruiter spoke of an opportunity in Los Angeles; I emphasized that we’d lived in California three times and all were in Northern California. We just couldn’t move to the southland; our passports were not in order.

“With a little cajoling (a job is better than none), we headed out to the land of milk and honey to see what the hoopla was all about. They boasted fires, riots, quakes, and mudslides, but they also offered beautiful palm trees and the Pacific Ocean, and blue sky (looking to the west, anyway), and no winter jackets. After two-week-long house hunting trips, we became part of the Kurt Salmon Associates family of retail consultants. Based in L.A. and living everywhere but, I had a great grounding in the system and operational requirements for retailers and apparel manufacturers. After five years and almost a million frequent flyer miles, it was time to do something new again. Internet retailing was just getting off the ground and so much focus had gone into customer acquisition, and very little had gone into execution and delivery. A logistics/distribution systems dream! After four months of discussions with a former colleague around the needs of the “eTail space,” we plunged into building a set of supply chain applications to support the burgeoning Internet retailers. This was a bootstrap operation and we sought strategic consulting engagements to help build our Intellectual Property.

“With some creativity, hard work, and luck, we continued to refine the business idea, develop that business plan and have audiences with angels and VCs. We approached a supply chain software company to embed some of their software in our product, and after a few meetings they became interested in our start-up. Six months later, we agreed on the terms and future responsibilities. The entire start-up experience — from struggling to make payroll to the mundane administrative issues and personal dynamics of software programmers to the heady negotiations and legal education of the merger, were a tremendous learning and personal growth experience. The deal was struck three months before the peak days of the NASDAQ. Although the IPO road was side tracked, the deal we struck was structured with a bias for the old ‘bird in hand.’ I’m spending more quality time at home with Paula and our children (how fast they grow), play a little tennis, swim, read, talk. Now, there is another company in the making, with a very local flavor (i.e. no travel): real estate. We may not be Century 21 or Lending Tree, but most of the fun is getting there! See you in Los Angeles!”

From Bill Zinke: “My wife, daughter and I relocated to Nashville last November. Rather than take the easy approach, we piled ourselves and dog into our Volvo wagon and drove the 2,000 miles and had an amazing time visiting places like the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial. My wife has begun her teaching career as a professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and I kept my job in marketing with Ready Pac (a California-based packaged produce company). Converting to a life as a telecommuter has been challenging but I’ve discovered more pros than cons. So far, we’ve been amazed by the friendliness and ‘Southern hospitality’ that we’ve experienced and are truly enjoying Nashville.”

From Nancy McBride Dalence: “Life is blissful here in Tampa. I’ve been here eight years since leaving Chicago and each year the warm winters get slightly easier to handle (Call me strange, but I just hate cooking a turkey in shorts!). I’ve managed to juggle the chaotic family life of three daughters, ages 6,8 and 11, a successful husband, a flexible half-time job and a teeny tiny bit of time for my own pursuits. Some might remember my first pregnancy at the end of our second year. Anna, as our first-born, is the guinea pig of our parenting experience. I’m sure today Kellogg women are more thoughtful on how to ‘sequence’ children and careers. I spent four great years working with Kellogg grad Ben Lee at SchifinoLee Advertising. We had wonderful fun recounting Kellogg days of group projects, team work etc.

“For the last two years I’ve been unlearning my corporate ways and refining my nonprofit, government agency skills — in the role of communications director. Always a challenge to mesh the fine training I received at Kellogg and the slower-than-molasses ways of government. But it is a fulfilling life. Last year I was lucky enough to stay at the Mason de Inglese (proprietor and fellow grad Laurie) and tour NYC, both before 9/11 and after. Laurie, Ralph and kids are great hosts. I’d love to hear from anyone. Please contact me at dalence@tampabay.rr.com.

Finally, thanks to each of you for writing. If you haven’t written lately, or ever, please drop an e-mail note. I love to hear from you (and was just kidding about being threatening).