1989

I had the chance to take in a Bulls game with a group including Bart Lombardi and Etienne Veber. After 11 years at Monsanto, Etienne joined the private equity world in 2001 and is now running Merisant (previously a subsidiary of Monsanto), which is owned primarily by Pegasus Investors and MSD Capital. Etienne is the chief operating officer of this global food company, which owns brands such as Equal, Canderel and Sucaryl. He is based in Chicago (Lincoln Park) when not on a plane. He got married five years ago in Provence, but his wife Lisa is American, as is Etienne now. He traded his green card for a U.S. passport this past summer. Etienne's whole family, including his two boys, were there to celebrate with him.

I also recently caught up with Deb Maue and her husband Tim Moyar, whom she married last October. She works in marketing at Unilever (formerly Helene Curtis). They live in Oak Park with Deb's 9-year old daughter, Emma.

Charles L. Katzenmeyer recently assumed the newly created position of vice president for external affairs at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum. Reporting directly to Adler President Paul H. Knappenberger Jr., Katzenmeyer will oversee the Adler's fund-raising campaign, sponsorship initiatives, lobbying, branding and public affairs efforts.

In January, Barry Cottle was profiled in a page one Wall Street Journal article describing his transition from co-COO of Palm Inc. to an entrepreneur launching the tech start-up business Mobile Digital Media Inc. in Mountain View, Calif. MDM publishes software on expansion cards for PDAs and mobile phones. Barry and his wife Suzie live in Atlanta (yes, he commutes to California) with their four children.

James E. Scherr, now chief of sport performance for the United States Olympic Committee, was inducted as a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In a letter to Dick Coldren '50, who is past president of the Wildcat Wrestling Club, James wrote to express his appreciation for the opportunity to wrestle and finish his education through the Graduate Scholarship Program offered by the Wildcat Wrestling Club. James was associated with the Northwestern wrestling program for four years, competed in the 1988 Olympics and graduated from Kellogg in 1989.

George Davis sent the following update from Boston: "For the past 3 1/2 years I have been managing partner of Egon Zehnder International's Boston Office. Egon Zehnder is the largest privately-held executive search firm in the world. I specialize in CEO and board recruitment. I have traveled quite far over the last 12 months ó from Europe to America ó and have seen some good friends from our Kellogg class. Most recently, I bumped into Barry Cottle who moved from California to the warmer climes of Atlanta. It's hard to tell if Barry is working harder in his new ventures or at home helping Suzie with the twins. I have also seen Dean Patenaude quite frequently here in Boston. DJ and Shelley are doing great and we've actually shared some paddle tennis victories in the cold New England winters. DJ has forgone his basketball games and just recently took up the sport ó and he is a natural! DJ and I won the semifinals of a member/guest match at his Dedham country club.

"The biggest news in my personal life is that we have welcomed our fourth child, Sarah, into our family. I now have four wonderful daughters ages 10, 9, 5 and 0. I am surrounded by beautiful women, but now I know why they named the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral."

Al Tomlinson reported that in 2001 he joined a small consumer electronics company called Digital Innovations, where he is heading operations for a division that is launching a new generation MP-3 player called Neuros. See the site neurosaudio.com. "It has been a blast learning a whole new industry though a lot of work. Even better, I am working with a classmate, Debbie (Decker) Hall, who is responsible for the marketing. Sally and I finally abandoned the city a year ago for the suburbs and have survived (and enjoyed) the change. I've had a couple mini-reunions recently to catch up with friends. We got together with Diane and Garrett Tinsman, Joe and Marianne Chelovich Quoyeser and Nancy and Tim Hoying for a no-kids long weekend in Santa Fe in the fall. And just recently I helped Jason Green celebrate his 40th birthday with a guys golf weekend in Las Vegas with Gary Briggs, Tim Hoying and Chris Kawula."

Michel Philippart wrote to say he recently moved to France for a new position as director of international purchasing for Scotts (the lawn and garden care people).

Steve Schiffman moved from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., to join the National Geographic Channel as its executive vice president of marketing and new media. The channel is a joint venture between National Geographic Society and FOX Cable Networks, and has been the fastest-growing cable channel in history. Steve wrote, "This move has been great for my wife Susan and our 15-month-old daughter Rebecca since we are back in the Northeast and closer to family and friends. We recently moved into a house in Chevy Chase, M.D. It's the first time I have ever lived in a house! Already we have had some classmates visit. Ethan Miller and his family dropped by in December and Peter Stelian and his family are planning to visit this summer. I always like to reconnect with Kellogg alums."

Kyle (Doherty) Hodgkins sent in this report on the Sundance Film Festival: "I just returned from the annual get-together with Carolyn Glastris, Roxanne Pittan Gottlieb and Kathy Kane at Rox's house in Park City, Utah. Heather Winch was missing, but was there in spirit(s). We spent the time skiing, chatting, drinking red wine and walking up and down Main Street, taking in the sights of the Sundance Film Festival. We spotted all kinds of celebs, including will-be's, hotties and has-beens. Oddly enough, no one recognized us ó no one, that is, except Karen Mellman, who happened to be strolling by with her new husband. Much shrieking followed (no, it wasn't the surrounding crowd). Karen was in town with several clients for her product placement business and went to much cooler parties than we did (think Project Greenlight with Matt, Jen and Ben). We had our own "up close and personal" moments (think hip-check by Britney's body guard). Much fun was had by all. Next time you see us, ask us about the snowshoe trip to the yurt."