2002

We are excited to be writing our first Kellogg World Class Notes article for the Class of 2002. Thank you to everyone for your submissions and to Laura Smith for doing a wonderful job on the updates over the past year and a half.

This fall brought lots of new Kellogg kids to our classmates: Paige Ponder and Zac Freeman are currently busy with Max Walker Ponder-Freeman, born Dec. 19. He was 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 20 inches long.

Carson Brown writes that he added a second child to his family Oct. 29. Jada Denae Brown was 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and 20.5 inches.

Helena Cook writes that she and Tom were blessed with baby Charlotte Eloise on Nov. 18. “She’s an absolute angel and has both her parents wrapped around her little finger.” Helena will be going back to McKinsey in March, where she hopes they have something to ease her back into work after a few months of baby massage, strollercize and making baby handprints (and the odd sleepless night or two). Catherine Vaughn threw a wonderful welcome baby shower for her.

Jane and Brian Tanabe '02 with baby Natasha

Jane and Brian Tanabe welcomed Natasha Sydney Tanabe (6 pounds, 8 ounces, 19 inches) into the world Dec. 17.

Jen and Rob Leff are excited to announce the birth of their son Joshua Noah on Jan. 9. Joshua weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and measured 20 inches long. The family is doing great, and Joshua looks forward to being part of the Kellogg Class of 2031. Also, Rob left Intel in June to join International Cruise and Excursions Inc. as the executive director of product development. Jen is pursuing her master’s degree in exercise science and health promotion.

Shinya Naka '02, wife Hitomia, and their baby Karen with classmates Debbie Koyama, Cindy Carey and Keishu Yu in Tokyo

Shinya Naka and wife Hitomi welcomed a baby girl, Karen, on Nov. 8. The couple writes, “Please visit us if you have a chance to come to Tokyo.”

Love was also in the air with many engagements (on which we will provide details when the weddings occur) and weddings alike:

Beata Drizin '02 and Erich Kirr '01, with fellow Kelloggians at their wedding Sept. 6

Beata Drizin married Erich Kirr ‘01 on Sept. 6 at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. It was a beautiful September day, and Beata was a gorgeous bride. Fellow Kelloggians at the wedding included Natalie Guenther, Melissa Gellert, Lisa Jackson, Colleen Sellers, Claire Lundin, Adriana McGrath, Brian Buenneke, Cameron Janes and his girlfriend Michelle Fishbach ‘03, Alvaro Camara and Michael Kenny. Serge Brussovansky, Mike Lin and Matt Dober were in attendance from the Class of ‘01. Alyssa Bagchi and Yonca Ulusoy were bridesmaids.

From left, Albert Fratini '02, Matt Schaefer '02, Dan Bird '02, Don Pillsbury '02 and his fiancee Skye Ketonen, Kevin Stineman '02, Jen Pack '01, Andy McDill '02, Mike Castellerin '02 and Margie Block '03 celebrate at Dave Shearer's September wedding in California.

Dave Shearer married Molly Stryker in the beautiful Sierras in California on Sept. 6. Dave and Molly honeymooned in Hawaii, where they ran into Beata Drizin and Erich Kirr ‘01 while in a hike on the island of Kauai. What a small world!

Jay Koval and Jill Desmarais were married in September in Aspen. Lisa Jackson, Dan Grace, Evan and Katie (Arnold) Norton and Michael Paulson celebrated with the happy couple.

On Oct. 18, Aaron Levine married Annie Purkey in a small art gallery in Chicago. They were joined by fellow Kelloggians Laura and Jim Nollsch, Lauren and Andrew Schlossberg, Tracy and Tony Martinez, Carol and Luke Fairborn, Ed and Jean Wilson, Emi and Mike Dowhan, Sarah and Eric Smyth, Ty Smith and Rachel Clapp, David Cohen, Jon Resnick and Tom Fuchs, who all enjoyed a 70-degree clear and sunny Chicago day. In December, after waiting for Annie’s final exams at University of Chicago (where she’s pursuing a master’s in art history) to wrap up, Aaron and Annie spent three weeks in Brazil. They visited Salvador de Bahia, on the tropical island of Fernando de Noronha, and spent New Year’s Eve on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Although it was tough to return after the honeymoon, Aaron is still enjoying his job as product manager leading consumer marketing for TAP Pharmaceuticals’ drug Prevacid.

From left, Belinda Shi '02, Marc Verhaeren '02, Ajay Gupta (best man), groom Puneet Gupta '02, bride Gitanjali Jain, Michael Segal '02, Kian Bin Teo '02, and Siva Ramamoorthy '99 at the couple's weeklong wedding celebration in India

Belinda Shi writes of an event that brought Kelloggians together from around the world: Puneet Gupta’s wedding to Gitanjali Jain in the first week of November. “Misha Segal (from Washington, D.C.), Marc Verhaeren (from Brussels), Kian Bin Teo (from Singapore) and myself (from Shanghai) went to New Delhi to attend the wedding, which lasted for a whole week. At least all of us were fortunate enough to be part of the wedding crowd on the last day. There must have been 500 people celebrating this great event on a beautifully decorated farm villa almost the size of a football field. Yes, I did venture to try on an Indian sari, and even brought it back to Shanghai. I better get invited to another wedding in India because I really don’t know how to wear it myself.”

Marjan Oman '02 and Nadine Hren exchange their vows in October.

Marjan Oman and Nadine Hren were married Oct. 25 in Chicago. The couple, who dated throughout Marjan’s year at Kellogg, were married in the company of several Kellogg friends, including Brooke Brandes, Curt Fowler, Michael Kenny, and Mary Yoon, among others. Michael Castellarin, lifelong friend and McManus neighbor, was an usher. Marjan now works for the William Wrigley Jr. Co. in Chicago in its international business group.

Stephanie Blackburn Freeth, Kathleen O’Connell and husbands Tim Freeth ‘01 and Mike, respectively, met Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., to cheer for each of their respective teams. (Kathleen was the lone proud USC fan of the group!)

During the first weekend of October, Michelle Beels, Adriana McGrath, Debbie Koyama, Claire Lundin, Natalie Guenther and Lisa Jackson made their way to Dallas to visit Megan Ainsworth and Julie Saliba. The group bid good luck to Megan on her move to Seattle, Wash., where she joined Starbucks as a product manager on its espresso business. She also bought a great house with fiancé Jay Marine and looks forward to visitors to the Pacific Northwest.

Chompan “Pip” Wattanasiritham has been busy between projects at AT Kearney that have had her working in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore; building a house in Bangkok; and vacationing in Nepal in December with fiancé Nat. The couple visited Kathmandu Valley, Pakhara, and the Royal Chittawan National Park, and highly recommend Nepal as one of the coolest travel destinations.

Jim Lutz ›rites that he is having a great time with his new travel company, Vaya Adventures, which focuses on active trips in South and Central America with stays in great local lodges and inns. He says the travel market is on an upswing this year, with particular interest in Machu Picchu, Patagonia and Belize. Check out the company Web site at www.vayaadventures.com, which includes lots of photographs of all the destinations.

Vito Iaia recently moved from the Windy City to L.A. What a change of pace! He is working in business development with Ticketmaster. Excited to be living two blocks from the beach in Santa Monica, he often teases neighbors Rich Brest and John Hartke about the extra block they have to walk to get to the Pacific.

Michele Martin writes: “Brian (Martin) and I have traded in California rolls, sunny skies and flip-flops for the New England Patriots, clam chowder and Timberland boots.” Brian transferred to Bain & Co’s Boston office, while Michele joined State Street Global Markets. They bought a condo in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.

Sara Wegmann has a new position at Deloitte and Touche. In December, she joined Deloitte’s national HR group as a manager for the firm’s Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women. She will be managing leadership development, mentoring, and training programs aimed at helping women advance at Deloitte.

Wallace Saunders writes: “We’re moving to Charlotte, where I am joining Edgeview Partners, a boutique investment bank specializing in middle market M&A. We have expertise in a variety of industries, serving companies with enterprise values ranging from $15 million to $300 million. While the firm is relatively new, it is quickly establishing itself as a leading middle-market investment bank, and I am very excited to be joining it.”

Doug Monro says he had a busy year with work at Bain London (too much Dave Baker!) and trips to Belgium (to visit the Vernelens), the Bay Area (to meet up with the Angels, Nakas and Arratas ─ including Ricardo Angel being pulled over by a cop in Napa Valley for driving too slowly), and finally, St. Lucia with his fiancée Kim. He is making the most of the 25 days a year of vacation he currently has. Update: Doug recently moved on from Bain to join eBay U.K. as business planning manager.

Other recent job changes ... Cameron Janes to Walmart.com in San Francisco, Amy Simpson to Quaker Oats after a move to Chicago, Angela Teng to Bank of America in New York, and Dan Grace to Gillette after a move back to Boston.

Since graduation, Sanjay Jayaram has been around the globe and back, with his Kellogg education serving him well wherever he goes, he says. Sanjay writes: “After graduating in the summer of 2002, I opted to take on a consulting assignment in India as the assistant vice president and head of the global supply chain practice at Satyam Computer Services, a 10,000-strong CMM level five IT services firm. I enjoyed the exposure and the fast-paced work culture. At Satyam, I completed several successful strategy assignments at GM, Hitachi, Nortel and others; established strategic alliances with firms such as Manugistics, BaaN and Adexa; and worked on different aspects of the operations, including keeping more than 100 talented engineers challenged.

“In November, I received an offer to head the technology operations of a Detroit company specializing in ebrand management. So friends, I’m back in your neck of the woods again!

“Overall, I owe it to Kellogg for giving me the tools and the confidence to get the job done right in a workplace where the market conditions are changing constantly.” Thanks for the ringing endorsement, Sanjay.

Sam Coady is now director of corporate finance for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Sam is responsible for strategic opportunity assessment, competitor financial analysis and corporate finance special projects.

After many years in museum management, Colleen Duke has left the nonprofit world for diplomatic government work. She is now the academic and cultural relations officer for the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago.

Thank you to everyone who submitted updates (about themselves AND others)! We look forward to getting more great information for the next issue.