Chris McKee '92 and family

1992

From Houston, Karl Killian reports that he, wife Marlene and their two daughters have settled down "back in our native Texas after spending time first in Washington, D.C., and then L.A. I continue to give it up for clients in the world of large claims and disputes consulting." He sends his warmest and regrets for keeping quiet for so long.

Gerard "Surfin' Bean" Beenen reports that he passed his Ph.D qualifying exams at Carnegie-Mellon.

Last year Eric Degenfelder became business manager for DuPont Coating Solutions (paint for trucks, trains, airplanes, RVs, boats, etc.): "In July we had our second child, Cecelia, who is a real cutie," he says. " I have somehow become a NASCAR fan because of the Jeff Gordon connection to our business. Suddenly, it seems more interesting."

Tim Giardina was named senior VP of sales and marketing for Tallán (an IT services company) from his previous position of VP of sales. In addition, he and his wife  purchased a company that manufactures and sells customized baby gifts, burpies.com.

Andy Hilliard reports that his Costa Rican IT and business process outsourcing company, IsThumus, is exceeding all expectations. He says: "I travel there and back to Charlotte monthly. We're now over 100 people and growing fast with new U.S. clients largely driven through the Kellogg alumni network (yeah!). I will speak at Kellogg's Latin American Business Conference in February."

After 11 years of investment banking at Merrill Lynch (his only job since Kellogg), Chris Rhoades moved to Maine with wife Karee in 2003. Swapping his Armani suits for plaid flannel shirts and Timberlands, he bought "a 40-year-old family business called H.F. Pinkham, a building materials company (hardware, lumber, windows, kitchens — like a Home Depot) with two store locations on the coast in Northern Maine. The business has doubled its sales in the past five years, as 2004 rang up $10 million in sales. Additionally, we had a second boy, Griffin, last winter; our first, Harrison, turns 3 in August."

Lloyd Cheu and his kitchen-design firm, Cool Kitchens, was the subject of a Sept. 30, 2003, article in BusinessWeek Online about his transition from the high-flying corporate world to the sphere of entrepreneurship. Check out coolkitchens.com for more information on his New York company. Congratulations, Lloyd.

Kathy McDonald welcomes classmates to "visit me at the Center for Health Policy (chppcor.stanford.edu) and get a tour of Stanford. We're busy trying to provide evidence to help with national and international healthcare challenges, which seem to be appearing in the news more frequently these days. It would be great to hear from folks from our class who work in some part of the healthcare system."

Joanna and Matthew Ginsburg welcomed their third daughter, Isabella, in January. She joins Sophia, 7, and Anna, 6.

Axel Wieandt traveled from Frankfurt to the Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board fall meeting in Evanston. "My first time back on campus in over a decade," he says. "Nothing much had changed there and it felt great to be back. I regularly see Albrecht Grell who has settled down in Hamburg."

Paul "Mr." Mistor will finally launch his family board game. It will be available online at playtravelmania.com starting in mid-March, then in stores near you soon after that.

Katrina Helmkamp recently joined the ServiceMaster Corp. as president of its Terminix International (in Memphis) pest control business; she was formerly VP and director of BCG. Perhaps she can convince Tom DeLay to give up politics and return to his old profession.

Mark Andersen is back in the vitamin business, as he now heads marketing for a nutritional supplements company in the Bay Area called Solanova. Steve Rappaport is doing well in Prague and has his hands full constructing his new house there.

Al Weggeman, COO of KCI, told me that his company was recently acquired by Actuant Corp. Al decided to "take a parachute" and is looking to buy and/or run another manufacturing company. He is currently scouting for deals nationwide (some company should be so lucky to land him).

SoCal-to-Minnesota transplant Lana Etherington Slavitt has taken a new position in strategy for Target.com. I'm guessing she drives an SUV to work wearing a parka and snow boots, versus donning sunglasses in her Saab convertible.

Congratulations are in order for Isabelle and David Murphy, who just had healthy twin girls, Charlotte and Estelle, who join their two siblings.

Joanne Scheff Bernstein says: "As you may remember, I was the most 'chronologically challenged' person in our class. While many of our classmates are having babies, I assume that I've become the first grandmother (they call me Grammy) in our class. My daughter Jennifer '02 and her husband David Ransburg '98 welcomed Cecilia on Feb. 6, 2003. Ryan Keltner was born to my daughter Lisa and her husband Jay on July 14. Lisa and Jay are both graduates of the integrated marketing master's program at Medill. NU is certainly in the family blood. The book I co-authored with Phil Kotler, Standing Room Only: Strategies for Marketing the Performing Arts, has been translated into Chinese, Russian and Spanish, and in December I traveled to Russia and Spain to give seminars on arts marketing strategies. A new book, Arts Marketing Insights, is now in process and due next year."

Motor City Monitor: Joanne Sevrain says things are grand at A.T. Kearney: "Consulting, industry association board involvement, joining the Kellogg MMM Advisory Board and pro bono work for a Detroit museum all keep me busy. But when coupled with balancing a family life with three kids, it keeps me far away from any sane schedule. BTW, any Detroit-area alums interested in helping with the Motown Historical Museum strategy should contact me at Joanne.Sevrain@atkearney.com.

Hard-to-spot George Thornton is reportedly moving to Lauro de Freitas, Brazil (just north of Salvador Bahia) for three years (reportedly just in time for Carnival). He will be working on a new SUV for Ford. The plan is to redesign the SUV in Brazil, manufacture it in Mexico and sell it in the States — a truly "All-American" vehicle. Another hard-core Ford guy, Tom Scarpello, recently became VP of marketing for Ford's Jaguar division and has relocated to Irvine, Calif. Email him if you want a free, fully-restored '67 E-type.

Mark Johnston of Metrotech Properties continues to expand his real estate portfolio on Chicago's North Side. He received the Good Neighbor Award from the Chicago Association of Realtors for his rehab of a 16-unit building in the Ravenswood neighborhood that was previously gang- and drug-dealer infested. Mark completely remodeled the property into modern rental units with a portion for low-income residents.

Crain's Chicago Business named Jamie Crouthamel as one of the 40 "people under 40 to watch" in 2004.

Hedge-fund maven Gary Dvorchak tells me that "Our Man in Siam," Kurt Hattendorf, has been living in Bangkok the last seven years, but recently moved north to Chang Mai, presumably for some fresh air and tranquility. Kurt is apparently searching to buy a traditional Thai-style house in town.

Karl Krista writes: "On the family front, everything is great. My oldest daughter Kami just turned 6 and will start school in September, and our second child, Arrie, just turned 7 months old. We live near Vienna in a nice house with a big garden and enjoy the quality of life this city has to offer. Professionally, my partners and I managed a successful exit from our biotech company, CellControl AG, in Munich. We sold the global rights for phase III development and marketing of our cancer compounds to a major pharmaceutical company. I now spend 50 percent of my time consulting for medical technology companies and venture funds, and 50 percent of my time investing in medical devices with a business angel group, so I'm always looking for deals."

Bill Sharpe heard that Rick Erwin left RR Donnelly after 12 years (yes, same job since '92) only to be recruited back shortly thereafter with an exciting and more lucrative opportunity.

After a dozen years, Chris McKee "checks in" from Chattanooga: "I'm still at our family business, McKee Foods, which recently hit $1 billion in sales. Since Kellogg I've done marketing, R&D, purchasing and logistics before becoming VP of sales and marketing. I also continue to oversee our fleet as CEO of McKee Foods Transportation. Jane and I have added two more children to the two we had in Evanston."

Pat Burns ran into Kit Heffner at the United Lounge at Frankfurt Airport and says: "Kit looks exactly the same 12 years later. He's still in Thailand with Caltex Petroleum, though he has a home in Bozeman, Mont., too. He runs Caltex marketing and distribution for hundreds of service stations in Thailand and Cambodia." Meanwhile, Pat and wife Kim just added another child (No. 6, Pat?) to the Burns clan, by adopting Ruslan, a young boy from Russia. Pat had to make several trips to Russia, but now Ruslan is here and Pat has wasted no time in corrupting the little fella with Cheetos and Krispy Kremes. Pat also recently left DuPont to become the VP of strategy and biz dev at Trex Corp. He's now busy house-hunting in the area west of D.C. A potential future neighbor is Mariann Kurtz Weber, who I know is on maternity leave from the IFC. Congratulations are in order for Mariann!