1984

Attention Class of 1984: If you are interested in learning more about your 25-year Reunion, please contact Katie Taylor at 847.491.3348 or katie-taylor@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

If you like reading about our classmates in Kellogg World, you'll love catching up with them in person at our upcoming 25-year Reunion! It's not too late to register. The reunion committee is planning a wonderful celebration May 1-3 in Evanston and Chicago. I'll be furiously taking notes for the next column, but if you can get your information directly from our classmates, I guarantee it will be a lot more fun.

There will be two events that are specifically for our class. The first is a gathering May 1 at Blu Sushi Lounge, Orrington Hotel in Evanston. Dinner is sponsored by a group of our classmates and there will be a cash bar. Please RSVP to the Reunion committee chairs Dwight Hilson at dhilson@ix.netcom.com or Brian Hand at brianehand@gmail.com.

The second 1984 alumni event is a party May 2 at Fulton's on the River, 315 North LaSalle, Chicago. There will be a special encore appearance by The Bullets band (Jimmy Margolis, Dave Tuchler, Bob Cornick, Steve Liu and Rick Smilow). After not playing together since we graduated, these guys brought down the house at our 20-year Reunion and this show promises to be even better! For full details and online sign-up for these and all other reunion weekend events, visit kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/classes/1984/.

I had a great time reading e-mails these last few months. I heard from some "regular" contributors and also from classmates who have never submitted to the column before.

Catherine Morales, after having served as senior vice president of LexisNexis for the last two years, transferred to Elsevier Science and Technology in international government responsibility. She is traveling more than ever and saw Ginny Clark in Chicago and Kai Hammerich in London. Catherine still lives in the D.C. area but also spends time in San Francisco with her daughter, son-in-law and three granddaughters.

Dave Chen writes: "I jumped off the deep end a year ago and left my venture capital partnership at OVP to form a new firm that invests in growth equity opportunities in sectors most impacted by sustainability trends. These issues seem to infuse into everything I do these days. I was recently in Evanston meeting with folks from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on their green exchange. I had the great opportunity to sit down with Dean Jain for a couple of hours on his recent trip to Portland to talk about the school's evolving mission: success with significance. Monty Pitt and I are farming our 24-acre vineyard sustainably and producing handcrafted award-winning Oregon Pinot Noir."

Sandra Ringo sends this update: "I am working for IBM as the global operations manager in the managed business process services division within IBM Global Services. Lots of strategic activity as the globalization integration continues. IBM continues to be a great company. On a personal note, Luis Reyes and I were married in July. Luis is a retired IBMer. We live in a neat little town called Vestal, N.Y. My daughter, Angela N. Ringo, is an artist and painter who works in the fashion industry as a fashion researcher."

Jonathan Levin writes: "1984 seems like yesterday! I attended the four-year JD/MM program at Kellogg, so although I graduated with the Class of 1984, I started with the Class of 1983. Today, the program operates as a three-year curriculum, which makes it much easier for students to develop a bond with classmates in both schools. After graduation, I moved to New York and have never left. I spent my first 11 years at Lehman Brothers doing mergers and acquisitions work for financial institutions. In 1995, I left and joined The Williams Capital Group L.P., an institutional broker-dealer and investment bank. I focus most of my time and attention on servicing the funding needs of large U.S. investment grade corporations.

"My wife Susy is from Peru and attended the University of Chicago Business School when I was at Kellogg, although we did not know one another at the time. We have three children: Roberto (13), Janette (9) and Philip (6). It is so hard to believe almost 25 years have passed since I was a member of the Kellogg student community. Also, then again, not a day goes by when I don't think about the wonderful business foundation I received in Evanston."

Gary Lynn is a tenured, distinguished professor and teaches marketing, innovation and entrepreneurship at the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels at the Howe School of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. He was recognized last year as one of the principal thought leaders in the field of technology-innovation management by the International Association for the Management of Technology (IAMOT). He is one of seven people to have received this recognition twice (2003 and 2008).

Gary also has won several national awards for both teaching and research and was selected by Business 2.0 magazine as one of the top 10 management gurus in the world. Other guru selections include Peter Drucker and Edward Deming. His research is used to help companies innovate better and faster.

Erik Ford writes: "After 25 years, I finally followed the entrepreneurial path and started my own wealth management firm, Ford Wealth Management LLC. Having spent the last 25 years in corporate finance, capital markets and wealth management and watched the recent implosion of the banking and investment sectors, I thought the time was right to establish a better mousetrap. My clients have been as excited about it as I have and it's been great to get out from under the shadow of a big firm and the current headline (and balance sheet) risk. I believe recent events will prove to be game-changing in my industry and have tried to position my business and clients to take advantage of these changes. So far, so good. I have established my business in Glen Ellyn, Ill., where my wife Margaret and I moved 10 years ago when we left city living in Chicago. We have three children, George (11), Carolyn (10) and Sam (6)."

In September 2008, Candace Quinn released her first book: I Survived a House Fire...I Wish My Stuff Had. Her book is a personal reflection and a proactive how-to-guide for readers to make their home safer and help minimize losses in the event of a disaster. She is doing book signings around the country upon request and is actively engaged in book promotion. She's also very busy with her 'real' job as a strategy and marketing consultant in the healthcare industry. Her book and the story of her own fire is at her Web site: isurvivedahousefire.com.

As part of the Reunion celebration, we have an online class book where all classmates can provide personal updates on what they've been up to for the past 25 years. When you get a chance, spend a few minutes filling out your page.

Thanks to all who have written. I can't wait to see everyone in May.