1996 — Full-Time

Stefan Schwaab left Siemens in Austria after more than seven years for a management board position at Danieli & Cie., one of the three leading manufacturers of steel mills and metallurgical products. The company's headquarters are in Udine, Italy, but Stefan will be in charge of the new plants in Thailand and China. When he is not travelling between Asia and Italy, Stefan enjoys the Italian lifestyle with great food and even better wines in the area. Stefan writes, "Visitors are most welcome, so please let me know when you are in the area. We are only one hour away from Venice, which alone is worth a trip to Italy!"

Philippe Bongrand '96 and Yves Hanania '94 during a ski weekend
Cecilia Aviles-Fisher '97 and Stu Fisher '96 with their two daughters, baby Anneliese and Alexandra (4)
David Geraghty '96 and family in Spain
John and Robyn Runyan Glushik '96 with son Evan Joseph
Valerie and Rob Herman '96 with twins, Eli and Gabriel, born in December
Noel Hicks '96 with his son at Christmas
Hsin-Hsin Tsai and Allen Lueth, both '96, and family
Laurie Nash, Amy Becker, Noriko Sato Ward, Margaret Pomeroy Hunt and Eileen Gallagher, all '96, at their annual holiday dinner in December

Tomotaro Kodama writes with an update: "I am in New York working for Merrill Lynch (soon to be a subsidiary of Bank of America), where I run a global risk team in the financing and prime brokerage business. It's a challenging year in the industry, but having fun despite the uncertainty that everyone in finance faces right now."

On Nov. 11, Stu Fisher and Cecilia Aviles-Fisher '97 welcomed Anneliese Aviles Fisher to the world. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and joins her big sister Alexandra (4) and dog Jack in the Fisher family. Per Stu, everyone is sleep-deprived, but doing great. All those Kellogg all-nighters prepared them!

Gabriel Biguria and family (wife Estefania and daughters Isabel Adriana and Ana Sofia) have embarked on their next big adventure, returning to their home country, Guatemala. Gabriel writes: "As you can imagine, this was not an easy decision to make, especially after many wonderful years living abroad since 1994, when I left Guatemala to pursue my MBA at Northwestern (11 years in the U.S. between Chicago and California and two years in Mexico City). Moreover, it is even harder when one contemplates the wonderful people we have been blessed to meet (friendships we intend to maintain and nourish), along with the fortune of extremely valuable personal, educational and professional experiences.

"However, we reached that fork in the road that everyone faces at some time or another, where big decisions need to be made and one should be ready to embrace change, in order to enjoy the great things that come with new adventures. In our case, we always knew that we would return to live in Guatemala, the wonderful country where we grew up and where all of our family lives. Additionally, my father had been requesting my help with the family business for some time now. Grupo Acuamaya is dedicated to the cultivation, processing and commercialization of shrimp and related aquaculture products, which my father started 25 years ago (kind of like Bubba Gump, only more technical and specialized). I will now be able to give back to my father and family the support they have given us throughout all this time, and our daughters will be able to grow up with their grandparents and cousins. Also, I can continue to run AmigoLatino (the company that I started several years ago to help connect distant families through technology from Guatemala).

"Moreover, Guatemala is a beautiful country, rich in history and mystique, with great potential and full of incredible things to offer to everyone. Therefore, we are bringing a sense of commitment and responsibility to contribute toward its further development and look forward to collaborating with many of you in the near future (especially in the areas of education and technology). Finally, we look forward to keeping in touch with all of you and also to the opportunity to host you down here in Guatemala in the near future!"

After more than ten years, Tim Leland is leaving the clutches of the East Coast and moving to Omaha, Neb., to join First National Investment Banking (fnib.com).

Halina Miglus writes from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she has been living and working for the last four years with HSBC. She writes: "I visited Chicago at the end of December, where I still keep my home. I saw Adrienne Goolsby and her daughter Erin and also visited with Benjamin Hill, his wife Angela and their four daughters. Seeing the December snow in Chicago gave my son Miles bragging rights when he returned to the British school that he attends in Kuala Lumpur. "

Curt Brockelman got together for what has become an annual event with Steven Graubart, Park Shaper and Karl Wimer in Vail, Colo. He also caught up with Luke Lincoln '97, who is running American Tailgaters, an online retail shop with some great products (americantailgaters.com). Everyone is doing well.

Woody Marshall has joined Technology Crossover Ventures as a partner in San Francisco and Jeff Ackerman is still doing well with his Qdoba franchises in the New England area.

David Geraghty writes with an update: "I am still working for Cummins (joined in 1999) and loving it. I have moved from Columbus, Ind., to Darlington, England, to head up our euro emissions solutions business. It is (theoretically) a three-year stint. My kids (14, 12) have taken to the British 'public' school system like ducks to water, playing rugby, netball, field hockey and cricket and doing well academically. On weekends, we visit 1,000-year-old cathedrals and castles to get a feel for the history of the area, and it's fascinating. We have even visited Whitby, England, where Captain Cook set off for Australia (you may not recall that I am a displaced Aussie). Business has taken me to six or seven European countries, and we took a break in Spain last summer to get some warmth into our bones. One of the more notable sites we have visited is Alnwick (pronounced 'Annick') Castle, belonging to the Duke of Northumberland, and at which some of the first Harry Potter movie was filmed. We love the history of this damp little rock in the North Sea, if not the weather."

Brad Kinkelaar retired from Thornburg Investment Management in Santa Fe, N.M., where he has been a portfolio manager and managing director. After stepping off the career treadmill, he is relaxing and enjoying family life. His family includes LeAnne, his wife of 13 years, and two daughters (11, 8). They live full-time in Vero Beach, Fla.

Bridget Boyle writes: "On Oct. 6, I rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange to represent the Goldman Sachs team for the Multiple Sclerosis Society Bike MS in New York City. It was the first day the market fell below 10,000, but in retrospect, that level looks great!"

Philippe Bongrand lives in Zurich, Switzerland (one of the Kellogg Centennial event host cities) and joined UBS Wealth Management in 2004 after working as a strategy consultant for financial services for eight years. Philippe is the head of the UBS client experience, identifying client expectations and unmet needs and defining the "desired superior and compelling client experience" for wealth management clients. Philippe regularly meets with other Kellogg graduates.

Noel Hicks writes with an update: "I live in Salt Lake City with my kids, leading a start-up called Legal4Ease, a documentation service for asset protection and estate planning. We are in our second round of funding. My daughter (17) and my son (9) are well. I've had fun watching the University of Utah play some great football this year and rise to its No. 2 ranking. I have some wild friends who love Utes tailgate parties. I live within 15 minutes of Brighten and Snow Bird ski areas. I miss all my friends from Kellogg. Hope you all are well and make sure to say hi if you are in the area."

Masahiro Kobayashi writes that he has returned to the U.S. as the president of the Mitsubishi Estate New York Inc. and as the chief investment officer of Rockefeller Group International Inc. He writes, "Stationed in New York, I am engaged in real estate investments and developments across the country."

Laurie Nash is still in New York, but has made a job switch. She joined Russell Reynolds Associates as part of the firm's not-for-profit team. She is mostly focused on searches for cultural and educational organizations, foundations and environmental groups. She enjoys her most recent work with museums. Laurie sees Margaret Pomeroy Hunt, Amy Becker, Caroline Carey and Susan Mantel with some regularity. She also celebrated Pablos Zurzolo's 40th birthday with him recently.

Hsin-Hsin Tsai and Allen Lueth are delighted to announce the arrival of their son on Feb. 4. At almost 22 inches long and with muscular legs, he is getting ready to join Allen in the Shanghai bicycle race series. Their daughter Amber (4) is the proudest big sister in the world. Prior to giving birth, Hsin-Hsin left her job with McKinsey for a second time to enjoy being a full-time mom. On top of his CFO role with Zuellig Pharma, Allen added the title of senior vice president of strategy with responsibility for mergers and acquisitions, which means more travel within China.