Angel Rodriguez '84 with daughter Mariana at Kellogg Reunion

1984

I've had some interesting email messages from classmates in the last couple of months. It seems the longer we are out of business school, the more I hear about classmates who have veered off the traditional business path and into uncharted territory.

John R. Thompson writes: "I missed Reunion last year because I am the transition executive responsible for the integration of IBM's acquisition of Candle Corp., a 27-year-old software company based in Los Angeles. I've gotten a lot of practical experience in deal-making and the variation in global antitrust regulation, but I sure wish I had paid more attention in Organization Behavior class. Right now I cherish the days I'm at home, because I'm on the road almost every week making customer calls around the world. You know that you travel too much when the flight attendants call you by name and you know the meal choices on the JFK to LA flights. And, yes, I still have to use my middle initial at IBM. Even though John M. Thompson is now chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank and John W. Thompson is chairman of Symantec, there are still 18 John Thompsons left at IBM. We apparently have bright futures, however!"

I had news from Gary Lucido, who says: "Almost five years into our entrepreneurial adventure, Brian Hand and I got tired of fighting our main competitor, so we decided to acquire them in an effort to create a combined entity that was more attractive to potential partners. That happened in January 2004. The strategy worked, and by May 2004, we sold the combined entity to a newspaper consortium consisting of Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune. The new owners are a pleasure to work with and we're no longer operating on a shoestring. The good news is that after hemorrhaging money for five years, I finally got a payoff.

"So this was my opportunity to get out of Chicago, right? Not so easy! After talking to my family, I learned that my 13-year-old daughter actually likes it here. Of course, she's the only one, but the prospect of moving a 13-year-old to a strange school terrifies me with visions of body piercing and drug use resulting from the trauma. So I decided to stay here. Will I ever be able to leave?"

Jimmy Margolis reports: "Life is tranquil in suburban Philly (not that the Margolis household, with three boys under age 9, is particularly quiet), doing the partner thing with ERM (management consulting for the environmental and safety function for large industrial companies) and playing out (music that is) about every other month in various bars in the area." I hope the other Bullets take note and follow Jimmy's lead so they're all ready for our next big reunion party.

Terrie Stengel has a lot of good stuff going on in her life. She writes: "Well, I'm doing it Š I've gone back to school. I'm working on a master of arts in teaching/elementary education at National-Louis University. When you think about my career path — theater to business to teaching children — I'm just trading one set of temper tantrums for another! I'm really excited about this, and I love every opportunity I get to be with children in classrooms. I'll be moving back to Illinois shortly (living in Cedarburg, Wis., right now). I'm moving to Glenview to be with my sweetie, Fred Sierles. We met through my old boyfriend's ex-wife's new husband, but that's a story for another day. He makes me very happy, and I think a few of you even met him last year." Congratulations, Terrie!

Jon Smirl married five years ago in Hawaii. He and his wife welcomed twins Connor and Fiona six months ago. The family is currently living in Wellesley, Mass.

Martha Temple also returned to school to change career paths. Martha writes: "Well, I don't know whether I'm a late bloomer or a precursor of baby-boomer style retirement. I earned my doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University in October, and am now working with grads and undergrads in a college counseling center while I build a private practice in Summit, N.J. I left the corporate world (negotiations, program management and internal quality consulting) in '95 and studied in the Organization Systems Development Program at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. During the course of the program, I unearthed a passion for working one-on-one. I use my business training in the organizations in which I work and continue working with executives and their families."

Dan Wilds currently serves as president and CEO of SCOLR Pharma Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company located in Bellevue, Wash., and listed on the American Stock Exchange as DDD. SCOLR is advancing what should be the first 12-hour over-the-counter ibuprofen product in the country. Dan and his wife Linda live on the bluff above Puget Sound in Edmonds, Wash., with their four dogs, two cats and Dan's collection of 1960s cars (a 1963 Maserati, 1964 Corvette Roadster, 1964 Porsche and 1965 Mustang Convertible).

In June of this year, Jim Hollander began his tenth year since founding Corporate Development Associates Inc., in Dayton, Ohio, CDA-inc.net. He claims that there have been both good and very challenging years, but he says he would do it again. With three children through college and two more to go, he finds good reasons to stay motivated.

Steve Saltzman says "bon jour" to all classmates from his company in Montreal, called Celebris Memorial Services. It is Quebec's largest funeral and cemetery company, which operates under the trade names of Urgel Bourgie in Montreal and Lepine-Cloutier in Quebec City. Steve has been commuting weekly from suburban Chicago to Montreal for three years after doing an LBO of a division of one of his former investment banking clients. Steve welcomes classmates to contact him if they plan to travel through Montreal during the week.

Catherine Morales is still in D.C. and nicely surviving the merger that occurred a year ago. She manages a consulting group for CGI-AMS.

Gina Shaughnessy Trierweiler sent this "snapshot" of her life over the last 20 years: "I can't believe that we were all at Kellogg over 20 years ago! After five years in brand management, I moved to Stockholm with my partner, Chuck, in 1992. The following year we got married in Stockholm's city hall, site of the Nobel Prize dinners. I was 'the' account-planning department at BBDO Stockholm for six years. Chuck ran the marketing department of a Swedish HBA company. The most enjoyable aspect of living in Sweden was the fact that we were able to travel all over Europe and to spend the summer in places including Provence, Tuscany and Spain.

"In 1997 we adopted Isabella from China and moved back to the States in 1998. Isabella is now 9 years old and a busy third-grader at the French Immersion School. We also have a 2-year-old named Anja, who is a VERY active and happy toddler. My husband is director of marketing at Capella Education, an online university based in Minneapolis. I'm busy doing volunteer work in the community and school and will soon start putting some of my kitchen skills to good use in the local cooking school. Next month we leave for a glorious three-week holiday in Spain/Portugal with kids to celebrate a milestone birthday for me!"

Ross DeMeritt sent this update: "My southern office/home has changed to Sautee, Ga., which is about 90 miles north of Atlanta, but a world away. If you are going to see Alpine Helen, call because we are only four miles away. Phone is 865.388.4490 and email address has not changed. My northern office is still in Mackinaw City, so call if you are in that area, too."

My old sailing buddy Ian Howe took time out from all his fascinating projects to fill us in on his travels and endeavors. He writes: "I'm in Singapore on my third swing through Southeast Asia in the last year, promoting a business I started with friends. I encourage classmates to visit our Web site at phonesaved.com. We provide wireless over-the-air backup and restore contents to cell phones, smart phones and wireless PDAs. We can also push data and applications into wireless devices. Commercial mobile operators like British Telecom, Saudi Arabia Telecom, T-mobile USA, several Asian mobile telecoms, mobile application service providers and the U.S. government (including Homeland Security) have all expressed interest. Wish me luck with this. I've had some assistance from Kellogg. If any of you are in a position to help, give a ping at ianhowe@compuserve.com.

"Away from work Š for four years I have sojourned to Brazil each year with clothes and medicine on a personal mission to help a couple of families. In 2001, I went to Carnical with friends and learned of the pointless death of a beautiful 5-year-old girl and made a personal mission to do something about it. I'm trying to get a not-for-profit status to arrange to send more clothes by airlines. If anyone has ideas or pull, reach out to me. Personally, I am still single. I think work will either kill me or give me time to find that special someone and catch up with the rest of you. Besides, I'm getting old Š LOL."

Life here in the suburbs of Chicago is constantly changing and full of surprises. I have been fortunate to have quite a bit of contact with two of our classmates over the past few months. I joined the associate board of directors for Apple Tree Theater here in Highland Park, where Wendy Weiss Kritt is chairperson. Apple Tree is an award-winning theater with an excellent national reputation. Wendy approaches her position as you would expect, with professionalism and a smile, and she has been instrumental in helping to raise significant funds for the theater.

I have also been spending some time with Laurie Winton Lichko, as I have been working with her previous employer, Ford Gum and Machine, on some marketing projects. Laurie left Ford to take a position as director of marketing for Enesco Group, a gift and collectible company in Itasca, Ill. Her former employers hardly let an hour go by when they don't mention what a great job Laurie did for them in her four-year tenure.

I so enjoyed receiving your updates. Please keep them coming. Remember, email makes this process really easy, so send me a line or two.