1992 — Full-Time

It's hard to believe that Reunion has come and gone. It was so great to see everyone who made it to Chicago for the weekend. Special thanks to the organizing and fundraising team for helping make the weekend a success. The reunion awards for long-distance travel go to "Yo" Vinnie Dasari (from Hyderabad), David McConnell (from New Zealand) and Karl Krista (who left his Sacher tort and coffee in Vienna) to be with their pals. Sadly, Hiroko Osaka was on a plane heading the wrong direction (Japan) for Reunion. Unless he landed in Roswell, N.M., Vincent Bockaert did not honor us with an extraterrestrial visit.

The Upper Chesapeake Gang, i.e.,Yun "Call me Miles" Lee, Jeff Turi, Eric Degenfelder and Kashif Chaudhry made a pledge to reunite more often since they all live within a 20-mile radius (though the defection of Pat Burns to Virginia hurt the gang's morale). Eric just moved from his position managing DuPont's huge automotive coatings business to a new "special assignment." He says it's to improve DuPont's business managing processes, but I think that's just cover for hush-hush work on a breakthrough product like Flubber or a new super-elastic Bubble Plastic. Eric noted, "It was interesting to see how only about a third or less of the classmates with whom I talked still work for corporations. Lots of entrepreneurs, consultants, private equity, venture capital, etc." I don't know what his sample size was, but sounds like Eric thinks that the organizational man belongs on the endangered species list. Are FMCG brand managers next? I'm sure even Juliana doesn't pine for the days of managing mac and cheese.

Speaking of whom... Juliana Yee Carlucci and Doug Carlucci look exactly the same as they did 15 years ago. Julie has been practicing yoga extensively and has even persuaded Doug to do some, too. Perhaps that's their elixir.

In Evanston, I had dinner with Mike Pytlinski, Bill Sharpe, Barry Fougere, Rick Erwin and Tom Wieser and spice. Rick and Bill seemed to take special delight in my stories of corporate misadventures, like when I told my boss at an old employer how I had uncovered major price-fixing. Talk about instant intercontinental transfers — Scotty couldn't have beamed me half-way across the planet any faster! Rick Erwin told me that Rick "Oakley" Gallagher is at Experian, but that he didn't know him until they met at a meeting.

In true paparazzi fashion, but only for your reading pleasure, I stayed out until 3 a.m. to catch all the alumni action at a Rush Street watering hole. Eager to prove that they hadn't lost their "bad-boy" notoriety from 15 years ago, I watched four of our bad boys go down in flames — despite the luxury of having several wingmen. Reputation lost? No. Touch? Yes. Don't worry, what happens in Chicago stays in Chicago.

Carl Bautista, now head of energy trading at Credit Suisse, discovered that he lives just around the corner from Flip Huffard in Greenwich, Conn. Speaking of the East Egg crowd, Gerry "Ironman" McGinley tells me that taking care of his kids is enough of a triathlon for him these days. Rob Grossman had some nice stories about how to explain breaking the speed limit to one's child. Leslie Gordon Flatt gave a hilarious account of how she deals with annoying fundraising phone calls.

After a long run with TAP Pharmaceutical in Chicago, Rick Masterson joined Valeant Pharmaceuticals in California. Jamie Crouthamel would have to be polydactyl to get his fingers into any more businesses than he has now.

Carter Cast apparently had enough of a certain large corporate employer despite his high-profile position with the unnamed company. Tom Finke and Lisa (Gollob) Finke '93 have moved to a house in Glencoe less than 10 blocks from where she (and I) grew up. Lisa tells me that she coaches her daughter's softball team and that a few other classmates have kids on the same team as well. Ron Squarer was named corporate vice president for global strategy and business development at Hospira after it bought his previous employer, Australia-based Mayne Pharma Ltd. Ron is now house-hunting in north suburban Chicago. Kit Heffner, having 'gone native' after 13 years in Thailand and Laos with Caltex, has relocated to San Francisco. It seems a very lovely lady lured him to the Bay Area to take a corporate HQ position. While Kit hasn't yet sent Martin Sheen 'up the Mekong River' in Thailand to find Colonel Kurt(z) Hattendorf, perhaps Kit's S.O. has a sister; that might work.

We'll excuse private equity hotshot Steve "Tickle me Elmo" Elms for missing the reunion because he and his wife, Katherine, were busy welcoming their fourth son, Preston, into the world. Rumor has it that Kathy Shea is anxious to swap her auto mechanic for a chauffeur. To quote fellow Northwestern alumnus Stephen Colbert: "I am officially putting Allison Katz, Gary Ger, Dough Hachenburg, John Small, Tom 'Bluto' Galloway, Lauren Genck Lamm, Pedro Leitao and Andrea Azzimondi on notice for their Houdini-like behavior."

Brothers Paul '93 and Tom "Hollywood" Hardart founded Adirondack Pictures — an equity-backed film production and financing company based in New York City. The company produces, co-finances and selectively provides interim financing for films. Adirondack has just released a powerful film about the Rwandan genocide called "Beyond the Gates" to considerable critical acclaim. A Michael Caton-Jones film, it stars John Hurt and Hugh Dancy and has been supported by Amnesty International, the IRC, the Holocaust Museums of L.A. and D.C., and Human Rights First. Good on ya, boys!

The John Bagan and Family World Tour goes on. Since our last episode, the Bagans have traipsed across China to find their paisan roots in Italy, where they visited family and enjoyed themselves immensely. Oh to be a Bagan kid! By the time you read this, the Bagans should be somewhere between Dorking, U.K. and Middlefart, Denmark (We kid you not). Catch the Bagans in all their glory at http://web.mac.com/baganworldtour/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html.

Elizabeth Davis is now director of global consumer insights at Coca-Cola, not a dissimilar position to her old one at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. Liz offered to send old Fear Factor and Shrek 4-D promo T-shirts to the first 550 classmates who leave her a voicemail.

Kevin Sidders has recently left the i-banking world with Credit Suisse in San Francisco for more relaxed digs in Charlottesville, Va. No word on what Kevin is up to, but he would love to hear from fellow classmates nearby. Muriel Arnal is apparently France's new Brigitte Bardot, as she has become a major animal rights activist as president of One Voice. Sometimes you can catch her on CNN or BBC. Ali Babacan is the youngest member of Turkey's cabinet and minister of state, with special responsibility for the country's treasury and economic policy. He was profiled as one of four of Turkey's "key figures" in several publications. For those of us keeping up with our man in Ankara, that's old news. I hear that Xavier "ZJ" Lopez's daycare franchising business has become a huge success in Mexico.

As for me, I'm trying to close licensing deals for Cleantech Equity Indices and do several large energy efficiency/demand response projects. Anyone wanna lend a hand? I'm all out. Until next time, The Riffman.