EMP-63

For the Kellogg one-year reunion, which for EMP-63 was the third reunion, we had 34 members of the class attended. Abdo Abdo, Michele Azar, Steve Azzarello, Sujit Bakre, Heather (and Jean Maurice) Boyer, Steve (and Barbara) Brodrick, Alfonso Cantalapiedra, Paul Del Gallo, Kinesh Doshi, Maureen (and John) Floeter, Roger Gregory, Safak Guven, Jim Hammer, Clem (and Catherine) Johnson, Kim Jude, Jim (and Trish) Lott, Tim Mahoney, Sumit Mathur, Rodney Mayers, Rafiq Mohammadi, Wiener Mondesir, Greer O'Brien, Kevin O'Shaughnessey, Yves Raymond, Ronnie Razmi, Ken Sandifer, Mikenzie Stephens, Eishin Takahashi, Brian Tilley, Hari Vallurupalli, Hans Van Wees, Ann-Marie Peluso, Marc Womack and Julian Wiles.

It started with the tent party on campus, complete with a full-fledged TG celebration. From there we had dinner at Bin 36 in Chicago, an excellent meal and time had by all. From there it was off to Fado Irish Pub, who had not forgotten us and will not forget us again. CDG was an enormous suite, compliments of a booking error at the Hotel Orrington. Bus rides were used for safe travel, which converted into portable party travel. Saturday was the events sponsored by Kellogg, as well as our own meeting for the running of the Kentucky Derby. Julian did not win, but later declared that had been his horse all along. Saturday evening was the Rumba Room in Chicago, and another evening that ran deep into the morning. Huge thanks to Ann-Marie and Mikenzie for coordinating another successful EMP-63 bash. 

This event marks total attendance in Pittsburg, Dallas and Evanston with a total attendance of 76 people. This is a remarkable achievement, all before our first year from graduation!

Chris Bernauer has taken the position of vice president and general manager of the Indian Motorcycle Company Plant just outside of Charlotte, N.C. They are in start-up mode, and it will be a while until production starts. This will give Chris the opportunity to dispose of winter clothes, take up an avid interest in NASCAR and make great motorcycles. Everyone who is hoping for a "sample" should remember these are motorcycles, and they are not even built yet. 

Julian Wiles has moved to Canada. He will be moving himself, Chellie and the girls to Branford, Ontario, the Canadian headquarters of SC Johnson, which is 1 and   hours southwest of Toronto. (Insert Igloo joke here.) This is of course the hometown of Wayne Gretsky, whom Julian has rooted for his entire career. Julian will have responsibility for all of manufacturing, customer service and logistics, and facilities for this operation. His new title is director of product supply – Canada. The Canadian Product Supply organization consists of more than 300 people and continues to grow. Chris Bernauer has sent Julian all his warm clothes, snowmobile and jumper cables. 

Jim Lott has been the director of the program manager office for Lafarge North America since May 1. In this role he will be responsible for the project management and project portfolio management for all technology and systems projects. He will also be coordinating the Global BI strategy. This will require all of Jim's technical capabilities, leadership experience, his Kellogg MBA and his most valuable weapon: a stunning preppy look that says "I get it."

Clem Johnson has taken a role as an equity partner for Crist Associates, an elite boutique recruiting firm. This is an incredible opportunity for Clem, who has asked us to pass on that this is not a position where he can get you a job or a discount at a clothing boutique. It means something different.

At the Dallas Reunion for EMP-63: kneeling is Ken Sandifer and Safak Guven; next row Paul Del Gallo, Eishin Takahashi, Heather Boyer, Hari Vallurupalli and Jim Lott; next row is Chris Bernauer, Jason Childers, Russell Hayworth, Charles Thompson, Paul Futrell, Kim Jude, Ann-Marie Peluso, Nikolaj Sjoqvist, Vikas Aditya, Andrew Gillen, John Baksht and David Seemater

Hari Vallurupalli, Sumit Mathur, Julian Wiles, Eishin Takahashi and Michele Azar, all EMP-63, at Kellogg Reunion in Evanston

Bill Dirkes has accepted the position of vice president, chief operating officer of Goodwyn IRB, a central institutional review board that provides oversight functions for research conducted on human subjects. Bill feels this will be a good fit in utilizing his medical and business training. The company is small but has good potential for growth. This position will satisfy Bill's entrepreneurial spirit. He hopes all Kellogg grads in pharma or medical devices contact him to see how Goodwyn IRB can help with their human subject research trials. 

(David, please reread that section to understand who Bill is hoping to get help from. That is pharmaceuticals. And some day we are going to be done with that joke, but today is not that day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either. Besides we want a "funny" with each update, but don't want to pick on Bill. We are OK with picking on you. We actually spend time finding the opportunity.) 

Rosemary McGuillicutty is pleased to announce she has gotten married! Rosemary as you know had been seeing Dmitry (Dima) Kuznetsov from Coryn, Wis., where she now works. They married in Vegas (combining the ceremony and the honeymoon) and both of their families were able to attend. She apologies for not being able to make Reunion, but with an event like this she is sure everyone will understand. Wedding costs were not successfully offset by gambling winnings, but it was close.  She has asked that we pass on that she will not be changing her last name, and after almost no consideration she has also decided not to hyphenate it to McGuillicutty-Kuznetsov.

Ronnie Razmi now works for McKinsey Consulting. He is living in Tribeca in lower Manhattan. He has an extra bedroom and would love to host any of the classmates and their families. (The last sentence was not the added "funny," Ronnie really wants that.) The role at McKinsey will give Ronnie a great opportunity to leverage his financial skills and begin to work with major transactions. It also makes it so that he is not homeless and unemployed, which was of course his last status for a Kellogg World update. Whoever had June 2007 in the "how fast will Ronnie take a big job in Manhattan" pool, you won. 

Maureen Floeter has taken the role of vice president of human resources at Ipsos. There, she'll be working as the senior HR business partner for two of the Ipsos companies. The first, Ipsos Direct is the operational branch of the NA Ipsos organization with call centers across Canada – so look for her faux Canadian accent to grow even stronger. The second is Ipsos Interactive Services, which provides a variety of online research capabilities. IIS is based in Romania, which means she'll be spending a fair amount of time in Bucharest – a far cry from her old stomping grounds of Lancaster, Penn., and Paramus, N.J. She will also have the opportunity to serve as the HR designate for Ipsos' M&A team. Ipsos' sole focus is market-based research, research rooted in reality. This means that those of you who have asked if you can call in and; "get a chance to vote multiple times like you do on American Idol, so you can make your darn point," Maureen says thank you, but no.

Alfonso Cantalapiedra has been auditing classes in Miami with Ronnie Razmi. They have tried to install that unique EMP-63 spirit into the city. Alfonso has asked that we pass on that watching Ronnie salsa dancing is, well, less than inspiring!  

Sujit Bakre has been auditing Investment Banking at the Evanston campus. This was a real learning experience, particularly when he discovered he had to take his own class notes. He also learned that it wasn't about investing in banks, which was worth the time all in itself.

Ann-Marie Peluso has accepted the position of vice president of financial planning and analysis at Macy's logistics and operations; where she is responsible for the annual and seasonal planning for the logistics operations for Macy's and Bloomingdales. In her first relocation outside of Chicago, she has moved to Jersey City, N.J. Most of us consider Ann-Marie taking a job at Macy's the best example of putting the MBA to work for your passion. Accordingly 14 members of Kellogg have applied for employment at wineries, golf clubs and Caribbean resorts. 

	Ann-Marie Peluso EMP-63 stands in front of her new office (no she was not there shopping, she was on her way to work).

In May, Ann-Marie Peluso, Wiener Mondesir and James Park met for drinks in San Francisco at the Hyatt while she was traveling to the area to meet with Macys.com. They shared experiences about starting new jobs and figuring out how to fake that they knew what they were doing.

James Park and Weiner Mondesir are getting together now and again for lunch as they work within a block of each other. Paul Del Gallo and Hans Van Weiss had lunch together in Stowe, Vt., where Paul was on vacation and Hans was of course working. Nobody wore lederhosen, despite repeated requests from Paul's wife, Heather.

Hillary and David Seematter welcomed a daughter into the world on April 12. Ava weighed 8 pounds, 6.4 ounces, and she measured 19.75 inches. Both Ava and mom are doing wonderfully.

Jason Childers and his wife, Andrea, are pleased to announce the birth of their son Cullen Henry Childers, who was born April 10, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and measuring 22 inches long. Everyone is doing fine.

Glenn Leland has taken a new role as chief operating officer for the Emergency Medical Services Authority serving the majority of the population of Oklahoma. EMSA is one of the most respected EMS operations in the world. Their paramedics treat about 100,000 patients each year. While he will have offices in both Tulsa, Okla., and Oklahoma City, he will live in the Oklahoma City area. Oklahoma City is famous for its two industries, dust and oil, and Glenn cannot make a living in the oil industry. 

Glenn's business unit is part of an EMS management services organization called Paramedics Plus. Paramedics Plus is a for-profit subsidiary of a hospital system, with high performance EMS operations in Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. The plan is for Glenn to succeed the existing Paramedics Plus CEO within three years and to lead the organization through a growth phase. Everyone who visits Glenn in OK City is entitled to a free ride in the ambulances and the opportunity to play with the lights and horns. All fines are to be paid by the Kellogg alum.