1998 — Full-Time

Dear 98ers,

It must be the calm before the summer storm as news is thin on the ground from our class. That being said, thank you to all who keep sending in updates. There are some very exciting things happening in our class. Hard to believe it was a year ago that we were holding warm cups of flat beer in a muddy tent back at Kellogg. Ahh…the memories. Hope you all have a fab summer and we'll be in touch in the autumn (with lots more notes).

Chris Tomseth was back in Evanston for a Kellogg Alumni Club Leaders Conference, which coincided with Reunion weekend. He writes: "This was a good bonus since I got to see a lot of people from the Class of '99 who were there for their 10-year. Our own Section 65 mate Walt Ling was there as well, since he is married to Mickey Tanaka Ling '99. Walt and I were both accused of being at the wrong Reunion. In other developments, I am changing jobs due to the economic downturn, but will probably look to stay in Dubai for another two to three years, or at least until the U.S. economy improves!"

Rachel Fleischman sent in this update: "While you're sticking close to home, we've decided to become benefactors of the travel industry. That's a built-in feature of the running-away-from-home (otherwise known as 'expat' life): You have to travel just to see your folks, so you manage to see a few other things as well. I have to admit that being parents has affected our habits, so from our base in Hong Kong we've been to Thailand three times in 18 months. May Wu, Cynthia Meng and I catch up when we're all in town (not often) and I've run into Jay Sala (not often enough!). Since Eli's the official expat, my career's been careening along like a beat-up old record. I finished a stint with the Clinton Foundation late last year, am doing some consulting from home and trying to figure out how to save the world from climate change. If I'm really lucky, one of President Obama's minions will call and save me from my contemplations. In the meantime I've really been enjoying life as a part-time consultant and full-time mom."

Lisa Sweeney writes: "After being out of Kellogg for 10 years, and still missing it, I feel very lucky to be back at business school. Through Abby Scott '97, I landed a teaching position at the MBA program at Haas last year, teaching a course on private equity/leveraged buyouts (I hope it wasn't as dry as it sounds). Several of our classmates were hugely helpful as I created the course: thanks to Leo Griffin, Mark Taber and Walter Florence. And Michael Smith came in as a guest. I loved the experience and the vibe of being back at business school so much that when a full-time spot opened at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, I took it despite being 8.5 months pregnant. Brandon and I had a boy named Bennett in August, and then I started as a director in the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. I'm really enjoying the energy, intellect and optimism here. The culture is quite similar to Kellogg. Yes, I do feel like a bit of a traitor working here instead of at dear ole' Kellogg, but Stanford is about seven minutes away from home and Evanston is not. While there are some differences with these students and our class, like a focus now on clean tech and social entrepreneurship instead of investment banking and brand management, I sit in classes and meet with students and have the biggest deja-vu feelings as I can match so many of them up exactly with our classmates. Brandon is still doing great at VMware, a maker of virtualization software, serving as vice president of Americas channel. So between two jobs and three kids, we've got a full plate! I'd love to hear from any classmates working on entrepreneurial ventures."

Will Adams and his wife Christie celebrated their first wedding anniversary on May 31 and the three-month anniversary of their daughter Ellie's birth a week later. He writes: "I'll save you the trouble of pulling your calculator out. We've done the math and yes, it works, though barely. We are in San Francisco and on a historical (and kind of sad) note, we continue to live in the apartment that Glenn Shapiro, Marc Chaput and I rented in the summer of '98. Still keepin' the dream alive. I've been with Alpine Investors (lower middle-market private equity) since 2001."

Kristin Pilant and her husband John welcomed the birth of their son William Robert on Feb. 10. Kristin writes: "He joins big sister Caroline in keeping us on our toes. I have been enjoying the world of brand consulting for the past few years and have had a great time working with many Kellogg friends."

Elizabeth Reid DeWitt reports: "Reid McClain DeWitt was born on Feb. 18. Jasmine (2) is a great big sister. I left Trammell Crow Company when it became CBRE and the big check paid for a good renovation of our house. All are welcome to come to Savannah, Ga., and see us. We love showing off our small historical U.S. town. Not sure how I will use my Kellogg intelligence in the future but we shall see."

Charlie Wise writes: "In February I partnered up with Brian Goonan '98 and opened the Chicago office of TopRight, a strategic marketing consulting firm based in Atlanta. Part of the move was driven by timing. Both Brian and I were in transition after our respective previous employers downsized in December, and part by opportunity. Who wouldn't want the challenge of starting a service business in the middle of a recession? TopRight has been growing in Atlanta and founders are old colleagues. It has been fun running our own show and building a pipeline. We have had enough early wins to let us think this might actually work. I'll check back in six months to share great success stories and pleas for fellow Kellogg grads to come join us. Otherwise, the family is great and Wilmette is in full bloom. All is good."