| 2003
— Full-Time
Class of 2003! Hope everyone is having a great 2010. It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through it. Thank you to everyone who submitted information for this edition of Kellogg World. Many of you stay connected through Facebook as well, so for those of you who aren’t part of the Kellogg Class of 2003 group, please join us on Facebook to stay up to date on the goings-on of our class.
 |
|
Spencer Phua ’03 welcomes Matthew T. Phua |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Future World Cup sensation Juan Antonio Martinez III helps dad Juan Antonio Martinez ’03 organize his first (of many) World Cup sticker albums |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Tindley Whipple Gilbert ’03 with Emerson Whipple Gilbert (5 months) and Pryor Anne Gilbert (3) |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Clinton Kent ’03 and wife Nicky in Ecuador over the holidays |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Juan Martinez ’03 and Pedro Mejia ’03 |
|
| |
|
 |
|
The Stucker family on vacation and celebrating a birthday in Italy. Pictured: Eveline, Jael, Lea and Jürg Stucker ’03 |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Tindley Whipple Gilbert ’03 and family enjoy a break from the crazy Dubai drivers and instead try out a camel ride in Petra, Jordan |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Mike Hessling ’03 and the kids Tia (3), Gabe (9 months), Iris (4) and Parker (5) relaxing with Mickey Mouse |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Lee Purcell ’03 travels to New Orleans for Jazzfest and relives TG with Jody Blencowe ’02 and his wife Anna |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| Jaideep Chawan (1) and his father, Ajay Chawan ’03, show off their Kellogg pride |
|
| |
|
Well, true to form, 2010 has been a busy year for our class.
Let’s start with the new arrivals…
Matthew T. Phua was born Oct. 27 in Edison, N.J., to proud parents Spencer Phua and Fiona Lau. Although Matthew was a small baby at birth (just a little more than 6 pounds), he is growing fast . At 6 months old, he's reached 20 pounds and 29 inches. The family lives in Livingston, N.J.
Alberto Bezanilla reports that the Bezanilla Casanueva family has grown again. His family welcomed Alberto Jr., who joins Sofía (5), Elisa (7), Pili (9), Olivia (2) and his wife Pilar. Alberto also reports that he was promoted to chief investment officer for Banchile's Investment & Mutual Funds after five years in the company (so he could pay up the bills!).
Juan Antonio Martinez is proud to announce the birth of future LAHIMA organizer Juan Antonio Martinez III, born on Dec. 15. He originally wanted to name him Juan Antonio (after him) Julián Andrés (after his two brothers) Ramón Iñaki (after his wife’s two brothers) Martinez Arbulu. But since Juan Antonio Julián Andrés Ramón Iñaki Martínez Arbulu couldn’t fit in the passport, he had to settle with Juan Antonio. Now he’s 5 months old, smiles a lot, and moves his legs all the time. Look for him in the 2030 World Cup!
Dnyanesh and Kanchan Patkar became proud parents for a third time with healthy baby boy Rahul born Feb. 8. Big sisters Ruhee (6) and Isha (4) love having a real, live baby to practice their mothering skills on! Their baby dolls are feeling quite left out. Kanchan is a senior brand manager at Kimberly-Clark in Wisconsin, working on the SCOTT brand.
Huw and Tindley Whipple Gilbert are proud to announce the arrival of a future Kellogg alum. Emerson Whipple Gilbert was born in Dubai on Dec. 20. Pryor (3) is proving to be a fantastic big sister and Emerson has seamlessly joined the family on their crazy adventures in the Middle East.
Now, let’s move on to our ever evolving and growing careers .…
Vicki Nakata left Bain in April and joined Hawaiian Airlines as the senior director of transformation (strategy projects). She’s hoping friends will visit her in Honolulu. Sounds like time for an interim Kellogg Reunion?
Leonardo Torréss is back in Chicago and is looking forward to enjoying the Chicago summer with great-tasting beers. For all beer-loving people, he invites our classmates to give him a call or send him an e-mail to set up a visit to the MillerCoors' employee pub for free, great-tasting and refreshing beers at the top of 250 S. Wacker in downtown. Cheers!
Clinton Kent is still working in mergers and acquistions for StandardAero and avoiding winning a Darwin award with his ski bike. Yes, it is exactly as it sounds — no wheels, no brakes — just a bike & skis.
Erich Hoefer stepped up into the role of senior director, corporate development and innovation at Choice Hotels International. He’s been busy leading a major IT investment and global growth initiative as well as driving several new product launches. Erich’s wife, Eva Katsari, is a third-year associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP. They remain in the Washington D.C., area, where they are doing their best to keep up with the kids, Alexandros (5) and Katia (3).
Juan Antonio Martinez is still commercial director at Grupo Modelo, but now sells bottled water rather than beer. He is also in charge of the relationship between Grupo Modelo, Nestlé and the joint venture between both companies. In his free time, he is co-chair of the Kellogg Alumni Club of Mexico, which held the Kellogg Centennial Event last November in Mexico City, with the attendance of Interim Dean Chopra and more than 150 people.
Mariano Ramos and Pedro Mejía showed up in Mexico City in March during Eastern Week. Rather than hosting a LAHIMA party until 6 a.m., Juan, Mariano and Pedro had to limit themselves to dinner and conversation at Juan’s home. Pedro is managing director of Plastiquimica, a plastic manufacturer based in Bogotá, Colombia. If you have not heard about Plastiquimica, it is recognized worldwide as the plastic company with the best-ranked senior tennis player as managing director. Pedro also participated in the Senior Tennis World Cup in Mexico, making it all the way to quarter finals and getting ranked No. 62 in the world (don’t believe him? Go to itftennis.com/seniors/rankings/currentrankings/index.asp). Mariano came to Mexico due to work: in his company, he makes money … literally. Mariano is regional sales director for Latin America of De la Rue, a banknote manufacturer based in London.
Greg Lief, wife Hilda and daughter Sienna (2) made the difficult decision in May to leave friends and family in Boston and move to the San Diego area. Greg took a new role as a senior director of corporate strategy at Life Technologies, realizing it was time to step away from consulting. They are enjoying life in San Diego and are looking forward to connecting with the southern California Kellogg community. Thanks to Jeanne Markland for making a trip down from L.A. to welcome them!
Although we have growing families and careers, we still find time to relax with our families and Kellogg friends:
This May marked the fifth year of "The Junket,” a gathering of (questionable) gentlemanly golfers. For the last five years, 16 Kellogg grads have come to Atlanta to partake in three days of golf, an occasional cigar, and culinary delights from BJR's world famous tri-tip to the private dining room at Atlanta's renowned Bones restaurant. Although the quality of the golf has been improving over the years, the real blessing of the long weekend is the opportunity to put down the Blackberry, leave work behind, and truly enjoy the camaraderie of reconnecting with close Kellogg friends. As the number of weddings subside and the demands of the day-to-day increase, these opportunities to connect become fewer and far between. The plan is for a future gathering, Junket X or maybe even as early as Junket VII, to take place on the links in Ireland. It all depends on how quickly we can secure diplomatic immunity.
Huw and Tindley Whipple Gilbert moved last October to Dubai as Huw was transferred with PepsiCo to its Asia, Middle East and Africa division. Tindley temporarily put her marketing career on hold while she resumes the new role of CEO of the household. While Huw has been traveling all over the region, Tindley has taken on the new responsibility of stay-at-home mom to both of their children, Pryor (3) and Emerson (5 months.). Getting acclimated to a new country, house, school and way of life has required all of the skills learned at Kellogg! The family did find time to take a family vacation to Jordan in May, where they visited Mount Nebo, Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, the Dead Sea and Petra. All Kellogg alums are welcome to visit them in Dubai!
Mike Hessling did his part to spur the economy by spending a week with his family in Disney World in early May.
Ajay Chawan celebrated a big milestone: surviving one year of being a parent. He and his wife Britta celebrated Jaideep's first birthday in May. Jaideep commemorated the event by smashing his cake. On the professional front, Ajay continues to be an aspiring entrepreneur. He and a group of investors are attempting to acquire a manufacturing facility to produce Ajay's products under the brand Smarter Foods.
Pietro Brambilla reports that he lives in Istanbul, Turkey, having been transferred from Paris to Istanbul by L'Oreal (yes yes ... as usual... "Because I'm worth it"). He is the CFO of the Turkish subsidiary for L'Oreal.
Ariel Hasson wins the gold medal for visiting friends in cool cities. Thirty days after Peitro settled in Istanbul, Ariel was already at his place for dinner and gossiping. Pietro would love to host and see friends if they happen to come by this wonderful city. |
