EMP-29

Greetings to EMP-29! I apologize for being a complete deadbeat and having missed several editions of Kellogg World. If any of you would like to take over as class rep, please feel free to step into the role. No worries — I won’t be offended in any way.

Today we’re very fortunate to hear from several of our classmates who are scattered around the globe. While folks reported their news to me way back in January (and I failed to do anything with it), none of you know what’s going on in their lives, so I’m going to go ahead and include their updates here. Treat it as news and send your classmates a note to say hello today.

From John Blomberg: “I moved to Switzerland with my wife and kids about 12 years ago and have lived here ever since. We live in Lugano in the south of Switzerland right by the Italian border. All is well here, although for sure we too have felt the economic slowdown but less so, I think, than the U.S. In any case, we all hope it’s over and that we are on our way toward a recovery.

“Since moving here I have continued to work in the steel business, serving a stint of three and a half years in Moscow and now spend a lot of time in the Middle East (I’m sending this e-mail from Saudi Arabia). My two little guys that used to run around in the Allen Center now are attending university (one in the U.S. and one in Zurich). I have been somewhat active in the Kellogg Alumni Club in Switzerland and try to attend as many meetings as possible, although it’s a bit hard since they are usually held in Zurich (about three hours away) but in any case, I spend most of my time traveling.”

John also indicated he joined the Kellogg Alumni Council and attended the London meeting in February. Be sure to look John up if your travel plans will bring you to Europe in the near future. John is a generous guy and his wife is a lovely hostess, so I’m betting they’ll be happy to host you and your entire family for an extended period of time.

From Gary Yarkony: “Just call me Papa — my first grandson, Ori Adiel Shear, was born Oct. 28, 2009. He is the son of John Shear and Judith Yarkony Shear, both Northwestern grads. I have established a new private practice of PM&R in Elgin with Dr. Susan Zuckerman. We are called Elgin Rehabilitation Physicians (Elgin Rehab).”

Pete Pizarro has been busy. Here are a few highlights of the last few years: Pete was awarded the Kellogg Schaffner Alumni Award in May 2008; appointed chairman and CEO of eLandia International after a successful seven-year tenure as president and CEO of Telefonica USA; was the commencement speaker for  2007 Kellogg EMP-67 and EMP-68 classes; and was appointed chairman of the Florida Opportunity Fund, the state’s official venture capital fund, in October 2007.

Hey Pete? You need to accomplish something new. This is all old stuff.

From Bob Hand: “Last March, four members (Phil Zazove, Pete Pizarro, Larry Thomas and myself ) of our study group had a reunion in Miami. We are all doing well. Phil remains professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan, where he has various leadership roles. He continues as president of the Louise Tumarkin Zazove Foundation, a nonprofit that provides college scholarships, and is president of Barefoot Tess, a start-up company that specializes in women's shoes up to size 15. Pete is the chairman and CEO of The eLandia Group, a company that provides integrated IT and telecommunications services to leading enterprises in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Rim. Larry continues in a senior leadership position as a partner at Edward Jones. As global real estate manager for Deere & Company, I oversee a 64-million-square-foot portfolio. Phil and I are looking forward to the golf rematch against Larry and Pete at their next reunion — and won't let it go into a 19th-hold playoff this time!”

Very nice of Bob to fill us in on Pete’s current whereabouts. Pete, disregard my note above. You’re now off the hook. Also, you all know that when Bob referred to their fancy reunion last March, he meant March 2009. I’m wondering whether he and Phil got their butts kicked in this year’s golf match.

And finally, news directly from Phil Zazove: “I wanted to let you know that my new novel, Four Days In Michigan, just came out and initial reviews are very good. Here's a book review in the Ann Arbor News at annarbor.com/entertainment/four-days-in-michigan. Of note, all my net profits from the book go to the LTZ Foundation (ltzfoundation.org) for college scholarships for deaf students. Books sell for $15.95 each, since the publisher kept the cost down in this economy by using trade paperback rather than hardcover. It's also available online (durbanhouse.com/Four_Days_in_Michigan).”

Congratulations, Phil!

Again, my apologies to everyone for failing to keep up with news on our classmates lately. Please (seriously) consider taking over the role of class rep. I’ll thank you and the rest of our class will thank you.