1989

Way to go! Carole L. Brown, senior finance president of Lehman Brothers, recently was appointed chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority by Mayor Richard M. Daley. Before joining Lehman Brothers in 1999, she worked for First Chicago Capital Markets, Midwest Management Consultants and Mesirow Financial. At Lehman she has headed the firm’s Chicago-based Midwest Municipal Finance office. Her clients have included the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Board of Education. Carole is a Baltimore native and graduate of Harvard University. She came to Chicago in 1986 to attend the Kellogg School. In a recent Chicago Tribune interview, she says she “fell in love with the city and never left.”

Shelley Robbins ’89

Shelley Robbins has been serving as executive director of online learning institution Capella University since March 2002. Its school of business serves 2,000 learners and is the largest school in Capella, Shelley reports.
Nick Wright recently joined Fisher Scientific International as vice president and general manager for Asia and Latin America. He will be relocating to Hampton, N.H.

Valerie Walker Griffin sent in this update: “Since leaving Kellogg, spending some time on Wall Street and relocating several times, we’ve put down roots in Atlanta. Since moving to ‘Hotlanta,’ I’ve been quite busy on the home front. I am now a stay-at-home mom with daughter Ryan who is about to turn 5, and 3-year-old son Hamilton. They are joined by our most recent additions, twin sisters Carly and Carson, who were born June 25.”

Amy Davidson says that “after 11 educational, thought-provoking, challenging and who-would-have-thought-I-would-have-stayed-there-that-long years, I left American Express to find life beyond The Card. In January ’01 I was thrilled to accept a position as vice president of marketing at Bumble and bumble, a division of Estee Lauder. The Bumble and bumble Salon opened 25 years ago and quickly became one of the country’s leading hair salons, boasting stylists who were regularly featured on the covers of all the world’s best fashion magazines.

“The product line was launched eight years ago to supply these editorial stylists with product that worked for the runway and for the consumer. It is currently distributed directly to upscale professional salons internationally. In February of this year I was asked to take on additional responsibility for sales and have been leading these two teams ever since. It’s been a fabulous opportunity to build an organization and grow a business, and my many years at Amex have been surprisingly relevant in this shift to the fashion and hair care industries.

“ On the personal side, I continue to live in New York City with my husband of six years, Marc Schliesman, and our 3-year-old son, Max, who, after an exhaustive six-month application and interview process (you’ve got to love the Upper East Side!) started nursery school this fall.

“I continue to stay in close touch with several classmates, but always love to hear from ‘long-lost friends,’ so if you are traveling through town or happen to live next door, stop in the Bb salon (146 E. 56th St.) or write to amydavidson25@hotmail.com.”

Kyle (Doherty) Hodgkins, who seems to run into classmates more often than anyone else, sent in this news: “Reminded once again that it’s not a small world – it’s a big club. I was at the 25th high school reunion with a Kellogg ’84 alum at Hotchkiss and stumbled into none other than Felipe Edwards, up from Santiago, and Jim Bishop, in from the less exotic, but equally appealing Connecticut suburbs. It always takes a few seconds to place the face when it’s out of context, but we had a great time catching up. Jim was featured on one of the alumni panels, talking about his company’s alternative energy business, while Felipe continues to hold down the fort at his family’s newspaper in Chile.”

I was pleasantly surprised to get a phone call from Guillaume Liron in California. Guillaume has been with Disney for seven years and is working in the corporate alliance group. He and his wife, Mindy Donenfeld Liron (currently at home but anticipating a return to the workplace), have three children ages 11, 6 and 1, and stay in touch with a number of our classmates including Oded Ben-Ezer, who also lives in California, where he runs a successful children’s products company, and Stephane Kanovitch, who recently joined a new consulting firm in Paris. Guillaume said he also recently spoke with Andy Dunn, who is living in Washington State.