1993

I have some sad news to report. Derek van Eck died peacefully at his home on Sept. 30. Earlier this year, Derek was diagnosed with a neurological disease. He faced his condition and future bravely, spiritually, and with an unfailing sense of humor. He loved and was loved by his family and friends and enjoyed cycling, tennis and swimming with them. A visionary and widely respected commodities trader and global assets manager, Derek and his brother Jan had co-managed van Eck Global since 1993, growing the assets from $1 billion to over $25 billion. Through his quiet and meaningful leadership, and together with his wife Deborah, Derek personified his family’s longstanding commitment to philanthropy. Derek was active in many civic, humanistic, religious, and environmental organizations, serving on the board of The Institute for China and the Fred M. van Eck Forest Trust, and assisted Deborah in her role as board member of the Jericho Project, which serves homeless families and American veterans in New York. As a couple, they were widely recognized for their engaging manner, lack of pretension and genuine humanity. An extraordinarily accomplished, loyal and selfless man, Derek was an inspiration to his family and friends. His integrity and humility were hallmarks of his character. Derek is survived by his wife, Deborah, and his two children, Willem (4) and Kathryn (4 months). Donations can be sent in Derek’s name to The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston or Williams College.

	Chris Dean ’93 and his kids hiking in Yosemite this summer
	Heather Forsythe ’93 with Mark Andersen ’92 in Big Sur, Calif.
	Patrick Lin ’93 met with Rose Tsou ’93 while vacationing in Asia
	Richelle Burnett and Dan Malven, both ’93, met up in Chicago when Richelle was in town for a conference
	Jack Polsky ’93, Matthew Shapiro ’93, and Canh Tran ’93 on a fly- fishing trip to the remote reaches of Alaska
	Matthew Shapiro ’93
	Canh Tran ’93 and Jack Polsky ’93 at Matthew Shapiro's 2010 fly-fishing trip

On a lighter note, Jack Polsky, Matthew Shapiro and Canh Tran went on a fly-fishing trip earlier this year to the remote reaches of Alaska. From the pictures Jack sent, it looks like it was an amazing vacation.

Chris Dean is having a fun, busy year. He renovated their house in San Francisco and took his kids hiking in Yosemite this summer. Chris went to Mexico with Bill Cummings and John Christakos in the spring. John sold part of Bludot to a private equity group and is managing through the recession. On the work front, “Skype is exciting and we’ve just filed to take the company public.”

Andy Whitman is excited to be planning a work-and-play trip to India in January as part of one of two recent investments — Tasty Bite Indian food and Orabrush tongue cleaner. If there are classmates with “must do” recommendations, he’s all ears!

Richelle Burnett started a new business, RLB Technologies, with her husband Loren, a serial entrepreneur. They license technology from universities and federal labs, then commercialize the idea. Their first license was from James Madison University, which is a company called Madison Assessment (madisonassessment.com). Richelle is the CEO and they sell assessment tests to domestic and international colleges and universities. RLB Technologies has over 50 clients and reached its 2010 revenue goal in the first five months. Richelle is new to higher ed, so there has been a learning curve — which means she is back to taking some graduate courses. She has also participated in the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac program, Mindshare (CEO program) and Activate.

She also writes: “Home life is awesome, even though busy! Cielle (6), Devi (4) and Zander (2) are such a joy and put a smile on my face every day!” Richelle loves the family home in Chevy Chase, M.D. and will be sad not to be there for its 100th birthday. The family plans to relocate to Colorado before the end of the year. Richelle also hopes to run another marathon on a new continent (she has a goal to run one on all seven) in 2011. She’s already covered North America (Marine Corp and NYC) and Europe (Stockholm).

Richelle had a chance to catch up with Dan Malven when she was in Chicago for a conference. With 10 kids between their two families, their combined carbon footprint is not small. She reports, “Lots of diapers and lost sleep, but both of us love the craziness of it all!”

Janet Finnie, who is director of operations and associate director for university health services at Princeton University, had a great visit with Judy Holme Agnew in August. Judy, her husband Bob, and two beautiful daughters, Natalie and Margot, hosted Janet and her family at their lovely home in San Anselmo, Calif. Janet, her husband Rob, and daughters Phoebe (12) and Ellen (10) enjoyed visiting Northern California. They followed Judy’s itineraries and visited Stinson Beach, San Francisco, Muir Woods, and Sonoma before heading on to Yosemite. Judy is in charge of development for the entire region for Conservation International. Janet comments, “It was a wonderful visit!”

This summer Brett Jarvis and his family did a home exchange with a family in Paris, where they shared an amazing adventure. An excerpt from Brett’s blog post about the trip: “At one point as we were relaxing on our spectacular couch, dusk settling on red tile roofs and gleaming office buildings alike, I looked at my family and had an epiphany. We had been through everything together. Not just on this trip, but for years. And the thought suddenly leapt to the forefront. There they were. My one thing. The secret of life that Jack Palance had told Billy Crystal about. We had come to France for many reasons. Once there, we found many more. But this single crystallizing moment brought my world into compelling focus. The whole trip had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Writing the blog has been an exercise in capturing some of our memories. My work moving forward will be to ensure this memory captures me. That this experience lasts a lifetime and beyond.” For more, you can visit franceforfree.blogspot.com.

Debbie Muller is still at BCG, but she has moved into a new role as head of training and development for the Americas region. She comments, “This has me working full-time and traveling again for the first time in about a dozen years, which, I’m not going to lie, is an adjustment.” She loves the job, though, and the timing is right because while her nest is still full, her two teenage daughters are increasingly independent. Further helping the cause, Debbie’s husband John bought a local company this year with a Chicago-centric scope of business, so he’s staying in town while Debbie hits the road.

Patrick Lin and his family had a terrific time this summer visiting Beijing and Taiwan. This was the first Asia trip for his wife Darlet and kids Sammy (7) and Matt (5). Patrick says, “The sight-seeing, shopping, and local food were terrific. Also, being with the entire family 24-7 was a neat experience after being so used to traveling and working.” During the trip, Patrick visited Rose Tsou, commenting, “It was really great to catch up after so many years.”

Walter Hungerbuhler had a great year at Egon Zehnder International, where he had been for nearly 10 years, and was elected partner four years ago. He has been part of Egon Zehnder’s Greater China team for seven years. During that time, he has seen it grow from five to 17 consultants. Also, Walter built the firm’s life science and services practice in East Asia, and last year, he was appointed managing partner of the small (but rapidly growing) Beijing office. He comments, “I truly enjoy working in the dynamic China talent market.”

Walter has met a few Kellogg classmates over the past years, most notably Don Bullock, who spent several years with Eaton in Shanghai; Michael Denzel, who moved from Hong Kong to Singapore; and Julie Sell, who visited Hong Kong and Shanghai on a fact-finding mission for The Economist. Last year, Walter and his wife Vera bought and renovated a gorgeous small flat on the 36th floor in Hong Kong’s mid-levels district, “though we hardly spend time there.” Vera spends most of her time in Bangladesh as the disability coordinator for Lepra Bangladesh in Sirajgonj, a small town three hours from Dhaka. As a consequence, Walter and Vera meet for weekends every six weeks and try to spend time in their farmhouse in France. Last year Walter and Vera climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, where they celebrated a combined 100 years of age at 5,896 meters above sea level.

As for me, Heather Forsythe, I’ve been working at Plantronics for six months now, leading the brand, advertising and design teams. I enjoy working for a global company again, and had the chance to visit our Amsterdam; Suzhou, China; Tokyo; and Tijuana offices this summer. While in Amsterdam, I met up with Diana Chiou and we spent a few days together exploring the Netherlands and Belgium. I also had a chance to see Emily Malatesta Kelton while I was in Washington D.C. this fall, and got a tour of her (beautiful) four-story home that she and her husband are renovating.

Enjoy the rest of the year, everyone, and keep your updates coming! Remember to include “KGSM” or “Kellogg” in the subject of your e-mails to me so I don’t miss them.