1996

“Chris Quan was sitting at his desk when the phone rang. It was the CEO of Kellogg World magazine. The board of directors was meeting in 30 minutes and Chris had to decide if he wanted to accept the position of Kellogg World class rep .…”

	From left: Pradip Patiath, Jai Shekhawat and Rekha Hemrajani, all '96, enjoying their trip to Italy
	Todd Shelton '96
	Michelle Snyder '96, her husband Reef Wilson and Cooper Ridge Wilson
	Oksana Strashna ’96, daughter Vladislava and husband BJ at the July 2010 Kyiv Lion's Club picnic

Well, that’s not really what happened. But Robyn Runyan Glushik has retired from being our class rep and I’ve decided to grab the baton. Many thanks to Robyn for doing a great job over the last several years.

I haven’t ever sent in a proper update (oh, the irony), so here goes. After Kellogg, I went to work at AOL. I began there managing several e-commerce initiatives and ended up doing business development and acquisitions. In the unlikely event I’m ever mentioned in a history of AOL, I would appear in the sections about the aggressive dealmakers who got in trouble with the federal government. I worked closely with all those people but, thankfully, not directly for them. Needless to say, it was a pretty crazy environment. I left AOL shortly before the Time-Warner merger to join a startup that imploded after a short and troubled life. After that, I did some consulting to startups in the Washington D.C. area. When the late ’90s tech bubble finally burst in 2001, I moved to San Francisco. I’ve been in SF ever since, basically just slacking. I suppose I’m in a bit of a state of arrested development. I don’t own a house, don’t own a car, don’t have any kids, and have reached 100 percent completion on the last few Grand Theft Auto games. I did manage to get married, though! My wife Ruth McKenzie works for Schwab Advisor Services, the division of Charles Schwab that provides custodial services for registered investment advisors. Ruth is Canadian, so I’ve had to develop an appreciation for maple products, Don Cherry, and that robot arm thingy on the Space Shuttle. That’s it. Now send in your update.

Nick Reynolds says, “My family and I have returned to Perth, Australia, after 21 years. I am at KPMG in its consulting business and the family is getting used to the outdoor and relaxed lifestyle. We are all sad to be leaving our house and friends in Evanston and the U.K. (where we have been for the past two years) and would welcome a visit from any Kelloggians who may happen to be in this part of the world.”

After two intensive and rewarding years with Nike in Germany, Sven Zehnder is back in Switzerland. He writes: “Now I am looking for a new challenge here in Zurich, so if you have an idea (full-time employment, project assignment or want to do business in Switzerland/Europe), please reach out to me. Even if you don’t, but are close by, please contact me at scz66@yahoo.com. I am looking forward to meeting as many of my classmates as possible.”

Here’s some big news from Michelle Snyder: “It’s been a busy past few years! Reef Wilson and I were married in Healdsburg, Calif. last year and were grateful to be joined by 15 Kellogg alums from all around the country and beyond (Jane Coyne!). This year, we welcomed Cooper Ridge Wilson to our family. Taking full advantage of maternity leave, we headed to Hawaii to celebrate his 3-month birthday. On the professional front, the one thing that hasn’t changed too much is work. I’m starting my tenth year as a senior vice president at Epocrates. It’s been quite a journey, going from a small startup in Silicon Valley where we all had doors as desks to being a leader in the health information technology field.”

Pradip Patiath, Jai Shekhawat and Rekha Hemrajani (including spouses and kids) spent a week in the town of Lucca in the Tuscany area of Italy this summer. The trip included lots of wine tasting, sightseeing and reminiscing about Kellogg friends. Pradip and Jai live in the Chicago area, while Rekha lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Rekha adds, “Looking forward to our 15-year Reunion next year. Hope to see everyone there.”

Kris Mehigan sent in an update that covers six ’96ers! Kris writes, “Ali (Miller) Giacomin, Betty Rhiew-Breslin, Nancy (Roset) Miller, and I met for a weekend in August in picturesque Boulder, Colo. We definitely earned our spa time after hiking through mountains and up to waterfalls, and we can also recommend several restaurants in the quaint Pearl Street area.

“Ali lives in Denver with her husband Brian and their three children, Aidan (7), Jack (6) and Hannah (6). Ali left Qwest Communications at the end of 2009 after 10 years to take some time off with the family and is looking to get back into corporate America. She competed in the Pepsi Refresh Project, in which she proposed a nonprofit program to address childhood obesity in local schools. She also rode in her eighth ‘Courage Classic Bike Ride’ through 160 miles of the mountain passes of Summit County, Colo. This year, she raised over $2,800 for Children’s Hospital.

“Betty lives in New Jersey with her husband Mike and their two children, Matthew (9) and Amanda (6). She enjoys working in pharmaceutical marketing at Pfizer. In her limited free time, Betty juggles being a troop leader for Amanda’s Daisy Troop, horseback riding and spending quality time with the family.

“Nancy lives in Burlingame, Calif., with her husband John Miller and their two children, Dylan (6) and Hailey (3). Last year, she returned to the venture capital sector, managing the food and consumer investments at Simon Equity Partners. She ran her first half-marathon since college and ran Big Sur in the fall. In the off hours, Nancy still enjoys being a PTA mom, taking pottery classes and volunteering at her local food bank.

“I (Kris) live in Richmond, Va., with husband D.J. Mehigan and our three children, Elyse (9), Maya (7) and Bryce (4). I continue to operate my promotional marketing and consulting business, Signature Promotions LLC. In my free time, I enjoy dancing and have been performing as one of Richmond’s Rockettes each holiday season. I was in a live production of the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ video this fall.

“We all look forward to attending the upcoming 15-year Reunion next spring and hope there’s a huge turnout of alums, especially the 4-Quarters! Will there be a revival gig for ‘Tina’s Cork’ then too?”

How’s this for a “liquidity event?” Jai Shekhawat sold his company Fieldglass to Madison Dearborn Partners in a deal that values Fieldglass at more than $220 million. Jai co-founded Fieldglass 10 years ago. It produces software for managing contract and temporary workforces. The company has 135 employees and its customers include Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines and GlaxoSmithKline. Jai plans to remain with Fieldglass and continue running it.

Rob and Holly Moskow “vacationed in Alaska on a back roads trip with our kids Ben (10) and Madeline (7). While walking the streets of Anchorage, we bumped into an attractive woman who greatly resembled Eileen Gallagher. The odds of such a coincidence seemed low at best, but we do have a picture commemorating the chance meeting just in case!”

Oksana Strashna writes: “I’m still with the same PE firm I joined after graduation (we grew to $700 million under management) and still living in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2009, I was invited to join the Kellogg Alumni Council group representing Europe/Middle East/Africa, and I am really enjoying both the opportunity to give back to the school by participating in the strengthening of Kellogg’s international image, as well as meeting impressive alumni from all different years and different countries.”

Todd Shelton was named president of the United Stationers Supply. United Stationers Inc. is a leading wholesale distributor of business products, with net sales of approximately $4.7 billion in 2009.

Kellogg mini-reunion. From left: Kris Mehigan, Ali Giacomin, Nancy Miller and Betty Rhiew-Breslin, all ’96