Speakers

Julie Hennessy ’82 is a Clinical Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Professor Hennessy’s MBA and Executive teaching focuses on the development of marketing strategies to enhance long-term competitive advantage and profitability. She works frequently with technology-driven firms that desire to become more customer-centric, in both new product/services and mature product/services categories. At Kellogg, she teaches both Introduction to Marketing and Advanced Marketing Strategy courses at the MBA and Executive level. Recent Executive teaching assignments have included work with General Electric, American Express, Microsoft, Diamond Consulting, Bausch and Lomb, Microsoft and Sony.

Engineering and Management Sciences at the McCormick School of Engineering. Professor Hennessy has been a regular recipient of teaching awards at the Kellogg School. In 2007, she received the Lawrence G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Kellogg’s top award for teaching quality and impact, as voted by the Kellogg graduating class. Professor Hennessy has also been recognized by her academic department, winning the Marketing Department’s Core Course Teaching award in 2007, 2005, 2002 and 2000. Professor Hennessy’s writing concentrates on cases for classroom use. Recent cases that she has written include studies of TiVo, Apple iPod, Invisalign Orthodontics, and Biaxin and Zithromax in the antibiotics market.

Harry M. Kraemer, Jr. ’79 is a Clinical Professor of Management and Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. In 2008, Kellogg students honored Professor Kraemer with the L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award for teaching quality and impact. He teaches a course called “Managerial Leadership” to help students understand the character, characteristics and challenges of leadership in various organizational settings. A central theme of the course is the critical importance of values based leadership in today’s world.

In addition to teaching at Kellogg, Mr. Kraemer actively engages in business, education and civic affairs. He is an Executive Partner with Madison Dearborn, a private equity firm based in Chicago, and the former Chairman and CEO of Baxter International Inc., a $9 billion global healthcare company. He serves on the board of directors of Science Applications International Corporation and Sirona Dental Systems GmbH, and on the board of trustees of Lawrence University, Northwestern University, the Conference Board and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the Dean’s Advisory Board of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Advisory Board of LEK Consulting. He is a member of the Business Council, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Executives Club of Chicago and the Economics Club of Chicago. Mr. Kraemer enjoys jogging, tennis, skiing and reading, especially world civilization. He and his wife Julie live in Wilmette, IL with their five children.

Michelle L. Buck is a Clinical Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She teaches leadership and negotiations courses in Kellogg’s MBA and executive programs. She also serves as the School’s Director of Leadership Initiatives. In this role, she coordinates and leverages existing leadership-related offerings, such as the array of student clubs, activities and programs, as well as leadership curriculum. She also helps to identify and develop future directions for leadership development at the School.

Professor Buck also serves as Academic Director of Executive Education, designing and directing executive programs in leadership and general management, and customized programs for organizations. Prior to her current position at Kellogg, Professor Buck was an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal from 1995-2001, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis from 1994-1995. She received her PhD and master’s degrees in social psychology from Princeton University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan. Professor Buck’s commitment in all of her work is to facilitate individual, group, and organizational transformation, enabling people to find new possibilities in the way they interact with others, the way they work, and the way they think about themselves.

Beth Tidmarsh ’03 is the director of admissions for full-time MBA programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. As a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, she led and executed tenant representation and corporate solutions work for companies such as Xerox, KPMG and Huron Consulting Group. Prior to attending Kellogg, Beth spent six years in consulting for Accenture based out of Chicago and Sydney.

Brooke Houston ’12 is a Case Team Leader in Bain & Company’s Chicago office. She was a Summer Associate in 2011 and joined Bain full-time in 2012. While at Bain, Brooke has consulted for a non-profit organization and in the real estate, retail and industrial goods industries. Brooke is currently leading a private equity due diligence team. Outside of her case work, Brooke is active in Bain’s MBA and undergraduate recruiting efforts and is a co-chair of Bain’s semi-annual Charity Auction event.

Kelly Newton '10 from Boston Consulting Group is a Principal in the Chicago office of the BCG. She has worked primarily in industrial goods, with additional case experience in consumer goods, retail and financial services since joining the firm in 2005. She has experience across a range of Sales topics including leading Sales Transformation and Sales Force Effectiveness efforts.

Prior to business school, Kelly worked in the Chicago office for two years followed by a year in the Sydney office. Kelly holds an M.B.A. with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management. She also earned a B.A. and B.S.E. with high honors in Engineering from Dartmouth College.

Laura Van Peenan ‘94 from William Blair is a managing director and has been a banker at William Blair & Company for over 15 years. She leads the Investment Banking Group’s Chicago Coverage, a role that focuses on business development efforts across Chicago for companies from the early-stages through to the large multi-nationals. Additionally, Laura heads the firm’s Community Impact Committee – a role that stretches beyond Investment Banking and involves organizing the firm’s impact in the Chicago civic and philanthropic community.

Laura was also a banker at Goldman Sachs & Company and at The Northern Trust Company for 10 years in her career. She has completed over 100 M&A transactions, equity offerings and financings. Laura graduated from Duke University (AB) and from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (MM).

Leah Ralph ‘08 is a principal based in the San Francisco office of L.E.K. Consulting. Leah specializes in L.E.K.’s Life Science practice. Leah has worked on a diverse set of consulting projects across the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. She has significant experience developing long-term growth strategies, evaluating commercial opportunity for pipeline opportunities, and assessing market development requirements. Leah graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. She also holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management.

Jenn Betts ’16 is a second year student at Kellogg School of Management in the joint JD/MBA program. In addition to her role as Registration Co-Chair, she in involved in KWEST Exec, Ski Committee, and the JD/MBA Board. Jenn graduated from Penn State with honors where she majored in Marketing. She also has a Sociology degree from University of Colorado. After graduating, she worked in strategy consulting at Deloitte. After focusing on healthcare strategy, she moved CH2M HILL, a large civil engineering firm, as a Corporate Development associate. There she focused on developing enterprise strategy and acquisitions.

Tiffany Legge ’16 is a current first-year student in the 2Y program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 2011. During her first year at Kellogg, Tiffany has become actively involved in varying organizations at Kellogg including - the Black Management Association, the Marketing Club, the prestigious Board Fellows, and most recently the Kellogg on Growth Forum. Prior to attending Kellogg, Tiffany spent three years working in process and engineering roles for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH and Missouri.

Jamison Maida ’16 is a first-year full-time student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Prior to Kellogg, Jamie received her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. She then served in the United States Navy for five years as a Nuclear Engineering Officer on the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), stationed in Seattle, WA. While there, she led teams responsible for operating the nuclear reactors, which generated and supplied power to the entire ship. After the Navy, Jamie worked for Tiffany and Company as a Manufacturing Supervisor at Tiffany’s largest manufacturing facility in Cumberland, RI. She then transitioned back to her nuclear generation roots and worked as an Operations Supervisor for Exelon Corporation’s Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station (about 70 miles southwest of Chicago). Jamie is pursuing majors in Finance and Accounting and will be working for Wells Fargo Securities this summer in Charlotte, NC, as an Investment Banking summer associate. She is active in the Kellogg Veterans Association and the Kellogg Investment Banking Capital Markets Club and has been selected as an F.C. Austin Scholar for the Class of 2016.

Mónica Renta ’16 is a first-year student at the Kellogg School of Management who intends to major in Marketing Management and Management & Organizations. In addition to the Women's Leadership Workshop, she is involved with Day at Kellogg (our admitted students weekend) and the Hispanic Management Association. Mónica was born and raised in San Juan Puerto Rico, and prior to Kellogg, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan, both in the field of Spanish Literature. After some time spent as a teacher, she pursued a career in sales and marketing within the publishing industry, which led her to want to earn an MBA. After Kellogg, Mónica hopes to pursue a career in retail or brand management.

Jane Vu ’16 is a first year student in the MMM program at the Kellogg School of Management. Jane was born and raised in the Los Angeles Area and attended the University of California, Los Angeles where she majored in Aerospace Engineering. Prior to Kellogg, Jane worked at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems as a systems engineer, where she worked on NASA’s polar orbiting mission and various classified drone programs. At Kellogg, Jane serves as director of academics for the MMM program.