New York

During late fall and winter, the Kellogg Alumni Club of New York enjoyed many activities catering to many different interests. These included:

Wine Spectator: Educational wine-tasting event Kellogg's own Gloria Maroti Frazee '97 of Wine Spectator led the club in tasting several red and white grape varieties. She answered such questions as, "What are the criteria for a good wine?" and, "How are wines different?" Participants tasted eight wine varieties, generously provided by Kendall Jackson. Gloria oversees Wine Spectator School, which offers wine courses for consumers, as well as restaurants, retail and winery sales staff. Reach Gloria Maroti Frazee at gfrazee@mshanken.com or 212.481.8610 Ext. 302.

'Cure the Winter Blues: Entrepreneurship, Tropical Drinks and the Top 10 Latin American Travel Destinations' Jim Lutz '02 gave a great presentation about his entrepreneurial experiences starting Vaya Adventures, a South and Central American travel company (vayaadventures.com). Jim also talked about some of the best places to visit during the winter months. Reach Jim Lutz at jim@vayaadventures.com or 800.342.1796.

'Wine, Tapas and Jazz at the Museum of Natural History' Many members of the Class of '04 enjoyed live jazz at the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History, where Kristen Mitchell '04 is the new associate director of event marketing for the museum. Reach Kristen Mitchell at kmitchell2004@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

'An Insider's Guide to Buying a Home/Apartment and Selecting a Mortgage' Patricia Cliff, senior vice president of The Corcoran Group Real Estate, who was recently quoted in Barrons about the New York real estate market, answered many great questions, including how to manage bidding wars and how to negotiate with tough sellers. Joe DeBono '97 discussed how to select the right mortgage and how to avoid both jumbo mortgage pricing and PMI costs. Joe offered Kellogg alumni a $500 cash discount off of their closing costs and a few hundred dollars savings on their title costs. Reach Joe DeBono at joe@mbamortgages.com.

KACNY career development and philanthropy group David Nelson '66, COO of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), discussed his nonprofit experience at NFTE and his transition from IBM, after 33 years, to the nonprofit world. As part of his terrific remarks, he discussed how to successfully grow a nonprofit that is national in scope. Reach David at nfte.com.

'Organized for Success: Top CEOs Reveal the Organizing Principles that Helped them Reach the Top' Leading author Stephanie Winston conducted a great seminar that focused on how leading CEOs manage the 24 hours in their day. The seminar truly helped alumni improve their time-management skills. Winston, who was quoted in Fortune on this subject, shared the astonishing fact that a CEO's days are taken up with little but interruptions. Among the strategies that Winston uncovered are two that may surprise — and give heart to — many readers. First, top executives deal very differently with the day-to-day interruptions that cause most of us to lose focus and get sidelined. They view them not as a menacing obstruction to workflow, but instead as a means to connect with fellow workers and enable more work to be done. Second, super-successful businesspeople do not multitask — they focus their complete attention on each task at hand until it is done and then move on to the next thing. And they employ powerful delegation strategies to enhance their own productivity and that of their team.

KACNY real estate and military leadership and business strategy group present Hussain Ali-Khan Hussain Ali-Khan, executive managing director, real estate for The New York Times Co.,  discussed the sale of the New York Times headquarters building and the development of its new headquarters in Times Square. Topics ranged from the selection of a world-famous architect to financing. For those interested in real-estate development, the depth and detail of one of the highest visibility transactions and developments was a rewarding and career-enhancing experience. If you would like to contact Ali-Kahn, send an email message to joe@mbamortgages.com.

Monthly all-MBA happy hour Alumni connected with old Kellogg friends and made new ones from 35 other MBA alumni clubs at Kellogg's monthly happy hour at Tonic in Times Square. To keep the momentum going, the Kellogg Alumni Club of New York will host a happy hour at Tonic on the third Wednesday of each month. Check the Web site for updates. Tonic is located between 48th and 49th streets on the east side of Seventh Avenue.

Kellogg student Media Trek happy hour in NYC Current Kellogg students interested in the media and entertainment field enjoyed an evening with alumni who work in the industry. The Kellogg Alumni Media Group hosts interesting events, which serve as a fine networking platform. See kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/Affinity/media.

'An MBA in Hollywood': Michael Hogan Michael Hogan, chief operating officer of Hart Sharp Entertainment and a former Navy SEAL officer, discussed determining return on investment when investing in independent films, the business side of an entertainment company, what it takes to produce a full-length film and military leadership lessons germane to business. He also shared his experience creating and managing the True Film Fund, a $12 million equity fund that finances Hart Sharp films and has produced "Boys Don't Cry" (Fox Searchlight, 1999) and "You Can Count on Me" (Paramount Classics, 2000). If you would like to contact Mike, send a message to joe@mbamortgages.com.

Kellogg student marketing and CPG/retail/luxury goods cocktail hour Kellogg students in the Big Apple for the Marketing Trek and alumni working in marketing or CPG/retail/luxury goods in the NYC area shared cocktails. This event was packed! A special thanks to our event sponsors: Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson and Kraft.

Knicks Basketball Game Alums enjoyed watching the New York Knicks play the New Orleans Hornets.

'Using Mobile Telephones for Marketing: Beep Beep! or Bleep Bleep?' The Medill Club of Greater New York and the Kellogg Alumni Club of New York presented a panel on marketing via wireless telephones. Professor Tom Collinger, head of the direct, database and e-commerce marketing sequence department at medill and former president and general manager of Ogilvy & Mather Direct, moderated the event.

'The Challenges Faced': Emerging hedge fund managers panel This program was designed to discuss challenges faced by emerging hedge fund managers, including asset raising, performance reporting, and adjusting to the market. Kevin A. Pollack of Resurrection Advisors/Pinnacle Advisers moderated the panel. Panelists included Nicole Kubin, Velvet Asset Management; Maurice Berkower, Weinick Sanders Leventhal & Co.; Allan Wolf, Cam Energy Products; Andrew Stotland, Jolly Roger Fund; Richard Kreger, Crisis Managed Value Fund; Henry Siegel, Banc of America Securities; David Barnett, Morrison Cohen; and Eugene Major, Dunbar Capital Management. KPEA is quite active and hosts key events. For more information see kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/Affinity/privateequity/.

KACNY open board meeting with Kellogg's director of alumni clubs KACNY held an open board meeting on programming, events and leadership/volunteer opportunities within the club. The meeting was enhanced by the participation of Karyn McCoy, associate director of alumni relations, and Anne Brockseker, associate director of alumni clubs. The open board meeting is a chance to meet the leadership team from Evanston.

Career development: Carole Hyatt Best-selling author Carole Hyatt, founder of Getting to Next and the Leadership Forum, hosted an evening workshop for KACNY. Attendees participated in written, verbal and interactive exercises, which Hyatt compiled and distilled from 25 years of research and practical application. The methodology is simple but effective and helped KACNY members work together to discover new professional possibilities. Participants received a complimentary copy of Hyatt's best-seller, Lifetime Employability. Special thanks to Barbara Close '99 for coordinating this event.

Professional development: Dinah Day, image consultantThis event was free for 2004 grads and those who graduated before 1989. Day assisted alumni in presenting one image with great confidence. She became a professional actress and sportscaster for major television networks, interviewing athletes and celebrities, as well as a national spokeswoman for products such as Palmolive Liquid, Nationwide Insurance and Timex Watches, to name a few. Reach Dinah at dinahdayimagecoach.com or dinahdayimage@hotmail.com.

All-MBA soiree This was a tremendous networking and socializing event! More than 300 alumni from 35 different MBA alumni clubs participated.

'Managing Education as a Business: City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz' Eva Moskowitz is a former teacher who has represented Manhattan's fourth district in the New York City Council since November 1999. Her colleagues in the City Council voted unanimously to make Eva the chairwoman of the education committee. Eva made interesting remarks regarding managing education as a business and education reform.

KACNY MBA Corps TeamKellogg MBAs including Ben Tidsale '03, Beth Adler '86, Amy Becker '96, Erica Goldman '01, Mark Kinarney '95, Kristen Mitchell '04 and Joe DeBono are leading the KACNY MBA Corps Team that is consulting to the New York City firefighters organization to help develop branding opportunities that will create revenue streams for their scholarship fund. The team is in need of professionals to develop a logo and to edit filmed interviews. If you can provide support in either of these areas, please email joe@mbacorps.org.

Notes from the club president: I am proud to report that I was elected president of the New York Business School Alumni Association, which represents 35 clubs and about 75,000 alumni. It is quite an honor for me and Kellogg. Please be on the lookout for the 2005 Kellogg Alumni Club of New York membership drive mailing. Join today! Becoming a Kellogg Alumni Club of New York member is personally and professionally worthwhile and a smart way to leverage the No. 1-ranked Kellogg School name. Both BusinessWeek and the Economist Intelligence Unit have ranked the Kellogg School No. 1, while KACNY received the Alumni Club of the Year Award — a trifecta! Your membership dues are the lifeblood of the club. We also remind you to check out our great events and networking resources at kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/clubs/kacny. And finally, thanks to Chase Home Finance for hosting 75 percent of KACNY events.