Happy day: EMP-56’s Dave Fennema, Jason Ferrara, Charles Fortner and Vicky Free at graduation

EMP-56

Hello, EMP-56. I hope our update finds you well and fully enjoying the newfound freedom of graduation. After a short summer of travel and celebrations, there seems to be quite a bit of news from our class, and I am confident I've not captured the full scoop from everyone. Please be sure to share your life's happenings and keep contact information up to date so we stay connected and all know where to send holiday cards this year.

Where has EMP-56 been post-grad? From a travel perspective, EMP-56 was truly global over the last few months. We have been to various locations in England, France, Germany, China and Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, India, Canada, the Caribbean (including private islands, Jamaica and Saint Maarten), and many locales in the States. Look forward to viewing some amazing vacation pictures on our Web site (to be released very soon).

Maureen Hogan, Jorgen Juffa, Stacey Kacek and Kristin Bird, all of EMP-56

As we might expect post-grad, many of us are experiencing career and life transitions as we put our newly minted degrees to work. Here's a run-down of recent appointments within our class: Mike Dvorak left his longtime career at ComEd (did you know he started as a meter reader?) and has taken a promotion to lead the engineering organization at Indiana Power & Light. His deep knowledge of energy operations and motivating teams will be a big asset to the customers there. Mike and Maureen are currently in the process of moving their family to Indianapolis. Email him at Michael.Dvorak@AES.com.

Dan Masterson left SC Johnson to take the role of senior manager of expansive innovation at Fellowes Inc. We all know Dan's unique ability to creatively match undiscovered customer needs with new products will make a significant contribution to Fellowes in the future. Email him at DMasterson@Fellowes.com.

Greg Macfarlane has taken a new position as an executive vice president and CFO of GE Consumer and Mortgage Americas in Los Angeles. Greg has led a number of organizations through turnarounds and spin-offs, so keep your eye out for GE news coming from the West Coast.

classmates Brett Cumberland, Deb Robbins, Vicky Free, Mike Dvorak and Jim Langer celebrate graduation.

Sheila Sullivan has moved out of her strategy position at International Truck and Engine Corp. and has assumed the role of vice president, purchasing and logistics, for the engine group. Sheila will be responsible for all supply-chain activity, as well as new product launches and global sourcing.

John Meier accepted a position as lead consultant for the business decisions analysis group within Equistar Chemicals' corporate development group. Moving out of operations, John will now focus his MBA on evaluating business opportunities, such as new technologies, asset build or shutdown, and merger and acquisitions. He and Gemma are in the process of moving their family to Houston as I write this update.

Dave Pidduck accepted a new role within Baxter that is taking him back to Canada. He and Bonnie moved in September.

Cheryl King recently accepted the challenging role of regional director of operations and will be responsible for starting up EQR's condo conversion operations in Scottsdale, Ariz. She'll be commuting between Chicago and Scottsdale for the next six to 12 months (road warrior in action), while leading the group to establish a strong management team and work processes. She said: "I feel like the Harvard MBA in our first case study who was sent to the textile subsidiary and asked to make it profitable. This will definitely put my general management skills to the test."

Stacey Kacek has moved within Motorola, leaving her position in development engineering to take on new challenges in the product marketing organization. She will be responsible for setting the strategic direction and defining the features and functions of a portfolio of public safety applications for Motorola's integrated solutions division. (Why did she say she was "moving to the dark side?" Kellogg's marketing prowess put into action!)

Kendra Fuson left her 10-year career at CNA Insurance shortly after graduation and joined BrightStar Healthcare as a senior management consultant. This services-focused business provides essential healthcare staffing for patients and practitioners in the office and at home.

Also, a few of EMP-56's true entrepreneurial spirits have broken out and founded very interesting business ventures: Todd Chalem is now the chief operating officer of Channel Velocity, a consignment reseller of manufacturers' excess inventory, distributing principally through eBay. Operating as an eBay-certified solutions provider under the Dealmonger branded storefront, CV works with consumer electronics, home and garden and power tool companies to deliver substantially higher recovery rates than traditional liquidation markets.

Evan Wonacott, Dan Jaffee (class speaker) and Jerry Carter at EMP-56’s Graduation

Evan Wonacott continues to build LDS Corp. As president and founder, he is driving its specialization in direct-to-factory procurement in China. Currently LDS is focused on two product categories --- extruded plastics and wood---purchasing from factories within China and selling to wholesalers and distributors in the United States and Europe. Operationally, LDS manages the entire logistics process --- ex-factory to the customer's warehouse---as well as quality assurance at the source, capacity and cost management, and new product development, and ensures that a smooth flow of information is achieved.

Let's not forget the all-important endeavor to establish work-life balance (if anyone has found it, please share your wisdom with the class) and celebrate some family transitions in recent months: Brett Cumberland is in the process of making the move to a new home in Hinsdale (actually, just down the street from where he lives now). With a lot of handyman hard work (yes, Brett is as good at chainsaws and paintbrushes as he is at cranking out statistics), he and Anna will be ready for visitors in no time.

Justin Daab and his wife, Lois, are making the move into a new home in Chicago.

Finally, just a few sound bites looking forward. The first annual EMP-56 golf outing to benefit Children's Memorial Hospital raised more than $3,100, which the class targeted to help children with cystic fibrosis. We are especially appreciative of our corporate sponsors at Barton Beers, OilDri, Advisory Research, Discover, McDonald's, Elkay, SC Johnson, Lake Forest Hospital, Motorola, R.R. Donnelly, Marriott and Exelon/ComEd for the contributions that made this event a success. Look for news about our second-annual outing as organizers (Rich Montbriand, are you up for leading another year?) start making plans for 2005 and recruiting support.

Also, be sure to keep up on EMP-56 event news, such as Wildcat football on Nov. 20. As winter approaches, we will be finding lots of opportunities to get together. That's the update from EMP-56. I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone in the coming months. Since this is a November publication, I'll take the opportunity to say "Happy Holidays to and from the class of EMP-56. Enjoy the spirit of the season!"