Sisters Anshu (Mittal) Gupta ’00 and Kumud Gupta TMP ’03 with family on a cruise of the Alaskan Inside Passage in July

TMP 2003

Although the summer went by quickly, some of your classmates experienced some significant events:

Alex Kent spent three weeks traveling in Europe this summer with Alex McClintock TMP 2002 to the Greek Islands, Switzerland, Italy and France. In addition to his travels, Alex started racing Syd 38 yachts in Chicago this summer.

Steve Wooledge and his wife, Vicki, announced the birth of their first baby, Justin R. Wooledge, on Aug. 12 in San Jose. He weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

Kent Smith is now working as a director of finance at Equity Office Properties.

Steve Wooledge TMP’03 with wife Vicki and baby Justin
Robyn Albertini and Mike Albertini, both TMP 2003, with their beautiful daughter, Lauryn Elizabeth.
Heather Lopez-Cepero TMP ’03 with Brian Meaney in the South Pacific Cook Islands

Barry Dauber was promoted to business unit manager of the newly acquired Mumm Products division of Illinois Tool Works. Mumm Products suppliessix-pack rings and other packaging to beverage distributors and retailers across North America. Barry and his family have relocated to Damascus, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Robyn and Mike Albertini welcomed a daughter on June 15. Her name is Lauryn Elizabeth and she weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces. The family is all doing very well, especially because she started sleeping through the night at three weeks.

Brian Gallagher is still in hot pursuit of venture capital for his energy systems company, Preon, and has signed a term sheet hoping to close in October. In the meantime, he kept his sanity by running in the Lake Zurich and Chicago triathlons in August.

In April Kathee Fox and husband Dave welcomed Elizabeth (Libbey) Daye Fox to the family, joining older brother Duncan, 4, and sister Maggie, 21 months. They moved from Chicago to Indianapolis in fall 2003 when Kathee transferred offices with IBM, where she is a managing consultant.

John Bye was promoted to senior consultant at his company, Campbell Alliance.

Holly S. Jones and her husband, Bill, welcomed a baby girl on Jan. 20. Emily Ruth weighed in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 20 inches.

In early June Dan Beck and wife Liz welcomed their second son, Brendan Cole. Dan has discovered that it's a little easier not having to figure out how to study AND take care of a newborn, although already having a 3-year-old has its own set of challenges when combined with a new baby. Dan recently accepted a position with JPMorgan Chase (Bank One) in its marketing analytics group in Columbus, Ohio.

Ryann Plinska accepted a position in the marketing department at Harley-Davidson in her hometown of Milwaukee. She will be managing dealer advertising and promotions, a new position that affords her the opportunity to define it as she goes, which is very exciting. For Ryann, a self-professed "marketing geek," working on one of the world's best-known brands is a dream come true. Ryann extends an open invitation to her Kellogg friends to visit Milwaukee, which in Algonquin means "the good land."

Ravi Kaushik checks in from Cleveland with this update: "I have recently taken a marketing manager position with Eaton Corp., Airflex division, inCleveland. They make industrial brakes and clutches. Peeru and I moved here at the end of June and we have slowly gotten settled, enjoying the summer along the lakefront in Cleveland. I am tremendously enjoying the job --- getting involved in strategic market planning internationally, preparing for a trade show, working on a joint venture and managing a team of three people. I am also getting in touch with the local Kellogg alums to plan a happy hour here. If any of you visit Cleveland, do get in touch. It would be great to meet up."

Heather Lopez-Cepero checks in from a business trip to Amsterdam with this update: "I am still working for Apple and was recently promoted to the position of senior program manager, worldwide markets development, for Apple's pro applications group. Basically, I design, implement and analyze the various programs (trade shows, events, technical forums, promotions, training development) for Apple's professional video solutions (FinalCut Pro, Shake, Motion, etc.). The job is really cool. I get to meet with everyone from the technology heads of the major film studios and broadcast stations, to the people who set the standards for technologies such as HD broadcasting and Web streaming.

"The travel related to this job is the upside and the downside. I am writing this from Amsterdam, where I am currently attending IBC, the largest European show for broadcasters. In the next two months I'll be going to Washington, D.C.; Mumbai, India; Nippon, Japan; and Los Angeles for various shows. On the personal side of life, I absolutely love living in San Francisco. I am slowly working my way through all the wineries in Napa and Sonoma, and have been getting used to scuba diving in COLD water in Monterey. I've been dating a great guy for the last18 months (Brian Meaney, the designer of FinalCut Pro), and in April we took a three-week vacation to Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The Cooks are 15 islands in the middle of the South Pacific. We spent our days just lazing away in a hammock on the beach. It was awesome! I hope everyone is well and invite anyone visiting the Bay Area to say 'hi' and get together for a drink."

Thanks for all of the updates. As you go through these and other life experiences, keep your classmates up to date by forwarding me news of babies, weddings, jobs, hobbies or anything else noteworthy. You can reach me at rpollock2003@kellogg.northwestern.edu for updates in the months to come.