When Kellogg opens its new state-of-the-art executive center, it will signify an exciting new phase in the school’s history as a leader in executive development and a force in higher education.
Yet, behind every institutional story is a human one. The new executive center is named for Ann McIlrath Drake ’84 MBA (’25, ’25 GP), who credits her time at Kellogg with changing her life in enduring, positive ways. Her gratitude has manifested in transformative support for Kellogg and its students and leaders over the years.
What was so significant about Ann’s time at Kellogg? Here is her story.
Several careers ago, I applied to the Executive MBA (EMBA) Program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. I was in a profound transition: What I had been, I wasn’t anymore; what I wanted to become, I couldn’t yet picture. Kellogg offered a doorway.
Attending the Kellogg EMBA Program was one of the best decisions of my life. The entire experience at Kellogg — the content, instructors, atmosphere, fellow students — was transformative. It grew my confidence to speak my mind. It gave me the courage to navigate new things. It gifted me with colleagues and friends for life. Most of all, it immersed me in a culture and set of values that informed the businesswoman I became.
They say you can spot a Kellogg graduate immediately. Here’s why: On day one of our program, they said, “Here’s your team.” And everything we did from that day until our last was done in teams. We lived and breathed an ethos of low-ego, high-integrity, high-impact collaboration. It taught me lessons about leadership that rewrote everything I knew about business. I took those lessons into DSC Logistics — and changed the future of our company.
At Kellogg, I came to understand that collaboration — not competition — is the currency of the 21st century.
— Ann McIlrath Drake ’84 MBA (’25, ’25 GP)President and Founder, Lincoln Road Enterprises, Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay
Today, I’m happy and proud to share an outcome of that decision years ago. It’s been announced that the name of the new Kellogg home for global engagement and innovative business learning on the Evanston campus will be the Ann McIlrath Drake Executive Center. It’s recognition of the good fortune I’ve been able to share with Kellogg over the years. But I like to think about it this way — as a testament to a leadership culture that has, at its heart, a belief in contributing to others.
At Kellogg, I came to understand that collaboration — not competition — is the currency of the 21st century. I still believe that. It’s so important that we work together. I also hope people will see this new center as a vote for the potential of women in business. I believe deeply in women leaders as a force for positive change. When women take their place in the world as leaders, anything and everything can happen.
Right now, I think we need to bring more of the capacities women possess to our global challenges. The implications and stakes are huge. Leadership is influence, which means any of us can shape the direction of a project ... or a person.
But a gifted leader inspires people to do things they didn’t know they could do — to go places they didn’t know they could go. This state-of-the-art building is a bricks-and-mortar commitment to belief in the power of people collaborating with, learning from and supporting others. It will bring together students, faculty, alumni, executives and thought leaders in a cutting-edge environment specially designed to encourage innovation and collaboration. That inspires me. That’s a future I want to see.
Kellogg rocked my world by designing a business education that unlocked my potential. I want others to have that same transformative experience. Kellogg didn’t admit me because I fit a cookie-cutter profile of the perfect MBA student. They admitted me because I brought what they valued then and value today — integrity, grit and a high probability of success.
Each day brings opportunities to rewrite the future by investing in each other. The best relationships are based on giving. Let’s be thankful — not just for the gifts we receive, but for the gifts we have the privilege to bestow.