Natasha Quist: Well guess who I saw shimmying down to Latin music on a boat cruise on the Seine?? The Hollingberries….George and Janette. It was like the WALASA for the middle-aged!! We had been invited to Tina Winfield’s 40th birthday bash on board the “Mise en Scene” Parisenne Peniche. No expenses were spared….music, food, dancing…fabulous !!. It seems both George Hollingbery and Tina Winfield Achkar are taking a turn into politics. George will run for parliament. How exciting is that? I do believe for Winchester and I do believe for the Conservative party….but I could be wrong, the way he dances makes me think he is rather Liberal. Tina is frequently on the British radio trying to explain American Foreign policy to the Brits. I watched her crucify a Frenchman who accused George Bush of being a war monger. She is currently working on her diplomatic skills, you simply can’t use phrases like “we American’s no longer care what you frogs think”. Tina has 3 lovely boys and I have seen them all. George and Janette claim that they have 3 girls – I’ll believe that when I see them.
Dawn Hines just moved in to a palatial apartment on Amsterdam’s Museumplein. From her sitting room window you can see the Rijks and the Van Gogh museums. Her biggest current problem is picking the right curtains for her 15 windows. Make sure you get yourself invited, she is now a great cook and hostess (not the case at Wharton) . Luc Sagnet made a recent appearance at an Insead/Fontainbleau BBQ. He had that look of a banker with a baby….exhausted, delirious. Luc has been threatening to organize a European Thanksgiving dinner in the South of France. However he seems to be having trouble mobilizing the Wharton London contingent. They are all using their kids as the excuse not to travel. Renauld Jezequel and Mary Minowada are immobile because their son Nicolas has Eton Prep classes every day. They don’t want him to fall behind even though he has already jumped a grade and is learning Latin with 3 year olds. Ted Bissell has the most extraordinarily handsome son. Not that Ted is not a “looker” but his wife Tita did an amazing job.
Guy Hurley has apparently simmered down and is a super dad and husband – source of information is unconfirmed. Bill Safron still prefers horses over women – Information source confirmed. I saw Ludvico Manfredi cruising down Avenue Victor Hugo just two steps from the Arc de Triumph. He must not have recognized me as he ignored my frantic waves. Perhaps it was the Nike sweat-pant ensemble. Mark Stuckleman was also spotted on the Champs Elysees. It is still not clear what his travel motive was…..but it certainly was not business. The word is he was meeting Lorrie King! Lorrie unfortunately mixed up the dates and was here a month too soon – she was too excited. The gorgeous Nicolas Caron has been rumored to be back on the Paris scene. Apparently he has been denying that he has an MBA as business acumen is NOT considered de rigueur in the Paris jet set circles. Feico Elhorst is getting married in November. Even though he is marrying a tall gorgeous Dutch woman of noble blood, he’s trying to keep the wedding a secret, since in Holland it is uncool to get married until you have at least two children.
Vicki Guy Burns, hubbie Andrew and son Scott are continuing their diplomatic life at the OECD. They live and work in the poshest arrondisment in Paris. When not out drinking and hobnobbing with OECD top brass, Vicki pushes the envelope by parking (diplomatic plates — of course) in crosswalks and firelanes. Some hot scoop……Art Karloff and Phil Fine are threatening to re-enact the Big Chill this Christmas in Sunny Florida. They will be staying with Rich and Monica Avellaneda-Canon – they just haven’t informed Rich and Monica YET! I was finally promoted to Senior Food Critic for www.Paris-Exchange.com but I still have to moonlight at Nike to support the habit.
Mike Ryan: In an attempt to keep up with the Crist’s and Holle’s, my wife Astrid and I welcomed twin baby boys (Filip and Tomas) to San Francisco on the 2nd of October. They now join their sister Ella (6) and brother Erik (3) to hopefully complete the family. Michael has been working with Goldman Sachs in San Francisco on the International Equity product since 1998. Astrid remains a Norwegian diplomat on an ever-expanding maternity leave.
George Hongchoy: 2002 has been an eventful, though at times, hectic year. We started with a wonderful visit to Coolum and Brisbane in Australia with time to spend with my family there. It was followed by 6 different trips during the year to New York visiting JPMorgan head office. Luckily I managed to tag on a few days around them and get some rest along the way at places like Bermuda, Cape Cod, Atlantic City and even Philly. The family spent 2 weeks in June in London and Switzerland (around Geneva) for our summer vacation. Natalie (7) and Adrian (4) saw snow for the first time and we came across a brief hailstorm while we were on the top of the mountain. In October, we went to Shanghai to attend my brother, William & Michelle’s wedding. This Christmas was a relatively quiet one, which we spend in Hong Kong.
I have continued to be active with Wharton affairs. We started a Wharton Club in Hong Kong (separating it from the Penn Club) last year and I become the VP. I had the honour of being invited to join the School’s Asian Executive Board, which had allowed me more opportunity to contribute to school, having enjoyed the incredible experience we shared. As I attended the Regional Alumni meeting in Tokyo in July and the Huntsman Hall Dedication back in Philly in Oct, I caught up with a large number of classmates, some of whom we had not been in touch since graduation.
In early December, I stopped working for JPMorgan, having been there for over 10 years, finishing as a Managing Director in Investment Banking. As I start to reset my priorities, I get to spend more time with the kids and to play golf. The Hong Kong economy is in a very bad shape at the moment and the investment banking industry is going through one of its worst trough. I would not be in any hurry to look for a job until a bit later. Gladly I am enjoying (in fact indulging myself in) the stress-free days. Dannie has been spending more time in developing her growing business (www.scienceworkshophk.com) which I have got myself involved recently. Adding all the activities together, I am now busier than ever.
Rob Fitzpatrick: Rebecca & I have continued the fun we had at Wharton in a series of 3s. First, having 3 kids: Zac (now 10), Jackson (8) and Madi (6). Those who remember Wharton Waves will be pleased to know that all are developing into strong swimmers and talented surfers. Second, living in 3 different continents: America, Europe & Australia. After returning to Australia from the US (via a 6 month Eastern Europe holiday), we got itchy feet again and in 1995 headed over for a 15-month tour of McKinsey duty in Amsterdam & Brussels (with side trips to the coast of France for surfing, Languedoc for wine and EuroDisney for fun). Third, having 3 different careers: McKinsey consulting, Optus and ShopFast. Most have probably heard of the Mac, and I managed a 7-year stint before moving onto Optus – Australia’s #2 telco – where I was head of sales for Residential & Small Business customers. After a successful 15 months, and with the Internet boom looming, I was lured into a leadership role in shopfast.com.au, which is still Australia’s #1 online grocery operation.
Despite all the issues facing dot-bombs, ShopFast was able to define itself rapidly as a logistics & fulfilment operation, cut where necessary, and not only survive but do what any marketer will advise: spend to grow when others are cutting. We now have more than 12% of households in our market and 85% brand awareness. I have just moved from a full time exec role to a casual Board Advisory role, so I can figure out what I want to do until I grow up (if anyone has any ideas – let me know!)
Rebecca, as those who knew her at Wharton will recall, has passion and capability in performance. She is now passing on her gifts to the next generation: ensuring our kids are talented performers, teaching 3 school bands at local schools, teaching music privately, and in her spare time, starting up and running one of Sydney’s hottest new art galleries – the Balmoral Artists’ Colony. Don’t know where she gets the time…
We all get to see the local Wharton crowd, including Grant Wilson, Peter Doherty, David Thevenon, Andrew Harrison, Peter McNamara (WG ’93), Alex Holcomb, Andrew Grant (WG ’90), and Gordon Black (WG ’90); and regularly also hook up with Dan Jansen and Jeremy Jonas. For those flying downunder, let us know via robec@bigpond.net.au. Cheers!
Miguel Osio: My wife Laura, Miguel Jr. and Alejandro are still living in NYC. Last year Laura started our family real estate division as she joined the Corcoran Real Estate Group in New York. Both of my boys are still studying at the Buckley School and are playing hockey and becoming hard core New Yorkers. I continue to work at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management.
Tammy McLeod: We welcomed our third son into our family on October 4th. Tanner Scott Hamilton rounds out our family and is a wonderful addition. His brother’s have received him very well. All is relatively quiet on the work and home front. We are blessed with good health and stable employment and look forward to hearing news of other Wharton friends.
Robin Riddle: I moved back to the SF Bay Area after spending a fun year exploring Japanese shrines, temples, castles, yakitori bars, sake shops, revolving sushi restaurants, and depaato (dept stores). While waiting for the Silicon Valley job market to improve, I plan on traveling to Vietnam, Botswana, and Baja.
Chris Malone: I connected with Mike DeVegvar, John Hynes, Kim Mathew and Arun Gowda for dinner during a business trip to London in late October. We had a great time enjoying Belgian beer and old Wharton stories.
