The Darden Report Alumni Magazine Winter 2023

THE D ARDEN RE P OR T

SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINING

WILL MARKET PRESSURES SLOW EFFORTS TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CONCERNS? 16

MADE POSSIBLE BY YOU

FUNDING FLEXIBLE MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS

TRAINING THE WORLD’S BEST TEACHING FACULTY

ENHANCING THE VALUE OF YOUR DEGREE

Springing Forward

What does not move forward, this French saying reminds us, moves backwards. Surely this is as true in business school as anywhere in life, and here at Darden, we are always seeking to understand, innovate and grow. But as you will see in this issue of The Darden Report, we do so from a set of human-focused values that connect our future to our past.

One example came this fall with the 550 new MBA students who arrived for their “first day of school” (Page 7), something every one of our alumni has experienced. Yet this year, it was also a sign of innovation, as we welcomed students from all MBA formats to Grounds on the same day for the first time, including those from our new Part-Time MBA program.

Darden continues to adapt to the rapidly changing business of business school while maintaining our focus on faculty excellence, a high-touch education experience and a tightknit community. On Page 12, we examine the shifting landscape of business education and explore how Darden’s signature approach can thrive by meeting today’s students where they are and finding talent everywhere.

When you read the profile of Professor Roshni Raveendhran (Page 30), you’ll see that her cuttingedge work on artificial intelligence is grounded in a deep understanding of human psychology. Leaders who remember that people use this rapidly changing technology will be better positioned to succeed no matter where it goes.

This spring, we’ll celebrate another new beginning with the opening of The Forum Hotel here on our

Grounds (Page 6). This amazing venue will create more learning opportunities and deeper connections for everyone at Darden — and across UVA and Charlottesville. We will also open the new C. Ray Smith Alumni Hall, which will house the Darden School Foundation and the Sands Institute. None of it could have happened without one of Darden’s most powerful traditions: giving back.

The Forum will be a LEED-certified facility surrounded by a verdant arboretum and botanical gardens — part of our sustainability strategy — and it reflects our conviction that business, and business school, can be a force for good. In the world of practice, this idea has taken shape in corporate sustainability efforts. But with fears of a recession looming, our cover story asks if sustainable actions can be sustained (Page 16).

As ever, Darden’s top-ranked faculty will be central to the solution for any challenge we face, and we were delighted to welcome 12 talented new professors to the School this fall (Page 10). Our faculty members win awards (Page 11) and advance critical new ideas (Page 26). If you are thinking about ways to help Darden, support for our faculty is one way to ensure we maintain excellence in all we do.

SCOTT C. BEARDSLEY Dean and Charles C. Abbott Professor of Business Administration

Qui n’avance pas, recule.

The Darden Report is published twice a year with private donations to the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation.

© 2023 Darden School Foundation

Winter 2023, Volume 50, No. 1

University of Virginia Darden School of Business

Office of Communication & Marketing

P. O. Box 7225

Charlottesville, Virginia 22906-7225 USA

communication@darden.virginia.edu

Scott C. Beardsley Dean and Charles C. Abbott Professor of Business Administration

Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88) President, Darden School Foundation

Juliet K. Daum

Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

EDITOR

Jay Hodgkins

ART DIRECTION & DESIGN

Tira Hightower

FEATURES AND COVER DESIGN

Ross Bradley

WRITERS

Dave Hendrick

Molly Mitchell

Tom van der Voort

CLASS NOTES EDITOR

Egidijus Paurys

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ali Johnson

Sam Levitan

Stephanie Gross

Andrew Shurtleff

Susan Wormington

22

VC Has a Gender Equity Problem

Sustaining Sustainability

PROFILES

30

70

75

90

98 20 Questions: Cathy Friedman (MBA

New Faculty, New Ideas

From

Darden School Foundation Names Alumna Miles Interim President

The Darden School Foundation in January announced that Michael Woodfolk resigned as president of the Foundation. Professor Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88) is serving as interim president.

Miles’ current role at Darden, which she will maintain while serving in the interim leadership role, is John Alden Purinton Jr. Professor of Practice and senior adviser to the dean. Previously, she served as CEO of Save the Children for eight years, where she led a staff of more than 1,700, completed a successful capital campaign, and drove work and resources to positively affect children in 120 countries.

Woodfolk worked for 22 years at the Darden School Foundation, which includes advancement, engagement, executive education and hospitality operations. He began at the Foundation as director of alumni affairs in 2000, became the first vice president for

alumni affairs and then senior executive director of engagement. In 2017, he was named president. He is a 2005 graduate of Darden’s The Executive Program.

“Michael has contributed to building one of the most engaged global alumni bases in graduate business education, as well as record fundraising for the School’s Powered by Purpose campaign,” said Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Martina Hund-Mejean (MBA ’88).

“We appreciate his two decades of service to Darden and wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Dean Scott Beardsley.

“It has been an honor to serve Darden and its Foundation,” said Woodfolk. “The Foundation and School have strong momentum, and as I focus my energies on a new chapter, I would like to thank the people who have helped me throughout my tenure and made my 22-year journey so meaningful.”

POWERED BY PURPOSE CAMPAIGN PREPARES TO ENTER NEW PHASE

Progress in Darden’s Powered by Purpose campaign stands at $382 million (excluding matching funds and gifts made to other foundations on behalf of Darden), just shy of the initial milestone of $400 million that will mark completion of the campaign’s first phase. The latest campaign progress was driven by strong fiscal year 2022 fundraising, which totaled $40.5 million in new commitments and a record number of major gifts.

Fiscal year 2022 fundraising highlights included:

• $11.6 million from alumni who celebrated a Darden reunion, up 19 percent over the five-year average

• $5.7 million raised for the Darden Annual Fund

• $5 million in new Planned Giving commitments

• 13 new members of the Principal Donors Society, which recognizes donors at the $1 million and above level

• 50 major gifts of more than $100,000, a Darden record

Thanks to our generous campaign donors, the School can now pursue additional funding priorities that help Darden do even more to improve the world by inspiring responsible leaders.

The campaign runs through 30 June 2025. In its next phase, Powered by Purpose will seek to fund new initiatives and emerging opportunities to support faculty excellence, scholarships and the student experience, Grounds, and the Darden Annual Fund.

Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88)

Third-Largest Gift in Darden History to Advance Faculty, Research, Grounds

Darden announced the third-largest gift in its 67-year history in October: $44 million from Risk Management Technology

Founder David M. LaCross (MBA ’78) and his wife, Kathleen O. LaCross. With $6 million in matching funds from the University of Virginia, the total impact of the gift to Darden is $50 million. The impacts include:

■ A $6.5 million bequest toward a future Darden research center or initiative on artificial intelligence

■ $18 million in current funding to endow and name the dean’s chair at Darden, composed of a $12 million gift from the LaCross family and $6 million in matching funds from the UVA Bicentennial Professors Fund

■ A $20.5 million lead gift and seed funding to catalyze the construction of on-Grounds residential housing at Darden in support of the Darden Master Plan

■ $5 million to name the botanical gardens at Darden, now under construction

“I RECOGNIZED WELL BEFORE GRADUATING THAT I OWED A TREMENDOUS DEBT TO DARDEN FOR ITS EFFECTIVE USE OF THE CASE METHOD, AN EXTRAORDINARY FACULTY THAT KNEW HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF A CLASS AND MY CLASSMATES. I HOPED FROM THE OUTSET THAT I WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK SOMEDAY.”

— David M. LaCross (MBA ’78)

From left to right: David LaCross, Kathy LaCross and University of Virginia President Jim Ryan

Open This Spring: The Forum Hotel

As construction of the new hotel on Darden’s Charlottesville Grounds nears completion this winter, the School is preparing for the grand opening this spring by announcing the property’s name.

Introducing The Forum Hotel at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, now accepting reservations for stays beginning in July.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will manage the hotel, which is Kimpton’s first location on a college campus. The hotel, owned by the Darden School Foundation, will support Darden’s academic mission as a setting for degree-program activities and faculty conferences and symposia. It will also serve as a site for meetings and events, such as corporate conferences and weddings. Profits will help fund academic priorities, such as scholarships and faculty excellence.

The hotel will house approximately 11,500 square feet of meeting space, classrooms for educational gatherings and a ballroom with capacity to seat 425 guests. Five acres of botanical gardens and an arboretum on the hotel grounds include a stream, pond and trails connecting to the Rivanna Trail and other parts of North Grounds.

The five-story building will feature 198 guest rooms, including 12 suites, private dining, a wine cellar, a taproom and a ground-level restaurant with an outdoor terrace.

Amenities for guests include morning coffee and tea service, an evening social hour, in-room yoga mats, complimentary bicycles and pet-friendly policies.

Designed by Cooper Carry architects, the hotel will meet specifications for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

“The hotel and its arboretum and botanical gardens won’t just be beautiful; they will support Darden’s academic mission,” Dean Scott Beardsley said. “Not only will they serve as the center of our lifelong learning programs, they will offer the entire University of Virginia and Charlottesville communities a place for social, spiritual and educational growth, and wellness.”

To reserve a room or plan an event at the The Forum Hotel, visit forumhotelcharlottesville.com

Rendering of the interior entry vestibule of The Forum Hotel, opening spring 2023

First Part-Time MBA Cohort Highlights New Student Arrivals

Darden welcomed more than 550 First Year MBA students to Grounds in Charlottesville in mid-August, an annual event made even more significant due to the arrival of the inaugural class of Part-Time MBA students. Members of the Part-Time MBA, who will earn their degrees at different paces, start their journey with the Full-Time MBA and Executive MBA classes of 2024 and Master of Science in business analytics (MSBA) Class of 2023.

New Batten Institute Executive Director Returns to UVA for ‘Massive Opportunity’

Omar Garriott joined Darden as executive director of the Batten Institute on 1 September.

“I’m deeply honored to be selected as the fifth executive director of the Batten Institute,” said Garriott, who holds an undergraduate degree from the UVA McIntire School of Commerce. “I’m thrilled to return to the university I love in this capacity after many years in tech. It’s a massive opportunity at a critical time.”

A successful corporate intrapreneur, venture founder and author with leadership experience in a variety of technology firms, Garriott leads the institute in supporting Darden’s mission to improve the world by developing responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences.

Founded in 1999 thanks to a transformative $60 million endowment gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Batten Sr., the Batten Institute

plays an integral role positioning Darden as a global leader in the entrepreneurial economy and in technology, innovation and venture capital. The institute has been at the heart of many innovations at Darden, leading the i.Lab Incubator, the Venture Capital Initiative and Collaboratory for Data Science in Business with the UVA School of Data Science, among other efforts.

After McIntire, Garriott took a position in Washington, D.C., with Teach for America. The experience helped inform his outlook and career, which has included leadership roles with the education divisions at companies such as Adobe, Apple, LinkedIn and Salesforce. Most recently, Garriott served as global head of education at Qualtrics.

“As we searched for a new leader, Omar stood out for his passion for UVA, Darden, education and successful track record across Batten’s key focus areas,” said Dean Scott Beardsley.

Batten Institute Executive Director Omar Garriott

Another Year of Record-Breaking Career Results

The Full-Time and Executive MBA Class of 2022, along with the Master of Science in business analytics (MSBA) Class of 2021, entered a strong job market offering record salaries.

From the Metaverse to Global Markets: New Courses at Darden

Darden professors launched several new courses for the 2022–23 academic year, considering topics from the European Union in a global economic context to doing business in the metaverse and more.

» “Women, Gender, and Work: Leadership Stories and Career Narratives” Taught by Professor Allison Elias, this Communication course explores how gender norms influence the trajectory of one’s career as well as the pursuit and attainment of leadership positions.

» “Creating Value in the Metaverse” The new Global Economies and Markets (GEM) course taught by Professor Anton Korinek and Batten Institute Senior Director David Touve exposes students to the developing technologies, strategic dynamics and economic underpinnings of virtual worlds and economies.

» “Humanitarianism and International NGOs: Is the Model Fit for Purpose or Obsolete?” Students examine the global humanitarian system in this Strategy course taught by Professor Carolyn Miles, with a focus on the system’s growth in the past 50 years and the primary actors involved.

» “Games, Competition, and Cooperation” Quantitative Analysis Professor Sasa Zorc teaches this businessworld course on game theory, covering issues including competition between firms, trading in financial markets, auctions, international politics, warfare and artificial intelligence.

» “GEMstone” Taught by Professors Frank Warnock and Kinda Hachem, this GEM course takes a deep dive into international finance, money and banking issues, such as the international payments system, the role of the U.S. dollar in global finance, interest rates, and crypto and digital currencies.

» “EU and the World Economy” Professor Stefan Ruediger’s new GEM course helps students learn about the fundamental differences and similarities between the EU and U.S., examining the history of the EU and its unique market, policy and regulatory features.

Meet Darden’s Newest Faculty Members

Darden welcomed 12 new faculty members ahead of the 2022–23 academic year, including the first Bodily Bicentennial Professor in Analytics.

Les Alexander will work in the Finance and Strategy, Ethics & Entrepreneurship areas as a professor of practice and the John Glynn Professor in Venture Capital. Previously a professor at Tulane’s Freeman School of Business, Alexander has extensive professional experience in investment banking, venture capital and private equity.

Ian Appel joins the Finance area as an associate professor. His main area of interest is empirical corporate finance. Prior to Darden, Appel held positions at Georgetown University and Boston College. He earned a Ph.D. in finance from the Wharton School.

BO SUN

LAUREN KAUFMANN

ANTHONY PALOMBA

MELANIE PRENGLER

AYANA YOUNGE

ZHIHAO ZHANG

LILLIEN ELLIS SERENA HAGERTY

ERIC SIEGEL

MATT MCBRADY

LES ALEXANDER IAN APPEL

Lillien Ellis joins the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area as an assistant professor after earning her Ph.D. at Cornell University. Her research interests are idea theft, creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship, and social dynamics in corporate knowledge work.

Serena Hagerty, assistant professor in the Marketing area, focuses on the social consequences of economic inequality. Hagerty was a Stone Ph.D. Scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School and earned her Ph.D. in marketing from Harvard Business School.

Lauren Kaufmann joins the Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship area as an assistant professor with a focus on behavioral ethics, social impact and impact investing. Kaufmann received her Ph.D. in business ethics from the Wharton School.

Matt McBrady is now full time in the Finance area as a professor of practice. McBrady returns to academia following a career as an investor and entrepreneur. He earned his Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard University.

Anthony Palomba joins the Communication area as an assistant professor. Palomba focuses on how professionals can present data and insights through storytelling and why audiences consume entertainment. He received his Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of Florida.

Melanie Prengler, assistant professor in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area, focuses on diversity, work arrangements and allyship. She earned her Ph.D. from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.

Eric Siegel is the inaugural Bodily Bicentennial Professor in Analytics, joining Darden as a visiting scholar. He will share his expertise in machine learning as a consultant and professor. Siegel earned his Ph.D. in computer science from Columbia University.

Bo Sun joins the Global Economies and Markets area as an associate professor after working at the Federal Reserve as a principal economist. She earned her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia.

Ayana Younge, assistant professor in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area, was a postdoctoral researcher and the behavioral lab manager at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, where she also earned her Ph.D. in organizational behavior.

Zhihao Zhang joins the Marketing area as an assistant professor. Formerly a postdoctoral scholar at the Haas School of Business, he studies consumer behavior. Zhang earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.

FACULTY AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Professor Luca Cian and co-author won the American Marketing Association Research in Practice Award for the article “Artificial Intelligence in Utilitarian vs. Hedonic Contexts: The ‘Word-of-Machine’ Effect.”

Professor Peter Debaere was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to work on “Coordinating Water Markets and Critical Infrastructure Management to Build Community Resilience to Extreme Drought.”

Professor Shane Dikolli received the Excellence in Reviewing Reward from the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section.

Professor Ed Freeman won UVA’s Thomas Jefferson Award for Scholarship, considered the highest honor awarded to University faculty.

Professor Dennie Kim received an Early Career Investigator Award from the American Heart Association’s Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research.

Professor Tami Kim won the American Marketing Association’s Best in Track Paper Award for “Women-Owned Businesses: Owner Attribute Label Increases Perceived Competence for Marginalized Populations.”

Professor Marc Lipson won UVA’s All-University teaching award.

Professor Dwai Roy’s paper “Taxing the Taxpayers: An Empirical Investigation of the Drivers of Baseline Changes in U.S. Federal Government Technology Programs” was named the INFORMS Technology, Innovation, Management and Entrepreneurship Studies Paper of the Month.

Professor Saras Sarasvathy won the 2022 Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology.

Professor Emeritus Elliott Weiss’ case “Beau Ties Ltd of Vermont” was recognized by the Case Centre as one of the 15 bestselling cases in production and operations management.

Professor Andy Wicks and co-authors were recognized for best paper at the International Association of Business & Society Conference for “The Fork in the Road for Social Enterprises: Leveraging Moral Imagination for Long-Term Stakeholder Support.”

Professor Ting Xu received the Best Paper Award at the 2022 Utah Winter Finance Conference for his paper “Regulatory Costs of Being Public: Evidence from Bunching Estimation.”

The world has come to expect great teaching and learning experiences from Darden. The task now is to enable the future of our young scholars to scale the heights of a storied past and even exceed them.

— Professor S. “Venkat” Venkataraman, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research

THE BUSINESS OF B-SCHOOL

How will Darden’s signature approach to education adapt as industry shifts?

BY DAVE HENDRICK

Since immigrating to the United States during the Guatemalan Civil War, Marleny De León (Class of 2024) has never stopped studying and learning. After an undergraduate career in Arizona that sparked her interest in ethnographic studies, she moved on to graduate at the top of her class at Stanford with a master’s degree in Latin American studies, then completed a Fulbright-funded research project exploring deaf communities in Italy.

Interested in growing her quantitative skills, De León followed Stanford with a master’s of public policy in education with an emphasis in quantitative research methods at Vanderbilt, from which she graduated in three semesters. A network of entrepreneurs and business leaders in Europe helped put an MBA on her radar, and De León realized a solid foundation in finance and capital markets would best help her accomplish her future goals.

Spurning offers of entrepreneurial-focused, one-year master’s degrees at Harvard and Wharton, De León accepted a Darden Breakthrough Scholarship, awarded by the Darden School Foundation to elite women and underrepresented minority students interested in a career in asset management. By fall, she was settling into the pace and workload of a 21-month Full-Time MBA and already looking ahead to a summer internship in a field she had not previously considered: investment banking.

“It was a hard decision to make,” said De León of opting for a traditional MBA over the many alternatives in the marketplace. “Ultimately, it was the knowledge that I was going to leave this two-year period with the confidence to walk the walk — it’s more than just a degree.”

The business of the MBA is cyclical like any other, but Darden depends on a critical mass of top talent with De León’s mindset to attract future leaders to its bread-and-butter offering.

SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE

Right now, the footing at Darden and its elite peers remains strong, even as the ground beneath the broader industry continues to shift. The return on investment of the Darden MBA remains rock-solid, with the most recent Darden graduating class earning a record-setting base mean salary of $157,090 (excluding bonuses) and 96 percent employed within three months of graduation. The upward momentum comes as Darden students benefit from a growing pool of scholarship support and financial aid. Scholarship and support programs such as Future Year Scholars, AccessDarden, Impact Fellows and Breakthrough Scholars are helping widen the pool of prospective applicants.

Despite the clear ROI, after two years of doubledigit application growth to the Full-Time MBA, applications for the Darden Class of 2024 were essentially flat year over year, with roughly 3,000 applicants leading to 348 enrolled students. Even so, Darden beat the trend among top MBA programs, many of which reported steep application declines from the boom years at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. An October The Wall Street Journal headline summed up the dive in applications: “The Hot Job Market Is a Problem for Harvard, Wharton, Other Top MBA Programs.”

A 2022 student survey from the

Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) offers a window into applicant interest. Full-time, in-person MBA programs remain the most popular program format, drawing the interest of 40 percent of prospective students. While interest in strictly online programs remains flat, interest in in-person and online hybrid approaches has increased significantly. Darden’s growth in the Executive MBA, Part-Time MBA

rising sticker price of an MBA. While students with international backgrounds have helped fill classes to traditional levels at many top schools, including Darden, Byrne said it was too early to declare a permanent demographic shift or a general softening of interest in an MBA.

The landscape could look dramatically different in as few as six months, particularly in the case of a recession,

and Master of Science in business analytics (MSBA) in the Washington, D.C., area serves as a testament.

Roughly one-fifth of GMAC survey respondents now express a preference for hybrid program delivery, up from 14 percent in the previous survey.

There are also proliferating options for graduate business degrees available to today’s students, from online and one-year MBAs to corporate programs to a mushrooming group of specialized master’s degrees.

Long-time business education chronicler John Byrne, publisher of the MBA news website Poets & Quants, recently described the market as “uncertain,” given lingering impacts from the pandemic and a broader economy impacted by the cross-currents of a hot job market but a growing threat of recession.

Speaking shortly after the start of the academic year, Byrne said top trends included a continued decline in domestic applicants (a phenomenon he linked in part to a strong U.S. jobs market), the explosion in online degrees and the

when applications generally rise, he said. Noting the double-digit drops in application volume at some top schools, Byrne said industry alarmists would do well to remember MBA programs are coming off two years of record volume, and the candidates in the pipeline tend to be as strong as ever.

“The pool is still deep, it’s still high-quality and the people who really want to get an MBA want one for the right reasons,” said Byrne. “They see the value in the degree. They see the network they will graduate into, the friendships they will make. And for the people who have made this decision, it is pretty much a no-brainer.”

NEW PATHS, SAME HIGH-TOUCH EXPERIENCE

In 2022, prospective learners have multiple paths to the top-notch business education taught by Darden professors. Students interested in an MBA can pursue a full-time experience in Charlottesville, or the Executive MBA and new Part-Time MBA taught in a hybrid format and based at UVA Darden DC Metro in the Rosslyn district of Arlington, Virginia.

With the addition of the MSBA,

“[Applicants] see the value in the degree. They see the network they will graduate into, the friendships they will make. And for the people who have made this decision, it is pretty much a no-brainer.”

Grushka-

Cockayne

— John Byrne, Poets & Quants

which the school presents jointly with the UVA McIntire School of Commerce, Darden now has more than 400 students learning in the Washington, D.C., area.

The formats offer options that fit the lives of a wide swath of learners while keeping the emphasis on the quintessential high-touch Darden experience.

“We’re interested in the quality of the program and the quality of the students and the experience they are having,” said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. “We’re not interested in scaling something that’s not high quality.”

After examining the market and seeing an opportunity for professional students who wanted to continue to work but needed a more flexible timeline to complete their studies, Darden launched the new Part-Time MBA in August with nearly 70 students.

“We started planning this pre-pandemic, but especially in the world we find ourselves in today, many students want flexibility,” said Darden Senior Associate Dean of Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne. “As the School considered potential avenues to expand the reach of the Darden MBA, the Part-Time format was the one that maintained the hallmarks of the Darden experience while potentially tapping into a new audience.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Darden continues to prepare students with the core competencies needed for a future-ready career, including problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication, creativity, empathy and relationship-building — all of which are honed in the case method classroom.

Yet, Darden leaders know there is no room for complacency. The School has steadily innovated in recent years in response to student and employer

demand, with increased experiential learning opportunities, additional Batten Institute-powered courses in technology-related fields and dual-degree offerings such as the MBA/master’s in data science.

The School is also advancing new capabilities brought about by the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning, which aims to establish Darden at the forefront of innovation in instruction and delivery of transformational learning experiences, in both degree programs and Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning.

Anne Trumbore, chief digital learning officer at the Sands Institute, is among those helping position the School’s offerings and leads the new Darden Digital Hub.

For Executive Education & Lifelong Learning, that may mean innovations

such as alternative qualifications and microcredentials that demonstrate new skills learned. These credentials could be earned via short executive education courses, for instance.

“Flexibility is really the name of the game, and designing programs such that they meet a really diverse set of students’ needs,” said Trumbore.

Today, elite institutions offer a premium high-touch experience while providing multiple convenient ways to access knowledge and develop skills. That’s the promise that attracts hundreds of driven individuals like De León each year, and it’s what the Darden community intends to fortify amid a rapidly changing landscape.

“We have two main challenges,” said Trumbore. “Pushing awareness of our excellence delivering in-person education and building more sophisticated digital products and partnerships to move the forefront of digital education.”

Trumbore

SUSTAINING SUSTAINABILTY

WILL MARKET PRESSURES SLOW EFFORTS TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CONCERNS?

By Tom van der Voort

Once upon a time, businesses interpreted profit and value to mean the same thing, and both were measured in dollars. Today’s leaders are much more likely to look beyond the direct economic benefits their businesses create to consider social and environmental impacts as well. This broad concept of “sustainability” is now firmly rooted in business thought and increasingly a part of business practice.

But with global economic and market turmoil brewing, advocates could be forgiven for wondering if a recession, or even fears of one, will drive leaders to focus more acutely on financial performance and less on sustainability.

Experts from the Darden community don’t dismiss the concern, but to assess it, they draw a critical distinction between older efforts at “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) and sustainability management. Whereas the former treats investment in positive social goals as something that’s “nice to have,” says Katherine Neebe (MBA ’04), the chief sustainability officer at Duke Energy, the latter takes a broader view, looking to total value. “There is a business case for doing good, and you need to build that into your value proposition or else you are missing some real risk and some real upside.”

START AT THE TOP, TAKE THE LONG VIEW

Professor Mike Lenox, Darden’s chief strategy officer, has been studying sustainability for 30 years. He notes that interest in the environment, in particular, can wax and wane in response to the economy, but over time has taken root. “It’s part of C-suite discussions at this point. You’d be hard pressed to find a company that isn’t thinking seriously about its footprint, what they can do about it, the risks that are inherent and the opportunities it creates.” The more sustainability is part of the core business strategy, he says, the less it fades in moments of business pressure.

Neebe says a recessionary cycle could be a moment to invest more in sustainability as opposed to pulling back. Economic pressures can prompt innovation in operational efficiency, waste reduction, effective communica-

tion with stakeholders, risk identification, supply chain management and long-term strategy. All are pillars of sustainability.

“One way to think about sustainability is that it requires transition,” says Lenox. “Take the automobile industry, which is closely tied to the business cycle. If you are cutting production and dealing with excess inventory because demand is down, it could be a time to re-tool factories and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.”

“A company like Duke Energy,” Lenox adds, “is looking 20 years ahead right now, trying to plan for a clean energy transition that it knows is occurring. In that timeframe, a recession can be a blip on the radar.”

Neebe provides a first-hand view. “Duke’s biggest risk is climate change. Our biggest opportunity is climate change. So when you look at our capital plan, 85 percent of it is toward the clean energy transition, roughly $145 billion. But when you look at the value side of it — job creation, economics and several other benefits — we are around $250 billion. And that doesn’t happen if we don’t move forward.”

Neebe says Duke will retire 16 gigawatts of coal in the next decade and replace it with existing cleaner energy sources like natural gas, solar and batteries. However, the company is planning for much deeper in the future.

“When you look out to the mid-2030s, you’re talking about promising new technologies such as advanced nuclear, small modular reactors, hydrogen long-duration storage. And some scientist somewhere is cooking up something we don’t even know about yet. We’ve got to make sure we’re making the right investments and building an energy system that can accommodate all the above.”

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, NOT COST

Grace Hucek (MBA ’22) came to Darden with sustainability already part of her worldview. “I worked in the ski industry, and there was a big difference in years where there wasn’t as much snowfall. You could see how closely financial success was tied to environmental factors.”

Lenox

Hucek

Now a senior business analyst with Yellowstone Forever, a nonprofit that supports Yellowstone National Park, Hucek also sees sustainability as a route to value creation. “Businesses are finding ways to take on some of these externalities so that they become, not a cost to the company, but a competitive advantage.”

Businesses might predict, for instance, that carbon pollution, a classic example of a negative externality, will increasingly be included in the price of their goods — through regulation, market forces or both. Success reducing carbon emissions would then provide a cost advantage in the marketplace. But Hucek points out that, particularly for her generation, consumers increasingly decide to price sustainability. “You see it when a company like Patagonia factors sustainability into their supply chain and their employee practices and is able to charge a premium price because of it.”

The labor market can also respond, she says, as talented employees consider sustainability in their job decisions. “Companies need to adjust their practices to attract millennials and Gen Z. Taking on these ESG [environmental, social and governance] factors may have a price, but it ultimately lowers the total cost of finding and keeping good candidates. And it will continue to move in that direction.”

RIGOROUS MEASUREMENT

Lauren Kaufmann, who joined Darden this year as an assistant professor, looks at sustainability from the investment side, specifically “how investors conceptualize and measure impact.” Measurement, she says, is one of the key challenges sustainability efforts face.

“Over time, investors have accumulated rigorous and meaningful ways of measuring financial performance. We can assess risk. We can assess return. But the same is not true for the social impact side. As investors

increasingly value the social and environmental performance of their investments, assessing social impact becomes a key issue for asset managers and other financial institutions.”

Indeed, impact investing has grown by roughly 15 times in the last two decades, with assets managed to generate positive social or environmental value in addition to financial returns surpassing $1 trillion for the first time in 2021, according to Barron’s.

As investments rise, investors become increasingly sophisticated in how they measure impact, says Kaufmann, but to date, there is not consensus. “To speak with one impact investor is to understand just one way of measuring performance. When it comes to assessing the impact of different investments, we are in a fascinating moment of change and innovation. I think we should expect refinement over the coming years.”

VALUE FOR INVESTORS

When Sam Selig (MBA ’22) attended Darden, he was drawn to impact venture capital (VC). He found work with Oslo, Norway-based Katapult Ocean, which funds projects “that have a positive impact on the ocean or on climate that are sourced from the ocean.”

From his perspective, there is tremendous opportunity in the natural capital available from a resource that covers 70 percent of the world’s surface area and is a critical factor in both climate regulation and the food supply. “The understanding of natural capital on land is progressing quickly. For example, there’s an appreciation that returning unproductive farmland to its natural habitat can create financial value. If we get the same understanding of the natural capital in the ocean, you’ll see new ways to extract value there that improves the health of the ocean, rather than degrades it.”

Selig sees VCs continuing to invest in sustainability-focused opportunities because funds are equipped with a “significant amount of public and private capital” that has come to them with sustainability and impact mandates.

Kaufmann

Over time, investors have accumulated rigorous and meaningful ways of measuring financial performance. We can assess risk. We can assess return. But the same is not true for the social impact side. As investors increasingly value the social and environmental performance of their investments, this becomes a key issue for asset managers and other financial institutions.”

— Professor Lauren Kaufmann

“In addition to altruists, these ideas are funded by people who want to make money, which is great and necessary. It’s not just viewed as a good thing to do. And corporations are looking to ensure their business models will work in 10, 15, 20 years as these climate impacts keep coming,” Selig says. “With recessionary concerns, I do think it will slow down capital being deployed, but in the VC space, climate has proven to be relatively resilient in the last two-and-a-half years because the demand case is pretty clear at this point.”

Still, Selig isn’t sanguine about what a global downturn could do to sustainability efforts. “It will be interesting to see what the next recession will do.” Even with a long-term dynamic that favors sustainability, “it could all go out the window. That’s totally plausible.”

BUSINESS CYCLE REALITIES

The integration of sustainability into an organization’s calculation of value cannot insulate it entirely from the business cycle. Just as financial performance can suffer in downturns, so, too, can sustainability efforts.

“Right now, we have inflation, fears of a recession and what rising interest rates might do to capital projects,” says Hucek. “Uncertainties can scare companies and investors and push sustainability into the background.” Banks that had made commitments to net-zero carbon emissions at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference are now backing away, in part due to war in Ukraine. Bloomberg

reports that global bank lending to fossil fuel companies is up 15 percent, to more than $300 billion, in the first nine months of 2022, compared to 2021.

However, to say sustainability responds to market forces and short-term events isn’t the same as saying it’s the first thing to go when times get tough. Organizations that have put in the time to include this broader view of value in their outlook will make a wide variety of decisions. For some, that could be speeding up the path to sustainability. For others, it may include slowing down. Investors, consumers and employees will weigh the costs and benefits of sustainability commitments, too. But that process itself may be a sign that sustainability isn’t going away. It’s just what happens in the normal course of business.

Selig

In addition to altruists, these ideas are funded by people who want to make money, which is great and necessary. It’s not just viewed as a good thing to do. And corporations are looking to ensure their business models will work in 10, 15, 20 years as these climate impacts keep coming.”

— Sam Selig (MBA ’22)

PLANT A TREE AT DARDEN

We invite you to support a new fundraising initiative.

Darden is planting 1,300 trees ranging from dogwoods to Eastern redbuds in the five-acre arboretum and botanical gardens surrounding The Forum Hotel. Name a tree — or trees — with a gift of $10,000 per tree to support the new Arboretum Establishment and Sustainability Fund. This fund will be used for the creation and maintenance of the arboretum and gardens, which will provide an unparalleled destination on Grounds and capture over 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Naming a tree is a meaningful way to honor your class or individual classmates, a faculty member, a family member or loved one, or a club or organization.

The trees will include a combination of local and global varieties, consistent with Darden as a school in the Commonwealth and of the world. Support the School through a sustainable gift that will create a healthy Virginia forest and a greener Darden for years to come.

For more information, contact Director of Annual Giving Brad Neathery at NeatheryB@darden.virginia.edu or +1-434-243-5220.

GENDEREQ U I TYINVENTURECAP I T A L PROGRESSS I GNALSNEWMOMENTUM, ANDDARDENLOOKSTOCONTR I

By Molly Mitchell

If admitting the problem is the first step toward recovery, it’s fair to say that the venture capital (VC) industry has taken a step forward.

It is known — and widely discussed — that women are significantly underrepresented in decision-making roles at venture capital firms. According to a report from the National Venture Capital Association, 16 percent of decision-makers at U.S. venture capital firms were women as of 2020. This ratio represents an incremental improvement over the past few years, but that is cold comfort for those working toward gender equity. The numbers are even grimmer for women of color.

And yet, one would be hard-pressed to find an investment firm that doesn’t profess a desire to bring more women partners to the table — for the sake of equity and for the sake of profit. Venture capital firms perform better financially with more diverse teams of decision-makers, according to a report from West River Group.

“If anything, firms would really like to broaden their pool, so I think there’s a tremendous amount of receptivity [to hiring women partners],” said Michele Rankin, career coach at Darden’s Career Center.

With the problem acknowledged, what’s the holdup with step two?

Beware Potential Bias

The hunger among female MBAs and other women to break into the VC world is strong. At Darden’s Women in Leadership Summit this fall, the panel on venture capital was packed, and the questions that poured in were often variations on the theme of “How do I get in?”

According to Rankin, venture capital is particularly challenging to gain entry in part because there isn’t a straightforward path or standardized qualifications for the job. Instead, most hiring tends to happen through long-term relationship-building within trusted circles.

It involves “a lot of hustle,” said Rankin. “It takes an incredible network.” Studies show that human beings tend to unconsciously trust and favor those who seem most similar to themselves. The world of startups and the money behind them seems to move quickly from the outside, but the people at the top are few and turnover is far-between. Though diverse representation is improving, there’s not a critical mass of women and minority venture capitalists to course correct without more conscious action.

A Very Particular Set of Skills

Another reason it can be so difficult to break in to venture capital and private equity is that there aren’t that many firms, and the firms themselves are small — perhaps three or four partners with a few junior associates (mostly without MBA degrees). It is not an industry designed to raise and cultivate raw talent at scale. Their hiring needs are partners and employees ready to go straight out of the box, according to Professor Elena Loutskina.

“These are smaller enterprises with a very specific need, at a very specific point of time, and they want that specific need to be filled by someone who is qualified, has

experience and can add something to the development,” said Loutskina, academic director of Darden’s Venture Capital Initiative.

What a venture capital firm may need includes a wide range of skills and experiences and depends so much upon the unique situation of each firm.

“Finding a job in VC is like finding a spouse,” she said. “There are a lot of people walking around who have potential, but there is something in that match that has to work and gel exceptionally well to form a good family.”

Check Writers and Check Cashers

More equitable representation of women in decision-making roles at investment firms is half of an equation set to grow the footprint of women in the startup ecosystem as a whole, according to MJ Toms, director of education and experiential learning at Darden’s Batten Institute.

“From my point of view,” says Toms, who counsels students with entrepreneurial aspirations, “the lack of women in VC matters because female founders don’t get funded.” In 2021, startups founded by women only received 2.4 percent of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the U.S., according to a 2022 report from Pitchbook.

The elements contributing to the disparity of funding could ease with more women involved in writing the checks, however. According to a study by Kauffman Fellows, women venture capitalists invest in twice as many female-founded startups as their male counterparts.

In addition to bias, whether conscious or unconscious, a limited

Loutskina

“Finding a job in VC is like finding a spouse. There are a lot of people walking around that have potential, but there is something in that match that has to work and gel exceptionally well to form a good family.”

— Professor Elena Loutskina

ability to understand the kinds of problems some women founders are seeking to solve leaves men with blind spots when it comes to how valuable a product or service could be for its intended audience. “I do think most of the investors are consciously trying to invest in women,” said Toms. “But I think it really is hard when they haven’t experienced the problem the founder is trying to solve.”

Seeing Is Believing

While the data doesn’t look great now, trends in the right direction have those in the space feeling optimistic.

“I think we’re on a good upward trajectory,” said Rankin. “We do see more women going into venture capital and private equity firms. That’s exciting because then they’re visible to those that follow. If you see people like yourself who are successful in VC, you’re more likely to think you can be successful in that field, too.”

Darden has launched several initiatives to increase the visibility of careers in VC, private equity and asset management; uplift diverse professionals in those fields; and create the networks and relationships necessary to break in. The Darden Venture Capital Initiative, launched in 2021, supports education, experiential learning and professional development in the venture capital industry for Darden students. The initiative includes the Darden Venture Fellows Program, which offers internship experiences at top venture capital firms, and the Darden Breakthrough Scholars Program, a scholarship initiative designed to foster diverse leadership in asset management. These programs, taken hand-in-hand with the Women@Darden initiative, provide promising starting points for these notoriously unclear career paths.

Never Tell Me the Odds

For women who have set their cap on venture capital, the scant numbers of women in the field can be discouraging, and next steps might seem murky.

If the questions that came up at the venture capital panel at the Women in Leadership Summit are representative, there is a strong desire tinged with apprehension among women thinking about breaking into the space. Loutskina says that putting doubt aside is the first step on the road to becoming a venture capitalist.

Darden Venture Capital Initiative Leadership Team

The Venture Capital Initiative at Darden provides students with a suite of world-class curricular, experiential and professional offerings to support their educational interests and long-term career pursuits in venture capital.

• Les Alexander III

John Glynn Endowed Professor and Professor of Practice in Business Administration

• Caitlin Boyer

Associate Director of Private Capital Strategic Initiatives

• Elena Loutskina

Peter M. Grant II Bicentennial Foundation Chair in Business Administration and Professor of Business Administration

• Paul Reeder

Senior Director, Careers in Finance, Darden Career Center

• Rodney Sullivan

Executive Director, Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management

• Robert Creeden

Managing Director, UVA LVG Seed Fund

Those looking into it “need to figure out if it’s worth fighting for and look at it rationally rather than through rose-colored glasses,” she said. “In the classroom, I’ve seen an amazing number of highly qualified women who are smart, thoughtful and lead with warmth. I know they can move mountains, if they put their minds to it.”

Loutskina sees women at Darden doing just that. “Over the last five years, our female students went to work for the growth equity industry or private equity industry in the same numbers as their male counterparts.”

Next, she advises anyone looking at a career in VC to think of a Venn diagram with three circles: one is the technical skill set you need, one is career experience and the third is what the employer is looking for. For venture capital, the technical skill set is relatively fixed, but the variables of your personal experiences and what each VC firm is looking for both vary widely. That’s why it’s so hard to delineate specific steps to become a venture capitalist.

“Every single fund needs a unique puzzle piece,” Loutskina said. With that variability in mind, she recommends focusing on the subject matter you’re interested in, pursuing excellence and experience in a field and staying on the lookout for your moment in VC.

“Figure out what puzzle piece you are.”

Things are moving at such a fast clip, the data might show something quite different even in the space of a couple years, Loutskina predicted.

“Over the last two years, I’ve heard about so many different funds that are run by women, that invest in women founders and that invest in minority founders. It’s happening in the VC space because investors realize that, by ignoring women and minority managers and founders, they are ignoring a tremendous number of business opportunities serving the constituencies that these founders understand the best.”

By Molly Mitchell

What’s Trending?

NEW PROFESSORS SPOTLIGHT WHAT'S NEXT FOR TRENDING TOPICS

One of the perks of boasting the best B-school faculty in the world is access to those on the forefront of emerging business frontiers or industries undergoing massive change. The influx of new faculty members at Darden in recent years, including 12 new professors who joined for the 2022–23 academic year, helps the Darden community stay on the leading edge of all things new and next, from machine learning to allyship in the workplace.

Some of Darden’s newest professors offer their insights on the biggest and most exciting developments in their respective fields, and what discerning observers should keep an eye on in the near future.

Les Alexander , John Glynn

DRY POWDER ON DECK IN VENTURE CAPITAL

Les Alexander focuses on the Finance and Strategy, Ethics & Entrepreneurship areas at Darden. He is an experienced professor, venture capital and private equity investor, corporate executive, and investment banker. The venture capital industry grows and evolves much like the entrepreneurial companies it supports. Limited partners continue to inject billions of dollars into funds seeking above-market returns, and the industry delivered a more than 50 percent rate of return in 2021. With strong returns comes more capital. VCs are now sitting on $290 billion in dry powder to invest in disruptive and growing businesses. Although the record highs from prior periods were not likely repeated in 2022, the overall VC industry generally remains active in terms of fundraising and deployment. Challenges exist in the venture capital space, too. Declining public market valuations, particularly in the technology industry, have reduced valuations for VC portfolio companies. Dealmakers are more disciplined in the current recessionary environment and are more reluctant to assign sky-high valuations.

Endowed Professor in Venture Capital

While the traditional regions of San Francisco, Boston and New York remain active hubs for venture capital, other cities such as Seattle, Austin, Denver, Miami and Washington, D.C., are seeing meaningful investment into early and later-stage private companies in their respective communities. Increases in deal activity in these markets improves access to capital for many businesses across the country.

HOW SHIFTING WORKPLACE NORMS IMPACT WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP

Allison Elias teaches courses about communication and negotiation in Darden’s MBA and Executive MBA programs. Her research investigates historical and contemporary issues of gender and diversity in organizations.

Women in leadership potentially stand to benefit from some of the lasting effects of COVID-19 on the workplace. There is greater attention to recruiting, developing and retaining talented employees, which means that the pendulum has shifted toward the worker, so to speak, as firms fiercely compete for talent. Concerns that used to be labeled “women’s issues” — flexible working arrangements and integrating family life with professional life — now imbue C-suite discussions about the employee experience.

Darden students and alumni of all genders can avail themselves of this moment to find the job, company and industry that best align with their own values and strengths so that they can thrive personally and professionally. While overwork norms and tournament-like atmospheres still define the highest-paid industries (industries that have historically been dominated by men), Darden students have an unprecedented opportunity to ask themselves, “What does a good life mean to me?” Perhaps the pursuit of a traditional promotional track in an established industry is what is right; others may forge their own path instead or even use experience in an established industry to pivot in the future. The possibilities are both a blessing and a curse as many try to clarify their priorities and make choices that align with their values.

THE POLITICIZATION OF ‘RESPONSIBLE’ INVESTING

Lauren Kaufmann teaches First Year Ethics in Darden’s MBA program. She uses normative and empirical methods in her research on business ethics, social impact and impact investing. Responsible investing is big business. In both public and private markets, considering environmental and social outcomes and risks has become one of the latest hot-button issues in the financial sector. The traditional narrative of business as amoral and politically neutral is being tested, and appropriately so. Nothing about how we conduct business, invest our money or transact in markets can be explained without values. It’s ethics all the way down.

Practitioners in the rapidly growing environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investing movements, which now capture over one-third of global assets under management, are seeing their attempts at making the world more sustainable debated as partisan politics and as competition for rival investment vehicles that claim to “counter the liberal agenda.”

As a business ethicist, I am fascinated to see how values drive the public debate about the role of business in society. In my research on gender in labor markets and on impact investing, I show how values fundamentally influence business activity. I expect the public and political conversation around ESG and impact investing to continue, and I will be watching closely to see how values play a role in what we consider what is — and is not — sustainable in the world of business.

Lauren Kaufmann , Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Allison Elias , Assistant Professor of Business Administration

EFFECTIVE ALLYSHIP

Melanie Prengler’s research focuses on employees at the leading edge of two trends in organizations: how employees can reduce systemic discrimination in their organizations via allyship and antiracism and how employees in remote work arrangements create a sense of workplace out of nonwork space.

What does it take to be a good ally in the workplace? Until recently, scholars and managers assumed that one simply had to try. Consequently, most allyship research has been centered around motivating managers to engage in allyship and identifying the repertoire of allyship behaviors available to them.

I believe the most exciting trend in allyship research is the shift toward unpacking complex answers to more targeted questions. When are certain allyship behaviors helpful versus harmful? What are the consequences of failed allyship on marginalized employees? How can would-be allies recover well from a failure?

In essence, we are beginning to understand that to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, it is not enough to try. We must understand how to engage in allyship effectively.

FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF MACHINE LEARNING

Visiting Professor Eric Siegel is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who focuses on machine learning. He is the founder of the Predictive Analytics World and Deep Learning World conference series, executive editor of The Machine Learning Times and author of the bestselling book Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die.

When it comes to machine learning projects, there’s a great opportunity to improve. Currently, the overall track record of this highly visible technology is compromised: the realized value doesn’t match the excitement ... yet. And that misalignment spells opportunity.

Machine learning’s popularity exploded because of its great potential business value and sheer scientific clout — learning from data to predict impresses the best of us. The praise is not all empty hype, but surveys show a stark reality: most machine learning projects fail to deploy. The number-crunching part is solid, but using it to improve operations turns out to be a greater change-management challenge than most foresee.

Those who proactively address this dilemma by adopting a collaborative, end-toend management practice will be ahead of the curve. They will empower their organizations to overcome impediments so that the fruits of their data scientists’ labor come to fruition. As Darden’s inaugural Bodily Bicentennial Professor in Analytics, I am spending this one-year appointment developing guidance and curricula to help future graduates run machine learning projects that successfully deploy.

Eric Siegel Bodily Bicentennial Professor in Analytics

Melanie Prengler , Assistant Professor of Business Administration

We are beginning to understand that to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, it is not enough to try. We must understand how to engage in allyship effectively.”

“

— Professor Melanie Prengler

The Psychology Technology of

FACULTY PROFILE PROFESSOR ROSHNI RAVEENDHRAN

by Tom van der Voort

One might assume Darden’s resident faculty expert on artificial intelligence is fascinated by technology. It turns out that what Professor Roshni Raveendhran really wants to understand is people.

As a psychology major at the University of Texas at Arlington, Raveendhran found herself exploring “how people interact with their environment — and what the implications are for their relationships with other people,” she says.

A natural next step was to explore one specific environment: the workplace, where so many spend most of their waking hours and develop many critical relationships. As Raveendhran pursued her Ph.D. in business administration at the University of Southern California, revolutionary advances in technology and artificial intelligence put devices at the center of human culture. But she didn’t ask the usual question: how do people use their smart phone or smart watch? Instead, she looked at the relationship.

“We take our technologies seriously because we want to learn about ourselves and understand how we behave. But what if a human being told you that you’d been sitting for four hours and needed to move around? The experience would be different. People experience feedback from technology as informational rather than evaluative, and I wanted to understand the specific psychological dimensions to the human-technology relationship. What made the technology appealing to you and what kinds of interactions do you have with it?”

Raveendhran brings more than a human-centric view of technology to Darden. She describes herself as sitting at the “confluence of two countries and two cultures.”

Born in India, where most of her family still lives, she cherishes her Tamil roots and speaks the language, one of the world’s oldest and an important unifying force for the Tamil people, at home. “I see language as a channel for holding on to culture,” she says. And she’s a massive cricket fan.

But her U.S. roots are equally deep. “I went to school here, I grew up here and my whole adult life has been spent here. I am deeply intertwined in this culture.” For Raveendhran, her husband and her two-year-old son, home is where all these strands are woven together. “We try to have a little bit of both.”

The human dimension also played a critical role in bringing her to Charlottesville.

“When I was on the job market after getting my Ph.D., my first ever job talk was actually at Darden. And I was blown away by the community, the culture and just how welcoming everybody was. So when I started considering offers, I couldn’t stop thinking about how incredible this place was. It became the obvious choice. I never thought I’d end up on the East Coast, in someplace that wasn’t warm year-round, but the student-centric nature of Darden was something I couldn’t say ‘no’ to.”

people,” a topic that could scarcely be more relevant since the massive upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, which dramatically expanded technology’s role in nearly every aspect of work.

“It’s important for us as a society to think about how to leverage all these technological tools to empower our people to provide their best work and bring their full self to work — whatever that looks like.”

Working from home, instead of the office, for instance, has brought Zoom and other technological tools to the forefront of organizational culture. But oftentimes there are not established norms for their use, and technologies can have costs that organizations do not recognize. To understand these, “you have to look at the psychology of the people using the tool,” Raveendhran says.

DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE DISCOVERED THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY WORKED A LOT MORE HOURS, AND COMPANIES WERE VERY PRODUCTIVE. PEOPLE REALIZED THAT THEY WANTED TO WORK ON THEIR TERMS, AND THAT THEY COULD BE VERY PRODUCTIVE ON THEIR TERMS. EXPLORING THAT IN A MEANINGFUL WAY INSTEAD OF PUSHING THE ISSUE ASIDE IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL FOR ORGANIZATIONS.”

With instant message options, such as chats in Microsoft Teams or Slack, Raveendhran and Kim found several benefits: speed and an informality that was efficient and built trust, for instance. But there was a cost, too: Psychologically, most people feel obliged to respond in real time, a far different burden than people experience with email. “That puts a lot of pressure on people; they feel like they’re on all the time.”

“We found that when organizations say, ‘If you get a chat after hours, you are not obliged to respond,’ it helps set a new norm” that reduces the cost of using the tool.

Looked at through this lens, debates about whether it’s “better” to work from the office or home are misleading; a bit like asking whether a saw or a hammer is a “better” tool. Naturally, the answer would depend on what you are trying to accomplish, and the costs and benefits of each choice. Nonetheless, Raveendhran sees discussions about whether to go back to old ways of working as little more than tilting at windmills. “It’s not really up for debate. The world has changed, whether we admit it or not.”

Collaboration with fellow members of the faculty, particularly Professor Tami Kim, led Raveendhran to advance her research into another area: “I still focus on humans and technology, particularly artificial intelligence, but I’m also looking at AI as an intermediary in relationships between

“During the pandemic, we discovered that people actually worked a lot more hours, and companies were very productive. People realized that they wanted to work on their terms, and that they could be very productive on their terms. Exploring that in a meaningful way instead of pushing the issue aside is going to be critical for organizations.” Those that think carefully and purposefully about technologies are poised to raise the benefits and lower the costs of using them. Norms are powerful tools, says Raveendhran, but only if they account for how human beings really think and act.

– PROFESSOR ROSHNI RAVEENDHRAN

Class Notes

Abbott Society (1957–72)

1958

Ed Dinwiddie

dinwiddiee@embarqmail.com

The Class of ’58 is excited to celebrate their 65th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April 2023. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Check out the list of reunion hotel blocks and book early as hotels tend to fill up fast! Reunion registration will launch in February so be sure to look out for updates. We look forward to seeing you all this Spring at Darden!

1959

Conley Ricker

conleyricker@yahoo.com

As mentioned in previous Class Notes, I am writing a memoir which includes “Chapter 8: My MBA Experience.” The memoir has been printed and is entitled A Memoir: Grandeur Unexpected, and is dedicated to my three grandchildren, two of whom are twins, a boy and a girl, age 4, and their older sister, age 8.

The memoir features, in large part, our iconic professor John D. Forbes, and three of our distinguished alumni: Bill Marburg, a future inductee into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame; George Kaufman, who made a multimillion-dollar donation to the Cleveland Clinic; and Wally Stettinius, who was an awardee of Darden’s prestigious Charles C. Abbott Award.

In preparing the chapter, I had the good fortune of editing assistance from three of our fellow graduates: Jim Daniel, Bob Blanchard and Wally Stettinius. In ad-

dition, Mrs. M. E. Forbes and Mrs. Linda Kaufman reviewed and contributed to the chapter. For example, Mrs. Forbes permitted the publication of a personal ad that Professor Forbes ran in the National Review, seeking a correspondent, whom he found and later married.

The entire MBA chapter of my memoir is available online (https://image.mc.virginia. edu/lib/fe311570756405747c1777/m/2/ ba64f1ae-5174-450e-8782-a59d7b96e954. pdf) or by emailing me at conleyricker@ yahoo.com.

Attention: Our 65th reunion in April 2024 is less than two years away!

1963

Bob Gaines Rgaines379@gmail.com

I received a wonderful phone call from Walt King while I was traveling, without having the benefit of pencil and paper. Here is, as I recall, an update on Walt and Diane.

Last spring they traveled to South Carolina for a family reunion. They also traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, and by ship to Hawaii. Walt has a pacemaker from issues last year, so he spends a lot of time reading while Diane works on puzzles. They do get to the gym, participate in the SilverSneakers program and walk a mile every day — which is more strenuous where they live in Centennial, Colorado, at 6,000 feet above sea level. I gather their walking is prompted by Gracey, their 15-pound dog, who Walt says is almost human but with big ears and a fur coat.

Good news from Chris Collins and Luanne, who live on Anna Maria Island on the west coast of Florida. Although they were evacuated, the storm Ian came ashore just far enough south of them to spare them any

Call for Abbott Award Nominations

The Charles C. Abbott Award is named in honor of the first dean of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The award is presented annually to a graduate of the Darden School or The Executive Program whose contributions of time, energy and talent are outstanding.

The Alumni Association recognizes the recipient as an individual who:

• Demonstrates a strong level of interest in and concern for Darden’s mission

• Commits a generous amount of time, energy and funds to Darden

• Brings initiative and persistence to projects and responsibilities

• Is regarded by other stakeholders as an outstanding contributor

Please nominate a fellow alumna or alumnus at alumni.darden.edu/ abbottnomination. You will be asked to provide the nominee’s name and an explanation of why you identify this person as a strong candidate for the award. The Abbott Award will be presented to the recipient during Darden Reunion Weekend. Please direct questions to the Office of Engagement at +1-434-243-8977 or alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

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1920 THOMSON ROAD

• $1,799,000

Situated in the middle of a private half acre park only steps from The Dell, Scott Stadium & Memorial Gym. Built in 1939 w/ generous proportions & versatile floorplan. Serpentine walls frame the front yard creating an oasis for terraced lawn w/ stone retaining walls, and exceptional screened 3 season pavilion & soapstone patios. 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, formal living & dining rms, study, den, & garret billiard room w/ pine ceiling. The terrace level apartment is separately metered. Abundance of storage & whole house generator. Private driveway & off-street parking. Punkie Feil (434) 962-5222 or Elizabeth Feil Matthews (434) 284-2105. MLS# 636159

2787 TYE RIVER ROAD • $1,700,000

Stunning and magnificent property, untouched with gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountain views, approximately 2,670 feet of pristine Tye River frontage, approximately three quarters of the property is lush woodlands, miles of trails and beautiful rolling pastural views. There is a new hay barn and storage shed, offering ample space. Property has been owned by the same family for three generations dating back to 1911. It has been well maintained and meticulously cared for. Ideal home site in one of the pastures is sure to wow! This unique property will make an incredible home, getaway, or investment. Meredith Wynne (434) 444-2048. MLS# 636054

3250 TRELLIS LANE • $2,475,000

EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTY IN PREMIER UVA LOCATION

EXQUISITE RENOVATION ON 5 ACRES JUST WEST OF TOWN

345 ACRES w/ STUNNING MOUNTAIN VIEWS & TYE RIVER FRONTAGE

STRONG VIEWS AND PRIVACY IN THE HEART OF IVY

real damage. They did bundle up their cats and drive to Tampa, where they spent some time with their son before returning home to find only some leaves and branches blown around. The real devastation was about 100 miles south near Fort Myers, where the bridge to Sanibel was wiped out and a friend of your secretary lost her home and all her belongings on Captiva Island.

We gathered secondhand that Huck Heinz and Marsha hope to join us for our 60th reunion on 28–30 April 2023. Apparently in April 2021 Huck experienced a detached retina in his left eye. He wrote, “… which began a long series of shots in the eye and eventually a cryo procedure (which was supposed to cause the left eye to go blind.) The idea behind this procedure was to empower my right eye to take dominance. Fortunately, or not, the operation was unsuccessful and the left eye has blurred vision — a big surprise to the surgeon. As such, the left eye is trying to assert or regain its traditional dominant role, which it cannot do. All of this is unexpected and rare.”

Wow, doesn’t that put some of our ailments into perspective? Huck also said he has discontinued farming but is still logging the dead ash trees, killed by emerald ash borers, which he uses to heat their home. When they built the house, they spared no effort in insulating exterior and interior walls and ceilings, so now they can keep the house at 72–75 degrees Fahrenheit with a modest wood stove. We need to remember they live in upstate New York where the winter temperatures often run below freezing.

Your secretary, Bob Gaines, went to England in October, as part of an eight-man backgammon team from the University Club of New York, to play the Royal Automobile Club of London in their annual challenge for the coveted Marmite Trophy. Since I believe backgammon is a silly dice game, albeit taken very seriously, it is only appropriate to have a trophy of equal stature. Marmite was developed during the Second World War when there was no butter, sugar or jam to spread on your morning toast. The stuff looks much like axle grease and tastes about the same. It is either hated or loved and is still found on food market shelves in England.

Finally, John Wright and Trula have graciously offered to host the Friday night dinner at our reunion and are including returnees from all classes who have graduated more than 50 years ago. So, we may see a few friends from classes on either side of ours. Watch the mail for more details and places to stay, but plan now to be in Charlottesville for the 60th reunion of the great Class of ’63, 28–30 April 2023.

1964

alumni@darden.virginia.edu

Darden received news in the fall that Class Secretary Dick Tatlow passed away peacefully in Scottsdale, Arizona, following what his obituary called “a wonderful 83year adventure.” Darden thanks Dick for his many years of service to the School as a dedicated volunteer and class secretary. We will seek to collect memories of Dick and share them in the next edition of Class Notes. His obituary is available online at https://www. azcentral.com/obituaries/par064387.

1965

Frank

Ellett

ftellett@exceltg.com

For our class, which is getting “longer and longer in the tooth” and staying hunkered down to avoid COVID-19, hurricanes and snowstorms, there is little exciting news to report.

Gordon Sidford has “had all our shots and boosters and have dodged COVID-19 and Hurricane Ian.”

Had Talbot reports the same thing and invites any classmate heading south for the winter to “stop by Charleston, South Carolina, for lunch”.

Lucien Bass has also avoided COVID-19 by having “every shot possible.” He and Mary ventured as far as Sandbridge, Virginia (Virginia Beach), for their 46th year-in-arow beach vacation.

Bruce Macalister headed north to his old hometown of Raymond, Maine, and reports: “After a very hot summer, we arrived in August to really pleasant weather. The lake was still warm enough from the summer heat so it was great for swimming. Unfortunately, my sister and my cousins — all old people like us — were in poor health and could not join us. It was a little more isolated togetherness than we like. But the neighbors are friendly, the lake beautiful, just enough wind for sailing, not too much wind for kayaking and comfortable temperatures for hiking.”

Walter Witschey writes: “We are emerging from our COVID-19 cocoon just a little. Getting a fifth COVID-19 shot with Omicron 4 and 5 variants in it was simple. Our program to visit the grandchildren at their colleges before their graduation is working well so far. We have been to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Georgia Tech, VMI, Auburn and Suwanee, Georgia, with visits this school year planned for Ohio State and north Georgia. We have four more entering college ‘soon’ and two more grands who have yet to enter first grade. The book I am trying to publish with Cliff Brown, the 160-page, large format, full color volume Atlas of the Ancient Maya World, is close, we think, to

entering peer review in the hands of a publisher in the Netherlands. If the manuscript passes muster, a contract will be in the offing. More anon. We enjoy good health and have no complaints that aren’t accounted for by old age or stupidity.”

Lastly, Ensign Cowell reports on his close brush with Ian: “Our winter condo in Fort Myers, Florida, on the 16th floor escaped damage while the property below was smashed with yachts washed up on it. We are right near downtown where they got about 4–6 feet of flood water. We plan to head south in early November if utilities are restored and all else is okay. Anything near the water and the barrier islands got creamed, so we feel lucky. Insurance is going way up or won’t be available in the future, perhaps. We may have to pay off our mortgage.”

1968

Greg Kilduff hgkilduff@gmail.com

Well, friends, it appears things have been exceedingly slow for our class these last few months. As you will observe, the response to my most recent appeal for content has been limited, leading me to all manner of hypotheses, none of which are likely. Consequently, there may be more accounts of Rebecca’s (MBA ’93) children (our remaining younger grandchildren) who live nearby and provide plenty of things to do when I get bored. Please, no letters to the editor. Warnings as to the need to fill space were previously issued, and these grandchildren are talented at filling space, time and my attention span quite readily.

On the very sad side, if you did not receive a copy of the Darden notice, Billy Cannon died recently at his home in Cape Coral, Florida. While I have not seen or spoken to Billy very often since we left Darden, he is certainly a person I have never forgotten, and I’m sorry to know that we can no longer just pick up the phone and call him (which I did once or twice over the years when I needed information about someone or something happening in his neighborhood of northern Virginia). I always got a good answer, and we will certainly miss him.

Going back a few months to the material for the spring version of this column, I found a note from Durant Vick, which arrived a few days after the copy went in to Darden. Among other things he noted that the recent average signing bonus for last year’s class exceeded the average starting salary for the Class of ’68. I’m certain he’s correct. Perhaps that’s just an inflationary adjustment; obviously, it could have nothing to do with talent, quality or any other such matters. On a far more serious note, Durant mentioned that

his former wife, Cornelia, “passed away last October in Raleigh, North Carolina, after a short cancer illness.”

Googan Bunn has a very special report: “Our daughter (EMBA ’17) just delivered our third grandson John ‘Jack’ Conway, who is vectored for the Darden Class of 2048 … . With his Irish red hair, he may follow you with a stop in South Bend, Indiana, beforehand.” (Editorial note: I certainly hope he does!)

Finally, I had a kind note from Barry Harper promising “… a short note next time, if I promise to put the polishing touches on it.” Barry, I promise. But I doubt any polishing will be necessary; everything this group sends in is always in good form.

Please note at this point I’m inserting a bit of personal, although Darden-related, news. Our daughter, Rebecca (MBA ’93), lives near us in Smithfield, Virginia. Some of you may recall her as a very young child, born literally at 7:30 a.m. the morning we began classes in 1966 and always around Darden events when we could bring her and avoid a babysitter fee. Over time, she has followed a Darden marketing pattern: from product management in several places to now owning a children’s boutique in Norfolk, Virginia. More recently she has joined the adjunct faculty at Old Dominion University (part of the UVA state system) in Norfolk, Virginia, teaching a couple of broad marketing courses. She even brought in one of her twins, age 9, to deliver the customer point of view on the subject of cheapening the cost of a toy they might offer the market. Apparently, the class discovered that a 9-year-old’s viewpoint on toys that look good but break easily is surprisingly disdainful. An early experience with case method, which I understand was not coached, just his natural reaction to a very sensitive subject in his world.

So much for this time. Please keep in touch and give us a call if you find yourselves near Smithfield, Virginia.

1969

Howard Heller

Hnheller43@gmail.com

I heard from Dave Morine, who passed on a gem. Dave finished another book, this one entitled Rise of the Dolphins. It centered around friend and fraternity brother, Dolphin Doug Swift.

Many of you will recall the years that the Dolphins ruled the NFL in the early ’70s. Doug was a key member as a linebacker and certainly the best and one of the brightest parts of Dolphin history. He was there (in the “no-name defense”) for three Super Bowl wins.

Dave played football at Amherst with Swift and was able to put this book together as though he were looking through Swift’s eyes.

Although only part way through the book, I see a winner! It’s in Dave’s easy reading style, as if he’s telling the fascinating story right in your living room.

Thanks for sharing this, Dave. Next, we need to see Swift write a biography about Dave.

You can find the book by going to sabrinapress.com. Enjoy!

1970

Jack Young jacksonmyoung3@gmail.com

Leaves are falling, the wood stove is warming, Thanksgiving is coming … fall is in the air. Time to relax by the stove and think of warmer days last May when the class celebrated its 50th reunion … two years late!

Following our 50th reunion, Jack Cann contacted a friend recently appointed to the Virginia Board of Visitors to seek his awareness of our class’s concern for the recent changes to the Honor Code.

In an effort to better understand factors affecting the change to the UVA Honor Code, Greg Robertson and Terry Daniels contacted the two Darden representatives to the Honor Code Committee, the chair of the Committee, the head of the Alumni Association and the chair of the Board of Managers of the Alumni Foundation. An update was sent to the class.

Turning to a warmer climate, John Hausmann has had his share of medical issues with three operations, including two recent knee replacements. He has ushered for the Durham Bulls AAA baseball team for several years but is moving to football as an usher for the Duke games at Cameron Stadium, a facility that has sold out for the past 23 years. It was even sold out for the Virginia game this year!

John left his part-time job handling security for weekly convocation events for 15,000 students at Liberty University. The reason? Virginia is an “open-carry” state and covering security “ain’t what it used to be!”

While recovering from a fall, Max McFarlin is hosting friends from South Dakota in Charleston, South Carolina. Contrary to a false Northeastern belief, there really is a South Dakota! Max has visited 48 states with only Oregon and North Dakota left on his bucket list.

Beaufort, South Carolina, is still a good place to live according to Carl Howk. Like many of the class, he is not pleased with the direction UVA and Darden have chosen to

go with respect to the Honor Code. “Honor was an important part of my Navy OCS training.”

From videos he has seen, John Barbieri believes his house on Sanibel Island (off the coast of Florida) “seems to have survived Hurricane Ian with limited damage.” What he can’t tell is what has happened at “ground” level. The house is a “stilt house,” so all services and his car were under the house.

“I don’t know when anyone will be able to inspect the place, as the causeway to the island has been washed away in several places.” In any case, he will not be going to survey the damage unless absolutely necessary until sometime next year. And then there are the snakes and alligators!

John will start a six-month chemo program in the U.K. in October, so he wants to be close to the hospital and the National Health Service. I’m sure he would appreciate an email as he begins his chemo journey. (john.barbieri44@gmail.com)

I called Bill Schiffers to find out if he had spent any time in Camp Lejeune, thereby eligible for compensation because of water contamination on the marine base. (He had not.) I spent two nights playing basketball there against the post team in the early ’60s. We made the mistake of beating them at home; they beat us up mentally and physically when they came to Baltimore, Maryland, to play us later in the season!

Bill still suffers from his days in Vietnam and the effects of Agent Orange. He is compensated for his prostate cancer, had pancreatic cancer and is now equipped with a pacemaker. More recently, he has experienced severe back pain and was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

After living in Tacoma, Washington, Bill has lived in Henderson, Nevada, for the past 22 years. He joined Price Waterhouse after Darden, followed by many key managerial positions in the United States and Canada. From running a logging equipment company in British Columbia to owning his own furniture building company in Tacoma, Bill has certainly served honorably, fulfilling his commitment to Semper Fi.

“Playing farmer” on the eastern shore of Virginia has entertained Roger Davis and Gigi throughout the pandemic. Little known fact: Cape Charles, Virginia, has one of the largest concentrations of turn-of-the-century buildings on the East Coast. “Come on down to see us!”

Attending bluegrass festivals, riding his bike (he was in a Philadelphia bicycle shop when I called), cutting down cherry trees (à la G. Washington), splitting wood from those trees and building a fireplace have occupied his time.

Lou Siegel is the executive director for Valley Supportive Housing (VSH) in Staunton, Virginia. Supportive housing helps individuals who face complex challenges to obtain stable housing. These are people who struggle with homelessness, very low incomes and serious, persistent health issues. Before joining VSH, Lou was a leader in regional charities, including drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

Given the diverse socio- and economic backgrounds of students arriving at UVA today, he suggested that “educating students about honor and the benefits of a student-run honor system should be essential to a positive outcome … a perfect case study!”

The Young family is well and preparing to burn many cords of wood this winter. It looks like we’ll be in the U.K. for Christmas with our older daughter Margaret’s family and her Hoo sister’s family.

If you’re interested in helping with our Honor Code efforts within the UVA community, please let me know. Don’t forget: less than three years until our next reunion!

1972

Clint Bolte; Ned Haley cbolte3@comcast.net

nedhaley@gmail.com

50th Reunion Giving Summary: I am sharing the fiscal year 2022 50th reunion final giving numbers for the Class of ’72. In total, our class achieved $481,295 in gifts and commitments with 38 percent participation. Beyond these top-line totals, and more importantly, our class successfully upgraded the Class of 1972 Scholarship to a full award ($1.5 million) by raising more than $191,000 towards that fund!

Greg Coward shared in learning of classmate Kelly Beeman’s passing: “Sad news for sure.

“I liked him for all the characteristics one might assume a person would be advised to have to be successful in New Zealand. … New Zealanders don’t much like foreigners except as tourists. Try to become a citizen — Kelly did. They had to like him.

“After graduation I visited him in Idaho. Met his mother, as I recall, and we went to her cabin in the woods. I didn’t get the impression then that he had any particular focus on settling in Idaho. He spoke highly of the state for good and valid reasons.”

Because of Kelly Beeman, Greg bought “a first quality Pentax camera, not the version normally found in stores. When people would see it and mistake me for someone who knows anything about photography, I would say, ‘No, not something I know much about, but I do know a guy who does and

would make a good friend if you ever meet him. Plus, he owns a Saab and says that having the ignition on the floor between the front seats is rarely a problem.’ For me, that was the one silly thing he said, for while it may be true that spilling coffee into the ignition is a rare event (or was, before Starbucks), it is also true that that one rare event will cause you all kinds of trouble and require you to find the bus schedule … . RIP, Kelly.”

Marvin Quin recalls Kelly Beeman quite fondly: “It is hard to think of Kelly as being deceased. With his amazing energy and optimism, he was the personification of life.

“While I suspect most of us have a multitude of Kelly stories, I will relay my last meeting with Kelly, which occurred the week before graduation. It so reflects his entrepreneurial orientation.

“As Kelly and I passed in a hallway, he stopped me and asked how many ‘Don’t Californicate Idaho’ bumper stickers I wanted. He seemed to have a large inventory but perhaps few orders. I explained that, as a Mississippian, I really was not so concerned about the migration of Californians to Idaho.

“I then asked him about his post-graduation plans. He said he was going to Idaho to sell bumper stickers. He thought there might be more demand there. He said he enjoyed the entrepreneurial lifestyle too much to work for a corporation. As he spotted another potential customer, off he went. I remember thinking how interesting his life would likely be, hoping I might run into him at a future reunion.”

Clint Bolte and wife Mary continue to be involved with the Refugee Resettlement Program in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A third Syrian family arrived in early August and is getting settled in their permanent home. This family is sponsored by the local Presbyterian church, which has an active welcoming committee of some 15 parishioners.

1973

Howard Wilkinson hpandcw@yahoo.com

There is a little news to report this issue. First of all, I heard from David Reynolds for the first time in many years (if ever). He reports that, since leaving Darden, family matters have kept him close to home in Stephenson, Virginia, where he is still working and spends most of his time teaching automation technology to his adopted son, age 24. He plans to wind down his business around 2030.

Bill Hanzlik emailed me an update on his

status and he tells it better than I can: “I’m not believing that we finished up at UVA 50 years ago. It seems like yesterday. I’ve been trying to simplify my life over the past few years but have been only marginally successful. After living and working in Houston and Austin, Texas, forever, I’m now a legal resident of Florida, spending winters in Sarasota and spending summers and shoulder months in Boulder and Keystone, Colorado, near my younger daughter and her family. I’ve traded an airplane for a Mercedes Sprinter van converted for camping, and am enjoying wandering with my white Swiss shepherd dog. Although when traveling, most nights are spent in a hotel.

“I’m still serving on the board of a Dutch charitable foundation and on several church-related boards. Most recently I have joined the board and invested in a new deal in the recycled foam industry. Check out www.blumaka.com and @Blumaka on Instagram. It’s a fascinating new enterprise that is working to clean up a massive problem of foam waste in the footwear industry. Blumaka has a factory in China and is building one in El Salvador to clean up foam waste and provide products to leading global footwear manufacturers. My kids and grandchildren are thrilled that I’m finally doing something positive for the planet.

“It is always fun to read about classmates and their life stories. Wishing you all well.”

Finally, you all received a class roster a little while ago with addresses and contact info as best we know. That was the brainchild of Vince Derr, George Groves and L.F. Payne, who thought that providing us with the means to contact each other would help us to generate some enthusiasm for our upcoming 50th Reunion. So, please use the roster to get in touch with friends (some maybe long lost), study group members, etc., and let’s have a big turn out! See you in C’ville next April.

1974

Mike Mayer mike.mayer@cox.net

One of the great things about our class, at least from the point of view of the class secretary, is that you never stand still. This is particularly noteworthy as classmates complete careers and move on to new challenges or simply find new places to visit and enjoy. Several examples of this stand out in your updates for this issue of Darden Notes.

Stan Maupin wrote that, “I have always owned cameras with plenty of capabilities, but I had always used the ‘auto’ setting, promising myself that I would eventually learn how to use the other settings ‘soon.’

When I started spending more time at home because of COVID-19, I decided to finally keep that promise and I have become an avid, if not obsessed, photography enthusiast. I like to tackle things that most people never see, and I have developed two unusual specialties. First, I take a unique view of a hummingbird that uses the sun and the bird’s wings to create a prism-like effect. For some reason, very few people have done this, so I have had two articles written about it recently in online photo magazines. The second subject I have tackled is kind of the opposite of the tiny hummingbird — the Milky Way. One shot finished third in the annual Washington Post Travel photo contest this year.”

You’ll recall that, a few issues ago, Jerry Phelan told us about his entry into competitive swimming. Jerry says he was watching the U.S. Open Tennis tournament on television recently and noted that the commentators were talking about the world rankings for tennis players. He knew the International Swimming Federation (FINA) compiled world rankings for master swimmers and was curious to see the times that good swimmers in his age group (70-74) were posting. To his complete shock, for 2021 he was ranked fourth in the world in the 1,500 m freestyle and ninth in the world in the 400 m freestyle. Jerry and his wife, Anne, are planning to be at our 50th reunion next year and have extended an open invitation to classmates to visit if you are ever in Portland, Maine.

For those looking for new sights, Don Wheeler recommends the Rocky Mountaineer. Don and Julie took this deluxe train from Vancouver to Banff, Canada, and included side trips to Lake Louise and Jasper, Canada. After breakfast, hey hiked on an active glacier, dodged wildlife like black bears, grizzlies, mountain goats and elk, and

generally had a great time. Don is absolutely right. This is one of the great sightseeing trips of all time. Deni and I took the train, same route, with friends a few years ago and everything about the trip was first rate. For those who might be interested, Rocky Mountaineer now offers a U.S. trip from Denver, Colorado, through Colorado and Utah, which I’m sure they do equally as well as the Canadian Rockies.

Rob Hamilton and his wife flew to Switzerland last summer and visited with their son and daughter-in-law, who have moved to Switzerland after four years in the Congo. Their daughter-in-law is working for the World Health Organization in the area of vaccines. Their son is the CMO of a startup firm in micro-finance/impact investing. The Hamiltons spent about eight days in Lucerne and Geneva, Switzerland, then took the TGV train to Marseille, France, and rented a car to drive to a villa in Provence, France. Rob says it was extremely hot (high 90s in Fahrenheit), but they managed it with a pool and chilled rosé.

Also traveling in the Mediterranean last summer were Shannon Burns and her husband, Charlie. Shannon wrote: “I am sitting on a balcony in Dubrovnik, Croatia, looking at an almost impossibly blue sea. Croatia is as beautiful as advertised! Charlie and I are on the last leg of our 40th anniversary trip — delayed two years by COVID-19. We were joined here for a few days by our youngest son and earlier in northern Italy by our second son. They both live in New York City and it was wonderful to have the time with them. Our daughter and our oldest son, who has three children, the youngest just 10 months old, couldn’t make the trip.

“Charlie and I moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Florida about ten years ago. We live at Sailfish Point, a wonderful golf and beach community of about 500 ‘doors’ (houses and condos) on Hutchinson Island, the barrier island off of Stuart. It is a great compromise between his interest in golf and my desire to be on the ocean. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for that lifestyle.”

Shannon’s home on Hutchinson Island, Florida, was spared the worst of Hurricane Ian in late September and early October. The storm also passed well east of our home on Amelia Island, Florida. Sadly, we have classmates who live in southwest Florida who were not so fortunate. Here is Frank Genovese’s report on the impact of the storm in his area: “Susan and I live, during the winter, on the 10th floor of a high-rise condominium building in Bonita Bay, Bonita Springs, Florida. We are halfway between Fort Myers and Naples, Florida. Our 26-sto-

ry condo building had five feet of water in its underground garage and storage rooms. Anything down there is a total loss. Our staff was able to remove 50 of the 62 cars in the garage before the flood water rose too high. We have some roof damage and our cooling towers are making noises we do not like. None of the 77 units had any water in them. Our building manager and one staff member stayed in the building throughout the hurricane’s 120–140 miles per hour winds. We were at our beach house in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the time and watched the hurricane coming our way. Getting hit by the same hurricane on two different locations was a possibility but, luckily, this did not happen. But we did have 70–80 miles per hour winds on Figure Eight Island and we lost 12 feet of our dune protection. Not a good situation.

“Our Florida condo had power restored after six days and the cleanup of the underground garage and storage areas involves toxic waste, mold and other debris. Not a nice situation for our building staff. But no loss of life.”

On a happier note, Frank also reported that the Genovese Fellowship Endowment awarded four full-tuition fellowships to rising Second Year Darden students this past April. These awards mark the 84th full-tuition fellowship awarded over the past 29 years. The winners of these awards must show a strong desire to be a general manager/business owner. So far, Frank says, 90 per-

Don Wheeler (MBA ’74) enjoyed breakfast in Banff, Alberta.

Stan Maupin (MBA ’74) took this photo of the Milky Way, which finished third in The Washington Post Travel Photo Contest.

cent of the awardees who are out of school are already GMs of some sort.

Bob Pride wrote to remind us that you’re never too old to get appendicitis. Bob says everything was going fine until a surprise bout resulted in an appendectomy on 24 June. He says, “I was discharged the next day and back at work the day after that! Pat has been healthy and our grandson/adopted son, Che, is now age 13.

“I’ve gradually been equipping a woodworking shop. Most projects to date have been for shop storage and work surfaces, but I have some other things in mind for the house, for friends and for sale. We are trying to get back into vacationing after the hiatus caused by COVID-19. We did not make it this summer, but hope to make a trip during the year-end holidays. It’s hard to decide where to go that is actually worth the travel hassles. To all, be safe and I hope to see you in 2024!”

Jim Noeldner responded to my alert that our 50th reunion will only be a bit more than a year away by the time this is published. He thoughtfully suggested that classmates might exchange what he termed “deeper retrospective thoughts.” He even offered to start the ball rolling with some thoughts of his own about Darden’s impact on his life. Here’s Jim’s contribution: “Darden’s commitment to a general management holistic approach to problem solving meant a lot to me, positively impacting not just two distinct careers (business and education), but how I’ve lived my life in general. A number of years after graduation, I came upon one way to describe my Darden experience (since popularized by John C. Maxwell in his leadership training). At Darden, we studied and applied through many business case experiences the concept that ‘Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.’ That is the first bit of wisdom I’ve had each of my children and grandchildren memorize. Then I get to tell them about where I learned how to think — and live — that way.”

In closing, the Class of ’74 had a shock with the untimely passing of Ed Williams. Brad Armstrong and Russ Rogge, both in Ed’s study group, shared their thoughts with us.

From Brad: “Ed was in our study group, and probably the smartest one, particularly for finance and accounting. He was from Covington, Virginia, where his dad was the head of the Westvaco plant there, and a larger-than-life institution in town. ‘Fast’ Ed had a great, infectious sense of humor and always seemed to have a lit cigarette during waking hours and a stiff drink during evening hours. He was loyal and devoted and generous with his friends, and when he laughed it seemed

that everyone around him laughed, too.

“I remember when he invited me to come to Covington for a big cocktail party at his dad’s house, where the glitterati of Covington gathered. A great deal of fine whiskey was poured that evening, and we felt very grown-up talking politics and business with the older folks. He was better at it than me, though.

“Fast knew how to push the envelope a bit, which he did with joy and abandon. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not (like the oil business he went into), but there was always that laugh … .”

And from Russ: “As many others, so sorry to hear of the passing of Ed Williams. Ed and I both came to Darden straight out of the Navy, so we had much in common other than being in the same study group. As Brad said, he was the go-to guy in anything involving numbers and, of course, manufacturing. Socially, we shared many good times with Ed and his wife, Doris.

“So many vivid memories and stories … many of which will remain untold. He was always there for you, whether it be academically or out of the classroom. His laugh, smile and personality remain engraved in my mind all these years later.

“My heartfelt condolences to his family. He was a good man and friend. Rest in peace, Ed.”

1975

Mark Howell, mwhowell@msn.com, mark.howell@pp-s.com

Classmates, thanks for updating me/ us with your news. Send me any notes or thoughts anytime that suits your schedule as I always enjoy hearing from you.

Bruce Bowers is always good to respond to my plea for class notes. Bruce and Suzanne have been dealing with some health issues this summer (sounds familiar), but all are doing very well now. Bruce comments that the technology available in medicine these days is utterly amazing. Perhaps that technology may be applied to improve our golf games. Fun things to report to the Class are on the horizon … . Looking forward to it, Bruce!

Jim Farkas continues to work implementing Microsoft ERP for a company located nearby in southern California. That implementation took most of Jim’s summer, including weekends. However, Jim, Cheryl and their grandson, age 8, were able to make a couple of trips to San Diego, California, despite work. One trip was to Sea World, and the second trip was to attend the Air Show. Jim really enjoyed watching the Blue Angels do their famous stunts. “Always amazing,” he

says. The Farkases have another great adventure planned for 2024 when they will again host their grandson on a trip to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Until then, Jim plans to continue his software implementation and integration activities. It’s his way of staying grounded … unlike his favored Blue Angels.

After nine years of “renting” housing around the world, Rick Garnett and Karen finally moved into their “new to them” home in western Albemarle County, Virginia. Located near Beaver Creek Reservoir and on eight acres of pastures with lovely views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the setting inspired Rick to acquire new toys. Included in the toy box were a kayak, a paddle board, a pickup truck and a tractor. What a great blend of tools for fun and chores! The deer and the bears are certainly enjoying the sights as Rick pursues his new projects about the property … Beware the man!

Speaking of moving, Ed Hawfield and Nancy recently completed their move to Trinity Landing in Wilmington, North Carolina. The “active seniors” have nestled into a community located on the intra-coastal waterway only five miles from their previous home in Wilmington. Yet, the move did not go without an adventure, of course. On 1 September, the Hawfields’ furniture moved to Trinity Landing, but the Hawfields and Wally the Cat went to the local Homewood Suites. This detour was due to their new home not yet acquiring its occupancy certificate — no A/C, no washer/dryer — just a few missing necessities. The good news is that all problems were resolved, and the Hawfields and Wally settled into their new “digs” on 9 September. Ed and Nance are looking forward to the “joyful” hours of unpacking and seeing if everything fits into the new place. Did someone say “yard sale”?

David Schein spent three weeks in Alaska at the end of this summer. He posted many photos on his LinkedIn feed, if you have access to that. One highlight for Dave was landing in a small plane at the base camp on Mt. McKinley, which is 7,000 feet above sea level. Another highlight was encountering five bears eating salmon in a stream as Dave, et al., looked on from about 50 feet away. Dave will be traveling to Bakerfield, California, over Columbus Day to talk about his current book, Bad Deal for America. Dave continues to teach at the Cameron School of Business at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.

Following a pandemic time out, Dick Sienkiewicz reports that he tried to resume his cruises. They intended to take the new Viking Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Duluth, Minnesota. Viking built a new vessel for this voyage.

However, two weeks prior to departure, Viking cancelled the trip. So, Dick has scheduled an alternate adventure around Christmas 2022. As it turns out, Dick may need the time to nurse a bad knee back to health. The rehabilitation time should prepare him for the high seas/rivers once again … God speed, Captain Sienkiewicz!

Fred Siller was also heading out of the country for a river cruise. Fred was scurrying about to prepare for the trip, so he was not exceedingly long on the details. He promised more stories for the next edition of Class Notes. It all sounds very “007-ish” to me, but I am optimistic the Class of ’75 will gain clearance for some information.

Stacy Brown Vermylen continues with her jewelry design business. This entails not only the creative process, but also website management and fulfillment. I am not sure if Stacy is using drones to deliver her designs, but I bet it’s coming. When away from her jewelry, Stacy is involved with the League of Women Voters to promote voter registration, informing voters and encouraging actual voting. Stacy’s volunteer work also includes two organizations that provide grants and scholarships. Stacy’s 10 grandchildren are also an important pastime for her. When they visit her in Naples, Florida, she says it is riotous, but lovely. The lovely part is that she knows the grandkids will return to their home in Chicago, Illinois! Once departed, it is time for Stacy to get her golf game back in shape.

My best wishes to the Darden Class of ’75 for your continued safety and good health! I am looking forward to seeing all of you at Reunion 2025! It is not too soon to mark your calendars.

1976

Dana Quillen painterdana21@gmail.com

Hello All, Thanks for sending in updates.

Jim Spearman writes from Georgia: “At the end of April, Di and I went to Key West, Florida, for a week with her siblings and their spouses. We went to an Adam Lambert concert while there. The end of July found us on the Outer Banks, North Carolina, for Di’s extended family reunion. There were 29 of us in a mansion on the beach. Sleep nearly nonexistent as the nine children under the age of 10 were up at the crack of dawn, and the younger nieces and nephews partied most of the night. Georgia has been open for more than a year and we have been attending concerts and plays and visiting many of the north Georgia wineries and microbreweries.”

Sandy Harris sent an update from Norfolk, Virginia. “Every Thursday night, Glenn Ferraro and I play tennis with a group of

fellows called the Agincourt. No serious reason for the name; it just sounded good and appealed to the military historians among us.”

Tom Parker writes: “No big changes for Betsy and me. I’m still doing my executive coaching and sales training. But that leaves plenty of time for travel and visiting our seven grandchildren. We are both in good health and enjoying this point in our lives. I hope that you and the rest of our class are doing great!”

And all the way from Paris, Henri de Montebello writes: “My recent story is sweet and sour. My eldest son and his children have moved to Maui where they have a fantastic life. They work in the morning and are on the water in the afternoon. Tough life! It’s a bit far for us but we’ll certainly go next year. My other children and grandchildren are in great shape in Paris and Bordeaux, France. My wife has participated in the creation of an association who built a center to receive women living on the streets where they can shower, eat, clean their clothes and rest. It’s a great thing and takes up a lot of her time.

“As for me, it is less positive but I’m still able to keep my morale up. I’ve had four operations in the last two years and now I am having another two. The first is quite difficult and rare. My foot vault has collapsed, the arthritis eaten away the bones, etc. The best outcome is less pain. Painless is not an option, sadly. Then I’ll have a new knee put into the same leg. The good stuff is spending time in Corsica, France, spending time with my grandkids and having a great family. We all managed to get together this summer in Corsica and we had a great trip to Venice, Italy. I also continue to work the equivalent of two days a week speaking to clients of Russell Reynolds. So, life ain’t so bad. All my best to you and all our class.”

Glenn Ferraro writes: “Life is good for me. I am widowed and living in Norfolk, Virginia. I keep busy with grandkids, travel, exercise of one sort or another and socializing … nothing that interesting, to be honest, but health is good and I am happy. My real purpose in writing is that on 15 May 2022, Mike Modeen became the oldest West Point grad (maybe for Darden also) to get married for the first time. Mike met the beautiful Elaine Reiferson Morris a few years ago, when he relocated to the Villages near Orlando, Florida. From childhood through middle age, Mike was widely acknowledged to be a procrastinator, but his deliberate decision-making style prompted him to ‘hit a home run’ when they finally exchanged vows. They are a wonderful, happy couple.”

Congratulations, Mike!

An update from me, Dana Quillen: my husband, Paul, bought a new truck and we took it on a road trip for three weeks out west this past December. We toured the national parks of Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest. In April, we cruised around the Netherlands on a Viking Cruise and just returned from another Viking Cruise that began in Paris, France, and ended in Geneva, Switzerland. As you can tell, we were making up for cancelled cruises during COVID-19.

I am still oil painting, pickling jalapeño peppers and, this year, making fig preserves from our fig tree’s output. Being Grandma Dana to 10 grandchildren has been great fun.

Thanks again everyone for sending in updates. Hope you all stay well and happy.

1977

Paul Nelson lpaulnelson@mindspring.com

Late fall greetings to the Great Class of ’77!

It is that time of the year when the air turns brisk, the leaves start to turn, football season is in full swing and it is easy to imagine as you read these notes: First Coffee just ended, a Darden first-year student is sitting in the last row of the classroom in Section C, trying to blend in to the wall while quietly finishing his coffee — then it happens! He gets cold-called on the Marketing case he was sure he could skip preparing for the night before! Some of us have been there before, and we are pretty sure it will not go well. But many of your classmates were prepared this fall and have answered our coldcall for an update … and it has gone well. They have some interesting and fun news to share.

First up, we hear from Charlie Scarlett who writes to say: “It’s been a fun year. Lori and I are both business brokers now, but for different companies. Lori’s been doing it for three years and is having a phenomenal year. She just passed her Missouri real estate license, which isn’t yet a requirement, but it’s headed that way. I started in January after selling my homecare business, and I am also off to a great start. I have 15 listings, have sold two businesses, have five more under contract and two more close to contract. It is great to help people achieve their business entry/exit dreams. It’s a lot more fun (and lucrative) than three cases a day, but darned if those cases aren’t still helping me every day.

“Kids are doing well too. Lori’s kids are raising our five grandkids. They live about an

hour away. We don’t see them enough but love every minute when we do. My boys are working on school. Will is working on his anthropology Ph.D. dissertation and teaching at the New School in Manhattan, New York. Jes is just starting his MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. They are working hard and loving life. I am also working with my nieces, nephews, and son Jes in our family foundation: the Brandywine Foundation (thebrandywinefoundation.org). We are working with the National Park Service to turn our historic property in Annapolis, Maryland, into a national park. That is an interesting exercise. Cheers to all!”

(Wow Charlie! What you have and are accomplishing is impressive. And your work on your family’s historic Whitehall architectural restoration project is inspirational. To all my fellow classmates — check out the Brandywine Foundation website and watch the video. I think you too will find this project and Charlie’s efforts are truly amazing. And you may want to participate as well. Thanks so much, Charlie, for sharing this wonderful story.)

We have many classmates living full- or part-time in Florida, and we hope all were spared the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. One of those classmates is Dennis Malloy who reported: “I finally retired on 1 September, and Kathy and I decided to head down to our place in Venice, Florida, for a few months. Hurricane Ian was our welcoming committee! It was one helluva storm. We were very fortunate and came out with very limited damage. I have to say it brought out the best in people, everyone helping each other! I hope our classmates down here were all safe. With that behind us — I hope golf, boating, playing with granddaughters and fishing are in our future. Cold beer and bad golf are always available — everyone is welcome! Best to all.”

(Dennis — so you are saying a major hurricane is not quite the retirement party you expected! Seriously, we are so glad to hear that you and Kathy came through Ian safely and with little damage. And you have clearly retained your characteristic sense of humor. So we may have to take you up on the “cold beer and bad golf” invitation, as we are eminently qualified to handle both!)

Speaking of dealing with disasters … many of us are still continuing to deal with COVID-19 and its unintended consequences. Carolyn and Don Heim write to say: “We are calling 2022 the Year of Travel. All of our trips that were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 got moved to this year, along with a couple of others that we scheduled. Our suitcases got a lot of use, and I think I figured out that we were on about 15 airplane flights. We were totally blessed

to see so many places and that our health held out during all the trips. Fortunately, we weren’t barred from traveling due to COVID-19. Among our travels, we visited Ecuador, Galapagos, Peru (including Machu Picchu), Austria, Germany (where we saw the Oberammergau Passion Play), Israel, Iceland, Greece, Malta and Spain. We also snuck in our usual trips with the grandchildren to Capon Springs, West Virginia, and to Ocean City, Maryland.

“I must admit that it is good to be back in our house, and we don’t have any major travel planned for the next several months. It was also the year of the house renovation. We have been in our house for 35 years and, as you can imagine, things needed to be updated. We had all three bathrooms redone and are just finishing up having hardwood floors put in our master bedroom, sitting room, hallway and stairs. We are hopeful that by November we will have our house together in one piece — until the next project! Don is teaching his last semester at Catholic University and then will be retiring from teaching. I plan our travel, coordinate all the house projects and book cruise travel on the side. We would love to see any of you that come to the Baltimore/Annapolis, Maryland, area.”

(Wow Carolyn! Your 2022 travel schedule was amazing! And your passports must have had more pages inserted to handle all the country stamps. We would love to visit and see the pics — but that may take a month to see them all. So glad to hear that Don is retiring. Life is good!)

And our final update is from Bob Dykes who says: “Not sure if I mentioned it before, but my wife Virginia and I moved our residence from Florida back to Worthington, Ohio, during the COVID-19 onset in 2020. Our Ohio residence is seasonal. We depart to the Riviera Maya in Mexico on Halloween and will return in early April. Sorry to have missed the 45th reunion this year. Hope all my classmates are well. Best to all!”

(Thanks for the update, Bob. I have to say that your departing on Halloween for the Riviera Maya is quite a Trick-or-Treat. And mostly Treat! Congratulations! Gracias y vaya con Dios, mi amigo!)

Life is good for Lee and me. Our annual trip to Maine this summer was a bit different as we spent most of our time working on a major renovation to our family cottage on Lake Damariscotta, which is in the midcoast area. That was followed by our annual trip to Camp Greenbrier (a real camp: tents, chow hall, etc. — nothing at all like The Greenbrier!). But that trip resulted in us getting COVID-19. Fortunately, it was a mild case for both of us … more like a cold

or flu for a few days. In October, Lee hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain with a few of her hiking friends, and I just finished two incredible golf trips with our classmate, Ted Gary. We spent a week at Bandon Dunes on the beautiful Oregon coast with friends and we just got back from our bi-annual golf trip to Figure Eight Island, North Carolina, hosted by our friend and generous fellow Darden ’74 alumnus, Frank Genovese (MBA ’74). All in all, we feel blessed and very grateful.

Well, that’s about it for these notes. It would be good to hear from many more of you next time. So, if the spirit (or spirits) moves you, please feel free to send me your updates anytime. If either Richmond or Charlottesville is your destination or is simply on your way to somewhere else … let me know and I will get Ted and we can meet for coffee, drinks or dinner. My treat! And for those of you who like to plan ahead: mark your calendars for our 50th reunion in April 2027! It will be a blast!

1978

Margot Bearden

jmbearden@gmail.com

Margot Bearden: “All I can say is it’s been a heck of a ride this year. I’m not much on New Year’s resolutions, but I recall saying to some friends in January that 2022 was going to be a year of change for me. Naively, I had no idea how true that was going to turn out to be. I’ve shared some of the more personal challenges I’ve faced with the class via email, so I won’t clutter up the Darden Report further. But I’m happy to report my cancer looks to be under control and both girls are continuing to do well, personally and professionally. I’m really looking forward to our 45th reunion in May and hope to see a sizable turnout … and I’m already planning my outfits for the weekend. Our class has been wonderful in recent years with corresponding and contributing to Class Notes, and the reunion is a natural next step in catching up with old friends. So please consider putting it on your calendar. Charlottesville in the spring is the best, whether you’re here for the reunion or the wineries. I’ve not thought of myself as a reunion kind of person and didn’t go to reunions of any kind for many years. But I’ve now been, I believe, to the last three if not four that we’ve had at Darden and wouldn’t miss it for the world. Hope to see you there!”

Dave Braden: “Still in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area, the Bradens are enjoying our 10th year of retirement. Working was great; retirement is better! We keep busy with our local daughter’s family, volunteer-

ing, puttering at our Wisconsin cabin, travel and many dear friends. Not an uncommon refrain, but one we quite enjoy. My blues band is still going strong after 13 years. We recently played for a meeting of global bankers at Cargill, my career employer. Blues, bankers — that sounds about right … A slight change from those Darden days when Steve Gillispie and I sat around with our guitars ripping through our folk and old-timey repertoire! My best to the Class of ’78!”

Betsy Bruce: “I had quite a spring thanks primarily to Cynthia and Byron Grant Kicked it off with an always wonderful stay at their very special house in Ojai, California. I then separated from them temporarily and went to Portugal with other friends. We toured most of Portugal for two weeks and loved every bit of it — I highly recommend it.

“In May/June I headed to Venice, Italy, with Missie Ludlow for a week, which I loved. We met a young couple, he a Dartmouth student, on their honeymoon. Then I returned to the welcoming arms of the Grants, this time in Tuscany, Italy. They rented a beautiful villa and invited 12 friends for a week-long celebration of their 43rd anniversary. I reconnected with Anne and Kevin Ramundo there, which was fun.

“Only a few weeks after I got back, I got a call from, yes, Cynthia. Byron had had rotator cuff surgery and couldn’t go on their heli-hiking trip in the Canadian Bugaboos. Did I want to go in his place? Huh? Hell yes! Spectacular.

“So, you can understand my severe withdrawals from the Grants. Missie and Cynthia each visited Portland, Maine, this summer. I am loving living in Maine. Come visit!”

Anne Bryant: “Judy Glazier, Brewer Doran and I had our annual visit this summer, congregating at Brewer’s for much rest and relaxation.

“I am leaving on 18 October for nine days in Israel. Excited for my first trip out of the country (Canada and Mexico don’t really count) and to walk where Jesus likely walked. Praying to experience the full joy of this trip. Details for next time.”

Mark Johnson: “In October, Ginny and I took a trip to Florence and Rome, Italy, to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We saw innumerable art works of incalculable value, loved the history, food and wine. A wine and olive oil tour and a cooking class were highlights.

“I continue to work (no interest in retirement) selling Predictive Index, the leading platform for helping companies manage human capital. If you know businesses who are

struggling with people issues, I can help.

“In March 2022, we were blessed with our first grandchild. He seems to have picked up my affinity for The Wall Street Journal.”

Cynthia Grant: “You mention that our news doesn’t have to be all about fun and travel. Nonetheless, mine is!

“As with many people, our post-worst-ofCOVID-19 pent-up demand to get out and about has been a powerful impetus to travel, so in June we got together in Tuscany, Italy, for a week with 12 close friends, including our classmates Betsy Bruce, Kevin Ramundo and his wife Anne D’Ignazio. Byron was unable to come on my next adventure due to shoulder surgery, so Betsy joined me for some hiking in Canada. The highpoint of the trip was three days of heli-hiking, which involves riding a helicopter from the lodge to a mountaintop and then hiking across ridges above the tree line. Great views of (receding) glaciers and multiple mountain ranges. Fast forward to October when Byron and I traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the wedding of Kevin and Anne’s son, Ben, and got to catch up with another classmate, Sean Healy

“Overall, we are thankful to be in good health and active. We’re ‘saving’ cruise travel for the time when we are no longer as nimble. I’m sending a photo in another e-mail.

“On a more serious side, I have served on the national board of a wonderful nonprofit called Friends of the Children for the past six years. Friends pairs paid professional mentors to shepherd and support children who have experienced the worst kinds of trauma at a very early age. Children are selected at kindergarten and mentoring continues through age 18. Friends was recently rewarded a $44 million grant from MacKenzie Scott.”

Bob Guttman shared some of his work with horses: “Maxima, a speedy, high goal polo pony, was trained within the Stage Hill polo club and school with barns owned by the Peter Poor family in Florida and Newbury, Massachusetts. I also call her Malomar. She likes that sweet alter ego to her official, seemingly fire-breathing, name. I am writing from rehab, as a knee was replaced recently. I have been associated with Stage Hill as a licensed riding instructor for most of the last 40 years. Until the last few weeks, I had never really played full field and only had my debut at Myopia Polo Club’s Gibney Field in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, at my age of 71. I grabbed this opportunity to play the end of season, when we tend to be short on players. The horse herself needed to be reworked and had already been in the process of being reworked in the polo school on less than full field (full field is an area said to be

the equivalent of nine football fields).

“Two Sundays before this writing, Maxima and I had just finished our typical lazy moseying behind a speedy pack, looking for plays to support and errors to unwind, which we could then exploit by acceleration and maneuver. Effectively, this kind of cool slow down and accelerate play means the horse now also has the mischievous inclination to relax and play and toy with her friends as opposed to racing with them.

“I want everyone to know that I did not achieve this by financial success practicing law. Exactly the opposite. I found practicing law was nearly terminally toxic decades ago and made the decision then not to double down on investing even more boy scout values in days obviously gone-by. As I see it, what makes our country the envy of the world now, more than ever, is the better side of righteousness within all of us everywhere which is virtually impossible to extinguish. And the kind behavior of all that definitively is justice that all seek here on our watch.

“So, I was offered the opportunity to teach riding and polo some 40 years ago at Stage Hill because, as a lawyer I would know something about avoiding risks, which of course are always inherent. But for that opportunity to work with horses, the door was now open to engage in other modest local oversight work which I did over the years.

“I want to point out the Darden School would teach anyone that the opportunity to show a young child, or anyone, really, how to feed a horse a carrot is really an opportunity to show love and peace. But a lawyer!? Meanwhile, a number of deserving students who would not otherwise have had the chance will get to become friends with this great and kind, powerful, skillful beast, all thanks to one and all our circle of friends.”

Lilla Johnson: “News to report? That always throws me for a loop. Who the heck in our class would be interested in the stuff that fills my life? Children, grandchildren’s arrival, part-time work, it’s all pretty ‘vanilla,’ and thankfully, happy.

“The most exciting thing on our horizon is a European trip in the fall of 2023 because one of our young friends is getting married in Tuscany, Italy. (The bride-to-be is an event planner, so the wedding is at a vineyard in September … how could we miss that?). My husband will be fully retired by then so we are planning to make the most of the event, attaching a sojourn in northwestern Spain. If anyone has tips on travel to that part of Spain, we would love to hear them.

“Reunion? That’s an interesting thought. I haven’t been back to Darden since we graduated. There was never much of a compelling reason. I didn’t have close female friends in

our class. There weren’t many of us, and even fewer straight out of undergrad. Right or wrong, I assumed that a get-together would be not much more than comparing who had made the greatest financial score. Not being motivated by obtaining wealth, I wouldn’t have much to add to the conversation. Now that our class is pretty much retired in some form or another, and more interested in quality of life than objects of life, it sounds more interesting. We have old Minnesota friends who have retired in Charlottesville, and perhaps we can see them and drop into the reunion at the same time. I’m assuming you will be there?”

Kevin Ramundo: “This year has been one of the busiest and certainly the happiest since Anne and I got married and started to have children. Our oldest daughter, Anna, got married on our small farm in Upperville, Virginia, in May, and our son, Ben, tied the knot in Washington, D.C., in October. We couldn’t be happier with our new family members, and both celebrations were amazing, including the opportunity to spend time with a few friends from Darden.

“Speaking of friends from Darden, we had a marvelous vacation in Tuscany with the Grants and Betsy Bruce. Seven wonderful days with about 12 folks in a lovely villa doing the usual things folks do in Italy — drinking wine, eating wonderful food and sightseeing. I’m happy to report that Anne and I made the cut for future group vacations. Actually, as I was reminded, Anne made the cut, and I was included as a courtesy to her. By the way, next year will be our 35th wedding anniversary.

“All is wonderful in the Virginia Hunt Country. We ride horses regularly (mostly fox hunting, or more accurately fox chasing), and enjoy the many activities in the area, including winery visits, watching equestrian events and jumping over to Washington, D.C. We get to see our three ‘kids’ regularly, including our youngest, Kate, who is halfway through her periodontal residency program after graduating from dental school in 2021.

“Apart from all the fun and family, I am involved in conservation and preservation efforts to protect Virginia’s history and countryside. I am the president of one nonprofit and on the board of another, and I write opinion pieces in some of our local publications.

“It was great to see Sean, Sandy and Cynthia and reminisce about all the wonderful times we had at Darden. Best to everyone!”

Ray Ruelens: “On this side things are not always as wonderful as one would like it to be. But we are coping.

“Three sons wedded to women that not only get on well with their husbands and

with their eight kids (in total,) ranging from 19 to 6 years, but equally important they are like sisters to one another. In about three years we hope to move to France. The house is being renovated. A ‘total reno’ they call it.

“Health of all family is reasonably well. One kid has been attacked by cancer and has fully recovered. But the uncertainty remains. Please do remember that mind is stronger than matter.”

Jim Reynolds: “Judy and I have been spending a few months at Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and I have been reading the biographies of Ben Franklin and Francis Marion: The Swamp Fox. I am amazed and inspired by the vision, bravery and total commitment our founders had in securing our freedom and creating this nation that we have the privilege of living in today. Best wishes to all our classmates!”

Bucky Rulon-Miller forwarded the following data that seems relevant to today’s fascination with inflation:

1974 — Killington, Vermont, mid-week, student discount, full-day lift ticket — $0.50 2022 — Deer Valley, Utah, full-day lift ticket — $249.00

Carol Schroeder: “I’m enjoying retirement, focusing much time and energy on my family, at the moment. My four far-flung children and 11 young grandchildren appreciate visits (and extra hands) at this stage of life. My mother turns 100 next year and lives near me in southeast Florida. I spend summers north of Chicago, relishing friends, music and all that beautiful Lake Michigan has to offer.”

Bruce Schall: “In late September, Nancy and I flew to New England and spent a week in ‘down-East’ Maine. Based out of Boothbay Harbor, we visited the seacoast towns from Camden to Bath. Good weather with great seafood!

“Looking forward to seeing you and our classmates next spring. Take good care of yourself.”

Rob Austin took time to send some personal reflections and we hope to see and hear more of him soon. He and Elizabeth started their family while we were at Darden and have lived in Richmond, Virginia, for some time. Tragically, Elizabeth lost her five-year battle with ovarian cancer recently. Our hearts go out to Rob and his family in this very difficult time.

Tory Blackford: “I had a wonderful river cruise to Portugal last July, leaving from Porto and sailing east on the Duaro Rriver. I travelled AmaWaterways — great cruise line — and had a wonderful time.

“I am loving living in a smaller place here in Charlottesville. Less inside and outside to take care of. Look forward to seeing you all

next year.”

Lynn MacMillan: “I broke out of COVID-19 isolation in early February, traveling to Medellín, Colombia, to be with my daughter following the birth of my first grandson, Asher Bryan. I had been learning Spanish in anticipation of my trip, only to find that I sucked … standing there tonguetied as I watched in amazement at the speed with which they can speak, and as likely to blurt out French as Spanish … much more work is required. But I digress. I spent two weeks with Emily and her new family in February, and two in July. It’s hard to have them so far away, but that’s what comes with encouraging your child to reach for her dreams!

“2022 travel included my family home at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, Darrell’s house on the Outer Banks, North Carolina, weekend trips in eastern Virginia (Williamsburg and Virginia Beach), and an August cruise through Maritime Canada, the coast of Maine and along Arcadia National Park. The latter was terrific!

“I continue the activities shared in earlier editions — singing in the chorale, international Latin dancing, and focusing on the things that keep me healthy. Speaking of which, life came full circle this summer when my Darden study group partner, Steve Gillispie, became my accountability partner in resistance training. We have embarked upon a series of Monkii workouts (not to be confused with monkeying around). Steve has already lost 20 pounds … me, not so much! Steve and his wife Beth have teamed up on the dance floor at my studio, as well … but I’ll let him share his experiences there.

“Life is speeding up or I’ve lost all sense of time: I’m not sure which. But I can always make time for old friends (in both senses of the word). Let me know if you get close to Richmond, Virginia.”

Karen Juul-Nielsen and husband, Rick (’75), finally bought a house — with a view — in western Albemarle County, Virginia. “Having a great time fixing it up and making it ours! Kids and grands are wonderful! Beaver Creek is gorgeous, and leaves are turning lovely colors.”

Karen is poll watching and training to be an election official. “…just trying to ensure elections are fair for all! We are so blessed to live in the United States — with all our challenges, it’s nothing compared to many in the places in the world. God bless America! Best to you and yours.”

Kathy Keyes Hart: “My life has been kind of boring during the pandemic. We just hunkered down after our vaccinations and tried to stay safe. We did a lot of car trips around California: to view the scenery along the

coast in Big Sur, or head to the beach down in the San Diego area, or go to the national parks, like Sequoia, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, etc. In fact, one of my daughters and I are going to Redwoods National Park next week. And, my husband, Matt, and I just came back from a week in Hawaii to celebrate our 40th anniversary. OK, that was all a lot of fun!”

Andrew Long: “I’ve never posted to a Darden request, but your year inspired me.

“I’ve been married to the same woman for 40 years. Not many classmates have met her, but I’m sure that they would all agree that I’m punching way, way above my weight with her.

“Professionally, I spent most of my life in the entrepreneurial space — first as an investor, then as a founder/C-level officer of a series of what I refer to as unintentionally not-for-profit companies. I was lucky enough on the last one to make a little money, so that helps.

“I took a flier and answered a want ad (remember those?) and started teaching. First at NYU and later at Stevens Institute, an engineering school in New Jersey. Teaching entrepreneurship — sort of a ‘do as I say, not as I did’ sort of thing. I did that for almost 25 years and decided in 2020 that I hated teaching on Zoom. It turns out that I’m a performer at heart and Zoom is no fun. So, I retired.

“We moved into a loft in a part of Brooklyn called Dumbo in 1990 when it was actually dangerous. By 2020, it had totally lost its edge, overrun with young families and tourists. We decided to pull the plug. We couldn’t find what we wanted (for a price we were willing to pay) in New York so we moved to Boston, Massachusetts. We now live in the Leather District in downtown Boston — not named for a club scene but for the factories that used to be here — and so far so good.

“The only other thing of any note is that I’ve become a serious cyclist. I was into squash for 30 years, but the second time you tear an Achilles tendon, you come to believe that the universe has other plans for you. So, I ride 180–200 miles a week (in the summer anyway) and do biking events. I’ve done a charity ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska, three Étapes du Tour (runs along the route of a mountain stage of the Tour de France), a ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats (most southeast point of England to most northeast point of Scotland), the Alps to Ocean trail in New Zealand and numerous bike tours. For example, we’ll be doing a ride along the canals from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C., next spring. My problem is that my ride bucket list keeps getting longer and my time

is getting shorter — I turn 70 next year and don’t have that many more years where I’m going to be able to climb Mont Ventoux.”

Madeleine Ludlow: “As an update, I have been traveling post-COVID-19. Egypt; Zion and Bryce, Utah;, Venice and Verona, Italy; and just recently Portugal. And a visit to see Betsy Bruce in Portland, Maine. Might slow down the travel until the markets recover a bit. I still serve on a public company board and a mutual fund board, so it’s not quite work, but keeps the brain working.

“Ben is still in Las Vegas, playing poker for a living. Not necessarily what Mom wished for, but he is happy and paying his bills. Otherwise, I’m spending my time doing lots of walking and starting to entertain again. Can’t complain.”

Bahns Stanley: “It’s been a relatively quiet year for me and my family. Grandsons just turned 6, 3 and 1. Daughter (architect, ’07) and her husband (doctor) are doing well and live near us in Atlanta, Georgia. Son is doing well, living as independently as possible, and is close by in Kennesaw, Georgia. Judi has finished her first novel and is searching for an agent and publisher. If anyone has connections in that world, please reach out. I finished my last for-profit board role, with a successful sale of the company. I’ve been writing a book, working title No Fear of Failure, not sure if that will generate any interest. We had some nice travel (Mexico, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Italy and domestic), working off that same pentup demand as others. Best of all, everyone is healthy.”

Mark Templeton: “The Templeton family has been growing! Our daughter, Pinckney, married in mid-August 2020 after reconnecting with a friend she graduated RIT with. So, we have a new son-in-law — Pari — who is Greek, but grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. He’s brought lots of joy to our daughter and entire family. Our son, Warren, and his wife, Kate, (who met at Darden) delivered our first grandbaby — William ‘Liam’ Pinckney Templeton — on 6 September 2021. In keeping with the grandbaby theme, Pinck just delivered their first — a granddaughter named Minoa Pierce Dukovic on 5 October 2022. So, while supply chains around the world are tangled, our children seem to have no issues in that department! Yvonne and I are loving the promotion to ‘grand parents’ and far exceeding expectations!

“Yvonne and I are still enjoying life in Gulf Stream, Florida, (since 1995) and spending time seeing our children and grandchildren in San Francisco, California, and Montclair, New Jersey. Yvonne and I

have two toy Pomeranians — Speedy and Heidi — who go everywhere with us. In December 2021, I gave the commencement speech at my ‘other alma mater,’ North Carolina State University. What a surreal and privileged experience! It’s such a joy to pass along just a little bit of wisdom, encouragement and optimism to graduates facing the most complex world ever known.

“I continue to serve on public and private boards, keeping me in touch within the tech industry, helping to mentor startup software CEOs and learning from the wisdom of other directors. My car obsession has subsided, but I did acquiesce and acquire a Lucid Air Dream Edition, which is the most advanced EV in the world right now (1,111 horse power and 0–60 in 2.9 seconds!). I ordered early and got serial number 3. So, I’m definitely the first kid on MY block to have one!

“The 40th was so great, we’re definitely looking forward to the next reunion! Wishing everyone peace, love and health. With warmest and kindest regards, Mark and Yvonne.”

Kris Wright: “For Peter and me, it has been a year of watching our new house slowly, slowly being built. We move in next week, but that is because we are willing to go in before the counter tops are on and a few other details. We have a place to stay if we decide we need to wait a bit longer, but at least the furniture and ‘stuff’ is going in. Now, the siding is up and finish-work is virtually complete in both the house and garage. We ran into labor shortages, stuff shortages and, as our builder was fond of saying, ‘in stock’ became one of our favorite phrases. The house really is lovely and while it has been very hard to wait, we think it has been worth it.

“We have made some trips to California to see our son and his growing family. He and his wife have two children and they have custody of his wife’s youngest half-sister. They are busy, busy, busy with gymnastics, soccer, water polo, archery, volleyball, hiking and, oh — did I forget to mention? — school.

“We are thrilled to be living within walking distance of our daughter. She has a group of friends who have sort of adopted us as extra parents. We feel very lucky to be involved with the Rockland, Maine, community on many levels. It is beautiful here almost all the time, the big exception being when the Nor’easters are blowing, but the weather is much nicer than Minnesota. We enjoy sailing on the schooners, hiking, rowing in the harbor, the art scene and the new friends we have made.”

Linda Fisher took a moment from a very busy work schedule to send in a brief update.

She has been president of Communications Corporation of America (CCA) in northern Virginia for some time. Many of you may know CCA experienced a catastrophic fire several years ago, and Linda has been very heavily involved in a complex corporate and facilities rebuilding effort since … and did I mention that much of it occurred during the pandemic? In very late-breaking news, CCA recently announced their acquisition by Moore, a large provider of marketing and fundraising services. I’m guessing Linda is looking forward to a bit slower pace (at some point in time!).

Mike Ganey: “In July, Judith and I toured parts Norway and Iceland, and were not disappointed. The vistas, people, stable governments, strong economies and cool temps were a welcome departure from the mosh-pit we call the United States... If anyone needs tips pronouncing the Icelandic city ‘Seydisfjordur,’ give me a call. While the locals seemed to appreciate my linguistic efforts, I suspect they were laughing like hell behind my back. Our next adventure is a cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Barcelona, Spain, in March 2023, just before our 45th reunion. Perhaps rather than wearing name tags for the get-together, we could have a Name-That-Classmate pageant. Any takers? Hope to see everyone this spring.”

David Charlton: “Our year started with a trip to Costa Rica to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We loved the country and the people. We will return again and bring our kids next time. We returned in time to take our granddaughter on a trip to Florida on the AMTRAK Car Train. We visited the hurricane area pre-Ian and we’re glad to have done so. The train trip has lost some of its charm, but saved us a long drive.

“In May, we set out for Tromsø, Norway. Our son lives there, 325 miles above the Arctic Circle. He works for Microsoft as a developer. He is also deeply in love with the outdoors. Norwegians refer to this as ‘friluftsliv’ (open air living). We stayed for a bit more than two full months in an apartment we rented across town from our son. I gladly recommend the area as a tourist destination but also as a sabbatical locale.

“We returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via a week stop in London, U.K., to visit our daughter and her husband. She continues to advance her artwork. This February she was selected as one of the top five craft artists in the U.K. Just after we left, she had three of her works installed in the lobby of the new student center of the London School of Economics. Darden School, pay attention!

“September found us at home. October took us to the Chesapeake Bay area for a week to see friends and attend a football

game. I had forgotten how beautiful the bay area can be.

“Laurie and I continue our own Great Simplification. Our lives have become much streamlined since COVID-19, and we plan to stay that way. We have a list of unrequited friends and family that need attention, starting with the reunion next April. We look forward to seeing everyone there!”

John Biseda: “As for news, Bobbie and I reached our 50th wedding anniversary. We arrived at Darden four years post-wedding and college graduation. For me, Darden socialization was with a small number of mates, and with Bobbie’s teacher friends living in the ‘real’ world. Interestingly, all my Darden friends were single, derived from study group and section classes.”

Mike Sullivan: “Two days ago, I sent the following note to friends, reflecting on my birthday: Every day is a blessing! I love the Tim McGraw song, ‘Live Like You Were Dying.’ The relevance increases every year! Today, serendipitously, we received a call from our son in port at Manila, Philippines, deployed on the USS Ronald Reagan, and tomorrow, with our daughter’s family, we will celebrate our granddaughter’s 7th birthday! Joy is being healthy, living a productive life, being with family and friends and appreciating that we most likely will see a course correction on 8 November. My birthday wish for all people is to have the freedom to live life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness … and don’t sweat the small stuff.

“Yes, there is the economic reward of our Darden experience, however we choose to enjoy our pursuits. Yet, having done a lot of PT over the last three years, first for an ACL repair, and a year later for an Achilles tendon repair, (good that it happened during COVID-19), walking brings lots of joy. Okay, I am a simple person! Noanie and I are well, and I look forward to the reunion.”

Editor: I also heard from a number of classmates who wrote in wishing personal or general best wishes including Brewer Doran, Nick Fina, Paul Shipman, Dave LaCross, Jim Gallagher, Herb Martens, Steve Reinemund and Dave Eckert. We hope to hear more from them soon and — even better — see them at the reunion in April!

1979

alumni@darden.virginia.edu

John Camp shares: “Had lunch with Hacker and Kitty Caldwell in North Carolina mountains in July. They are well, Hacker still active with hedge fund and funds management, but turning over much of leadership to others.

“Mike Baskauskas had a big birthday

recently, and I sent a message, and of course got a caustic reply from Mike who has retired to Napa, California, where he has built a house and is enjoying many grandchildren.

“Went hunting with Bob Innamorati in North Dakota last year, great fun. Bob’s retired, but serving on some boards and travelling.

“Kirby Adams and I talk and text. He lives in Incline Village, Nevada, fabulous house/location/views. Had a scare with some heart issues last year, but recovered.

“Bill Creason and I speak from time-totime. He’s retired but consults in the liquor business occasionally, golfs and travels.

“All well with Caren and me. Both of us still working. She, in the meeting planning business. Me, still working at Arbor Investments in private equity, doing food and beverage investments. I still travel to meet with I-Bankers and brokers, trying to keep deal flow coming to Arbor for acquisitions.

“Trying to maintain body and soul gets harder each year, but I’d rather wear out than rust out.

“Hope this finds all three of you well and happy.”

Frederic R. Guyonneau sends this in: “Since 2020, I have stepped into new territories. The first major one was to retire. At the time that I made the decision and started to plan, there were many travel plans on the horizon. COVID-19 did obviously throw a curve on these plans, but Laura and I manage to make the best of it. The second is to literally explore new territories, and I am hard at work on that.

“In late 2020, Laura and I did a stint out West in the Four Corners region and visited eight national parks whose beauty was only enhanced by the absence of people. That gave us a taste for the adventure and in the summer of 2021, we repeated the national park journey as lodges were reopening and crowds were still thin. Hiked a lot at Bryce, North Rim, South Rim and ventured on the mule ride to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Great fun, in spite of 130 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-day and 98 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

“In early spring, I also visited my niece in Wrangell, Alaska (best crab cakes ever eaten — from pulling the pod out of the Pacific early afternoon with 11 large male Dungeness crabs, to dinner that night after plenty of work to pull the meat out and prepare the cakes — best farm-to-table quality ever), before heading out to the Big Island in Hawaii, and then to Florida for a family gathering, including the 2-month-old granddaughter, the first, born February 2021! Quick jump to France for my cousin’s wedding and some trekking in the Alps, and then Laura and

I capped off the year with a wonderful trip to Ireland where we surprisingly stayed dry with no rain but for one day. In retrospect, the only downside to all this travel is the insane money and aggravation spent on PCR tests. But there were many upsides with fewer crowds and fantastic sceneries and adventures.

“No slowing down in 2022. Started with a bike ride in France along the Atlantic Coast from Bordeaux to the south (so impressed by the infrastructure available that allows us to ride on multiuse trails without the annoyance of vehicles — the network of trails is amazing), then a few days drinking wine around Margaux and Saint-Émilion. Met up with daughter and her husband for a jaunt in Paris, France, and London, U.K. Went back to Burgundy, France, to meet with the other daughter and her family, to then travel east into the Alsace region. Very impressed by the visit of Verdun, which put into perspective the journal that my grandfather wrote during his 1914 to 1919 service from conscription to civilian life again, a journal that I am now compiling into a digital book. I am amazed that, considering that 16 percent of French soldiers died during the Great War, he fought for four years serving as an artillery sub-officer and lived to tell his story, often harrowing, all the while 10 million people died during this conflict.

“Now working on the next bike trek in France for May next year … and looking for a mate to ride along if anyone is interested; likely along the Loire valley.

“Still living in Atlanta, Georgia, where one daughter resides with her husband. The other daughter lives in northern Virginia, and the granddaughter is too cute to stay away from for too long. We went to babysit a fortnight ago while the parents went to a wedding in Charlottesville, and that went very well. Changing diapers is like riding a bicycle … you never forget how!

“Too busy on the road to focus on community initiatives, in which I plan to get involved as soon as I can slow down.

“Retirement is great!”

1980

Claire

MacMillan Terry

cterry66@gmail.com

Marcia Pontius is the lone responder from our class this quarter. She writes: “I have been back in the Philadelphia area, where I grew up, for 15 years now — hard to believe. I am involved with a number of organizations, including one called Work to Ride. It is an amazing organization that has literally saved the lives of youth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I highly recommend the

book Crossing the Line written by one of the program’s success stories. It was a book club choice at a club I belong to and everyone was amazed by it. I was glad that I could have the author come to give a talk. I am working part time as a bookkeeper/office manager at a high-end gift/home decor store and loving it — a total change from what I have done before. Due to COVID-19 my sister and I have not done our usual traveling to far flung places. Our last trip was to Egypt — in August pre-COVID-19. Not the best time to go, but no crowds! Bob Henderson has been working with a company that is based near me, and we have had dinner several times — what a treat after 40-plus years!”

1981

Fenton Priest

fentonpriest@iCloud.com

Thanks to Lou LeGuyader for this update: “I am pleased to share the news that my wife, Lee, and I are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary Sunday, 28 September 2022. Lee is a UVA alumna (Comm School) and Hollins ’79. We were introduced by Bob Purcell during our second year at Darden.”

Tom Richards sent us this great report: “I hope everyone in our class is doing well. As the pandemic eased, I did a lot of business travel this year. My favorite business trip was four days in Selma, Alabama, where I met some amazing people who are doing some great things for the city. I very much enjoyed BBQ at Lannie’s and fried chicken with my high school friend at Martin’s in Montgomery, Alabama.

“In August, I was invited to co-speak with DataStax at the Annual Gartner Conference on Data and Analytics in Orlando, Florida. Preparation was a ton of work but I had a lot of fun speaking. In September, the presentation was published as an article in CIO magazine.

“For family, I spent six days with my daughter in Madison, Wisconsin. She absolutely loves Madison. She likes hiking and rock climbing. She’s an MD and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin. We did a tour of the capital, a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s estate and hiking at Devil’s Lake. My son was accepted in the Oratorio Society of New York, which sings at Carnegie Hall. I am looking forward to his concerts — especially Handel’s Messiah.

“My best to all.”

And from Bob Brockman and Nancy: “Nothing special to report. Happily retired in Hilton Head, South Carolina, after General Electric, Lockheed Martin and our own small business. Hard to believe it’s almost 40 years since Darden.”

From your secretary, Fenton Priest: “As I previously reported, I am now serving on the USO Virginia Board of Advisors supporting the USO of Hampton Roads and Central Virginia. In June, I had the opportunity to participate in a special event honoring our fallen military heroes. It was called ‘Jump for a Purpose,’ and I went skydiving for the first time over Virginia Beach, Virginia, in honor of a SEAL Team member who died in Afghanistan. It was a thrilling experience for a good cause! It was also a special way for me to celebrate turning 70!

“I am excited that we had a very successful 2022 sailboat racing season. As a crew member aboard the 37-foot cruising sailboat, Coeur d’Alene, we took first place overall for the season of 25 races in the lower Chesapeake Bay.

“Also, I am blessed to have some exciting family news: I’m a new grandfather! Sophia Grace Priest was born in August to Guy and Jessica Priest of Arlington, Virginia. It has been an exciting year!

“Again, many thanks. I greatly appreciate hearing from you all. Take care and stay in touch!”

Fenton Priest (MBA ’81) went skydiving over Virginia Beach

Fenton Priest (MBA ’81) with his skydive instructor

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1982

Michael Diefenbach mike.diefenbach@gmail.com

Bill Huyett reports “Lauren and I spent a fun week at Denali National Park, Alaska, in late June in conjunction with a meeting of the National Parks Conservation Association board. It’s a place we’ve always wanted to visit. We were lucky enough to take a bunch of our kids and their spouses. It’s an astonishing place that is, sadly, being destroyed by climate change. Also got a chance to hike a stretch of the Trans Caucasus trail in the Svaneti region of the Republic of Georgia. Incredibly scenic and remote, on the border with Russia. The border is mountain ridges at about 14,000 feet with no passes, so quite safe.

“My middle son, Peter, is in his second year of the Darden Executive MBA. He’s enjoyed the program. He even signed up for the elective I teach in the spring semester.”

Frank Couch says 2022 has been “a big year for the Couches. Son no. 1, Kevin, was married to Cori Dymond in Winter Park, Florida, in May. Quite a big event. Very excited to have a new daughter and to be able to start nagging for a grandchild. We spent 10 days in Maine with stops at Lake Damariscotta, breakfast at Moody’s Diner (a must stop), e-biked in Acadia (the only way to go), played golf at the Algonquin resort in Saint Andrews by-the-Sea in Canada (spectacular!), and finished up with a day sail on the Anjacaa in Camden (our favorite stop). We will finish the year with a short trip to Fernandina beach, Florida, to make up for the trip we had to cancel when I got COVID-19 at the wedding… . When we get home from that trip, I go under the knife to have a new knee installed! Yep, being an old fart has its price. The parts are wearing out.”

John “Chip” Guinee reports on a busy couple of years that included two grandchildren, a relocation to Delray Beach, Florida, for six months each year, house renovations there, joining two boards of directors and swimming a mile every day. Everyone is healthy and happy!

Harry Travis spent the week of this writing helping his sister-in-law recover from Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. (In Orlando, Harry was spared.)

Mark Kerback says, “I’d like to acknowledge the generous contributions of our classmates who donated a total of $3,375 to the Concert for Ukraine project, which to date has raised over $72,000 for the people of Ukraine. It was inspired by my wife Vera who is from Kyiv, her family and all the people of her homeland. Thanks to David Blair, Marianne-Bokan Blair, John Powell, David Kelso, Steve Bright, John Reilly, Steve

Durham and Dave Tew. What a terrific class we have!”

Mike Schozer is fully retired now, and happily so. “We are now snowbirds — summer in Vermont, winter in Sarasota, Florida.

“Jon Rubin and I spent three weeks wandering through Mongolia this summer. What a cool place — totally different than anywhere you’ve ever been. Great and welcoming people; nomad lifestyle is so interesting.

“Both kids doing well. I am playing golf, skiing and following my wife around the world running marathons. This year was Eugene, Oregon; London, U.K. and Chicago, Illinois.”

Dave Harrison would be more than happy to tell you all about The Villages in Florida. Live concerts, happy hours and no charge — seven nights a week. Heaven! Over 50 golf courses, 200-plus restaurants and a huge assortment of stores he heads to in his golf cart (that goes 25 miles per hour).

Dave acknowledges that he’s flunked retirement. He’s teaching full time at one university, part time at another. He also does philanthropy coaching through SCORE. 11,000-plus retired senior executives mentoring small businesses and start-ups; very rewarding.

Dave shares: “Patrick Partridge is doing awesome out in Salt Lake City, Utah. Recently retired from a not-for-profit online university he helped create that has become the sixth largest university in all of North America. Pat continues to publish books and does philanthropy for the Utah Museum of Natural History. He’s married to an exceptional artist and author who is one of the few that can keep up with Pat’s unique intellect, curiosity and charm.”

Says Dave: “Curt Mildner is also doing awesome up in Kennebunkport, Maine. After retiring from Market Decisions, a successful family-owned health care market research company, he started a not-forprofit that gives scholarships to high school students based on their unique service and

inspiration to others. We see Curt, his wife Loralee and their children and grandchildren as often as we can. One of the highlights was a trip together on the Legendary Blues Cruise, which was a week with over 30 of the top blues bands in the world.”

Steve Wright recently retired, and instead of moving somewhere warm in the south like most folks, he moved closer to their daughters … in Minneapolis, Minnesota! Stay safe and warm this winter, all!

1983

Mitch Bland mitch.bland@cox.net

Our classmates continue to have children that have ended up at Darden. The latest to report in was Paul Milone who wrote: “Thanks to a strong recommendation by our favorite OB expert, my son Oliver is now a member of the new Darden Part-Time MBA program!” Paul further commented that the new part-time program is “a great addition to the Darden portfolio of programs.”

Another alumnus from our class with a child at Darden (now a graduate) is Karl Koenig. “I’m very happy to report that my youngest daughter, Carolyn, graduated from Darden in May as a member of the Class of ’22. Her graduation was on Sunday, 22 May — 39 years to the day after we graduated. It was a very happy weekend celebration in Charlottesville for our family. Both of our sons attended along with us; our oldest daughter, Mary, and her husband Jud have three small children, and were unable to come up from Atlanta, Georgia.

“Carolyn has accepted a position with Bain Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia; she interned there last summer. She and Rita took a post-graduation mom-daughter trip to Austria and Switzerland in June. Carolyn will start work at Bain on 8 August. Our two daughters and two sons are all grown and off on their own now, and all are living in At-

Mike Schozer (MBA ’82) and Jon Rubin (MBA ‘82) traveled in the Gobi desert.

Mike Schozer (MBA ’82) and Jon Rubin (MBA ’82) had lunch with a local family in the Altai Mountains.

lanta. All are doing well, too. We’re glad that they’re all so close to us.

“Carolyn’s graduation was an unusually hot day in Charlottesville for mid-May. The graduation ceremony for the entire University was held on the lawn that morning, as scheduled, but Darden’s ceremony that afternoon was moved indoors due to the heat. (The individual ceremonies for all of the other schools in the University were moved indoors that afternoon as well.)”

Meanwhile Susan Waxter also touched base. “I’m still in Baltimore, Maryland, coming upon nine years retired. For those recent couple of years, I had some good adventures in the United States and researched family history. Now it’s back to international travel. Trips in 2022: returns to Costa Rica, France, Scotland and New Zealand. Much more to come!”

Increasing numbers of us have reached retirement age and are enjoying life without work hassles. One of the lucky ones is Kim Labuschagne. “I am pretty much retired now and living at the beach on the east coast of South Africa. We have a family hotel in the mountains which is keeping me busy and out of trouble. I got married a short while back, which is also keeping me out of trouble. We are doing quite a bit of travelling and look forward to seeing lots of our classmates next April. Paul Gilbert and I also attended a football game in London, U.K., earlier this year.”

Another recent retiree is Ned Spangler “All is good. I have been retired for 13 months from International Paper and so far, no complaints. Mary is still working three days a week as a nurse practitioner with no plans to stop. She enjoys it. I am keeping busy with the four grandkids up the street, my own three kids living in Memphis, Tennessee, numerous house chores and some

tennis and golf.

“No firm travel plans upcoming, except I did purchase Bruce Springsteen tickets for Mary and me for his Atlanta, Georgia, concert in February. I saw my only Springsteen concert at the Capital Centre two weeks before we started at Darden. 42 years between concerts! Also, my new email is egs22457@ aol.com.”

Julie Andrews Fairchild now has a sixth grandchild. I think that is the record so far for our class. Her oldest grandchild is only 5, so Julie reports that family get togethers are “wonderful chaos and fun.” Julie just retired in April while her husband Andy retired in 2020.

1984

Debbie McPhillips dashmcp@gmail.com

Thanks to Brian Schiff and Bob Peery for keeping me in the (minimal) good graces of Alumni Engagement with their notes’ submissions, but come on, Class of ’84, we are known for our multi-column updates! Don’t force me to revert to Creative Writing for the next issue! I have been planning to author a murder-mystery…

Brian (bschiff7@gmail.com) wrote: “I’m living in Dallas, Texas, but not a Texan! 10 years ago, I got remarried and expanded the family to include two more kids who are now age 14 and 16 (older girls are now age 30 and 34). Continue to do consulting in senior living — 35 years in that world now, which certainly isn’t what I thought I would do coming out of Darden, but I love the people I get to work with and the work they do with seniors!

“I’m not sure I wrote you, though, that my first wife, Terry (Early) passed away from cancer in January. She fought the disease for about six months, and my wife and I

were able to spend a lot of time in Atlanta, Georgia, supporting her and the older girls. Terry was a part of our class, as you’ll recall, but expanded to get the JD/MBA. Then she clerked for a federal judge, taught law school at the University of Toledo and was extraordinarily involved in our children’s activities from band to soccer to theatre. Later she became an active voter’s rights advocate in Georgia. She had a great journey.

“We are fortunate that the older girls, Laura and Mandy, have a strong relationship with my wife Marcia as well as our younger children, which we hope helps support them through this tough loss.”

The other Notes submission came from someone I hadn’t heard from in a while, my favorite Richmond pizza magnate, Bob Peery (peerybob@gmail.com). He wrote: “Haven’t sent in any news for a while, so here’s the update! Sold the pizza business in 2019; spending a lot of time in Florida while Deb and I are building a house in Isles of Capri near Naples, Italy. Playing a lot of tennis and golf — managed to shoot my age last year — 64 — ha! Two kids (Camp and Madelyn) are in Richmond, Virginia; one (Liza) is in Denver, Colorado. All gainfully employed and single. Who knew they were listening way back when I told them not to get married before 30! So just one grand dog. Still have a condo in Richmond, so I try to get to a football game or two each fall. Looking forward to our 40th. Oh my, does time fly!”

As Bob reminded me, our 40th reunion (t-minus 10 years from orange stoles) approaches! It’s not too early to start planning your triumphant return to Charlottesville in 2024! In the meantime, you know the drill, please send me notes for inclusion in the next Class Notes.

Your humble secretary.

1985

Tom Taylor tomtaylornj@gmail.com

Adele and David Stotler enjoyed two weeks in the relative cool of the Great Lakes this summer: “The visit began in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a visit to Scott Kammeraad at the 1910 home from the studio of Frank Lloyd Wright that Scott self-renovated in recent years. Scott’s historic home includes an Airbnb unit, so we recommend a visit! Scott always seems to have a home renovation project underway, as you’ll recall from his Charlottesville farmhouse project during our Darden years. Later in the trip we visited the weekend home on Torch Lake which is his current work in progress. Our Great Lakes travels ended with a visit

Karl (MBA ’83) and Rita Koenig attended the Darden graduation of their daughter Carolyn (MBA ’22).

Kim Labuschagne (MBA ’83) and Paul Gilbert (MBA ’83) attended a football game together in London.

to Tom Seay in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Tom is doing great and it was wonderful to catch up after 15 years!

“The past year has provided several great visits with Darden friends including Lee Bandlow and Sherrill Perkins in Nashville, Tennessee; Tim Ghriskey in Westchester County, New York; and Madison Riley and Robert ‘Memphis’ King in Boston, Massachusetts, while we celebrated our (McIntire ’13) daughter Julia’s graduation from Harvard Business School in May. Meeting her classmates was a vivid reminder that today’s MBA buzzwords have been drastically updated since 1985, and an eyeopener that virtually no one in her class pursued traditional investment banking anymore — it’s all tech or private equity these days.”

Curious, I asked David for a sampling of those buzzwords. He came back with “virtual,” “gaming,” “token” and “NFT.” Sounds like today’s generation is harnessing an organic process to hit the ground running with plain speak. That would hit the nail on the head. I guess it’s good to see we’ve moved on from the likes of “synergy,” “bottom line,” “globalization” and “rightsizing.”

Hearing that Scott Kammeraad has an Airbnb offering, I wanted to see how that was going so I reached out: “Yes, the Airbnb is great. We meet lots of interesting people. I’m working on a second home in northern Michigan that we will list on Airbnb next year.”

Nice update from my old roommate, Laurey Millspaugh: “I just had my second knee replaced and got the green light to start tennis after a 30-year hiatus. I am looking forward to a sport other than biking (which I love as well). It is unlikely I’ll beat my wife Jinks, though, as I never did before with good knees. During the week, I still work in Bethesda, Maryland, investing on behalf of Dutch partners in real estate developments as we expand into senior care facilities. As I

write this, Hurricane Ian is bearing down on two buildings we have in Orlando, Florida. Fingers crossed. Weekends we find ourselves traveling south to Richmond, Virginia, where our oldest son, Martin, is a teacher at St. Christopher’s, and north to Brooklyn, New York, where our younger son works for a start-up helping those with low credit to establish it. But best fun is a little bit of teaching in ULI’s UrbanPlan course for high school kids. I go to an inner-city Washington, D.C., school where, in a project base module, students assume all roles of community building including development. This generation is smarter than ever!”

Hurricane Ian was a big concern for many as class updates were coming in, including James Totten. “Jody and I have been spending the winters in Florida at our house on Gasparilla Island (Boca Grande) since 2014. We’re a little concerned about Hurricane Ian which, as we speak, seems to be about to make landfall in our back yard. On a less troubling note, we are relocating from Nashville, Tennessee, to Birmingham, Alabama, to be closer to children and grandchildren. I hope I live long enough to shoot my age in golf, only 20 years to go, and I continue to bust clays on the skeet field.” I sure hope that the impact to Jamie and other classmates with interests in the southeast was minimal.

Martin McCoy contributed an update that might win this edition’s long-distance award considering his location. “I’m currently volunteering in Malawi and driving a Land Cruiser off-road, installing protected water sources with African partners. It’s hard but rewarding work. I married, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the beautiful and brilliant Andrea Durkin (Columbia MBA). She and I trekked for two weeks last month in Bolivia. We live in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, and Beaufort, South Carolina. She has her own marketing consulting business and I’m still doing real estate in-

vestment. I’m sorry to say opportunities are so poor now that my most recent acquisition is a chicken farm in the North Carolina mountains.” Congrats to Martin on the wedding, great news.

Bob Reeve was far from Martin McCoy, but he was in the same continent recently. “All good here: golf, dogs and dog club projects and shows keep us very busy. We were able to get away for a two-week trip to South Africa in April with three other couples. A fabulous time with planes, trains and automobiles across South Africa from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Golf, safari and fabulous dining in some of the best hotels and restaurants we have ever experienced. The wines of South Africa are amazing. Three days on Rovos Rail from Pretoria to Cape Town was a wonderful sightseeing experience with a couple of excursions including a diamond mine. Trip of a lifetime for sure.”

Duane Stevens shared that “The passage of time has brought changes and surprises to the Stevens family. My parents passed away last year, and both lived a long and meaningful life. My wife Valentyna and I live in Plano, Texas, a Dallas suburb. I recently retired from Lumen Technologies where I was a large-account fiber network sales representative. Life has treated me well and I continue to appreciate my Darden memories and friendships.”

Celia Martin noted that she “…had a great reunion with the Taylor family and their new addition — a puppy!” Yes, the pup is now 8 months old and has been a great addition. Back to Celia’s news: “I’m heading out the door to Maryland and then on to Las Vegas, Nevada; San Jose and Monterey, California; and Portland and Hood River, Oregon.” She was planning to come north for a visit in September to see my band play, but the gig was rescheduled to February, when it’s lovely here in New Jersey.

David Stotler, Scott Kammeraad and Adele Stotler, all Class of 1985, visited in Michigan.

Adele Stotler, David Stotler and Tom Seay, all Class of 1985, visited in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Betsy Griffith (MBA ’85) got her COVID-19 shot.

There’s relief and pride in the update from Jimmy Rose: “I have written my last Darden tuition check. My younger daughter Molly graduated as a proud member of the Darden Class of ’22. She followed her older sister Caroline at Darden who graduated in 2019. Both are doing well, with Caroline working in the tech industry on the west coast and Molly working in consulting in Washington, D.C. In other news, Megan and I attended Arthur ‘Brink’ Brinkley’s oldest daughters’ wedding in Richmond, Virginia, this summer and John McLean and I were part of a group that traveled to Ireland this summer for a golf trip. I am still doing a little consulting and some for profit and not-for-profit board work. I see Scott Cardozo (MBAJD ’86), Brink and his wife Stacy, and Larry Lynne regularly and am looking forward to our next reunion.” Cheers to that.

Great to hear from Janet Weiss. Here’s her news: “My husband retired four years ago after spending 37 years as an investment banker and a portfolio manager. We have lived in Larchmont, New York, for almost 30 years, where we raised our two sons. For the past 15 or so years, I’ve been a jewelry designer and fabricator, and I have a full studio in my house. It’s a far cry from the corporate world, but infinitely more satisfying. My older son is a data visualization specialist working for BCG, and my younger son has worked for a number of start-ups. We’re looking forward to more travel as we relax our COVID-19 restrictions!” Cheers to that as well!

Also great to hear from Sam Yates: “Not big on submitting updates, but the industry I’m in now is rocking and rolling! As career no. 2, started a full service, turnkey, solar energy contracting company in 2016. We’re licensed across five states: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, with three offices in the Southeast. We’re commercial/industrial focused, with

some residential and energy storage. Currently 40 full-time employees including engineering, installation, master electrician and long-term customer service focus. Passage of the IRA bill recently is a game changer for our industry. Exciting stuff! Just replaced the website (www.eaglesolarandlight.com), so it may still be under construction edits when you get this.”

Betsy Griffith wrote: “It’s been a rough year. My younger brother Paul lost an eightyear battle with cancer in June. I visited him in April, went to his London funeral, caught COVID-19 and hosted his Washington, D.C., memorial event, attended by many Darden and other friends. He was a oneoff, much loved and leaves long legacy. Don and I have continued to do our cruise ship lecturing, most recently in the Baltic, where I (in the words of my great nephew) went ‘blah blah blah’ about Northern Renaissance art and Don about world affairs. Spent a day in lovely Rostock, Germany, with his former research assistant and her husband and son.”

Madison Riley confirmed that he indeed spent time with the Stotlers and other classmates. Here are his words on the rendezvous: “David and Adele Stotler, Robert ‘Memphis’ King and I gathered for dinner in late May to celebrate the Stotler daughter’s (Julia) graduation from Harvard Business School. We had a terrific time thanks to the Stotler’s (we were their guests)! Congrats to Julia and the Stotlers! Robert and I have also gotten together since that dinner. It has been fun to be with all of them!”

As for yours truly, I’m approaching the one-year anniversary of my retirement. I really wanted to thoughtfully raise a dog, and while that’s been even more consuming than I expected, it’s been well worth it. Golf has taken a back seat. No regrets, it will be there later when this pooch is a bit older. Flying is still a fun leisure activity for me … the most exciting recent trip was flying into Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the annual aviation event held there in July.

Best wishes to all as we continue to emerge from the confines of COVID-19. Enjoy the holiday season!

1986

Teresa Green Cooper tcooper59@gmail.com

Greetings, classmates! We’re having a glorious fall in central Virginia with beautiful leaves, chilly evenings and sunny days. And as a Philadelphia sports fan, I’m really enjoying post-season baseball and the NFL. (We, beleaguered Philadelphia sports fans, have to enjoy the wins while we have them, am I right, Peter Intermaggio?)

I had the pleasure of joining Mary Buckle Searle to interview Peter Neihaus Scholarship finalists last August. The students were beyond impressive, and it was fun to hear about their Darden experience. While we did recommend one student for the scholarship, any of them would have been a great choice. I left feeling sentimental — thinking about Peter, all of our classmates and some of the crazy times we shared — and also proud of the way Darden has evolved.

Pat O’Shea writes: “Hope all is well with you. We’re doing fine here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where we spend most of our time.

“I’m busy as ever, working on digital health startup ICmed (www.icmedonline. com), serving as CEO of a broker-dealer that has gone through regulatory approvals, and doing capital markets expert witness consulting. Every day is different. In addition, I have the pleasure of serving as chairman of the Darden Alumni Board. The family is doing well, especially after the 20-somethings bounced back home during COVID-19 and have since discovered that independence has its benefits!

“Maria and I were with family at the Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, in September, where I had the honor of seeing Pearl Jam for the first time. If you’re into their music at all and haven’t had the opportunity to see them, put it on your bucket list! Back at the beach, I had a mini-reunion with Lynne Azamar Watson as she visited family and her old summer job stomping grounds. Lynne has moved back east to Annapolis, Maryland, after a long stint on the left coast. We had LOTS to talk about, and next time, everyone’s invited!

“Beyond that, I’m always just a text away from Dan Kipp, Michael Gangemi and Christopher Morrissey, which reminds me that we’re long overdue for a golf reunion!”

On the heels of Pat’s email, I heard from

Betsy Griffith (MBA ’85) and husband Don visited Poland and other areas along the Baltic Sea.

Lynne Azamar Watson (MBA ’86) and Pat O’Shea (MBA ’86) reconnected at the beach.

Lynne, who shared this: “Dave and I are back on the East Coast! We landed in Annapolis, Maryland, mid-June and have been busy connecting with East Coast family and friends ever since. In fact, I met Pat O’Shea last week while I was at the beach visiting family. We had a blast catching up! It’s nice to be ‘home’ after 12 years out West. After we sold our house in the San Francisco, California, area, we were lucky enough to take two-plus months traveling east, camping in our Airstream to see the sights and dear friends along the way. Such a fun adventure — lots of unplugged time in stunning places.”

So glad you two got to hang out! I’m hoping to connect with Lynne on her next visit to C’ville.

Jeff Griffin wrote to share sad news: “My wife Melanie passed away in March at the age of 61 after a 10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s. There are neither words nor space to sufficiently describe the pain and anguish that has lived unwelcome in our family over the past 10 years and that no doubt will accompany me to the end of my days. Life must move forward, however, and towards that end I am in the process of wrapping up the affairs of Griffin Moran, the luxury homebuilding company I started in northern Virginia back in 2011, to figure out what is next. I retired from my career in commercial real estate in 2015.

“I have purchased a home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to be close to my two oldest daughters and four grandchildren. I now split time between Raleigh, an apartment in McLean, Virginia, and my place on the Outer Banks, North Carolina. In late September, I am headed out on a cycling trip in Croatia (Dubrovnik to Split) with Kit Baker (Darden ’87) and his wife. Will send along a pic for the next issue. My best to everyone.”

Finally, a request from Charlottesville homeboy Scott Williams, one that I think would be most enjoyable to fill: “No class note from me today. I inflicted an update not

long ago. Instead, what I would like to make is an appeal: C. Ray Smith (MBA ’58) now lives at the Martha Jefferson House in Charlottesville (behind the Gordon Avenue Library). I visited him last fall when I was back in C’ville seeing my mother. He mentioned that he loves seeing Darden folks. If people are in town, it would be nice if they could swing by and check in on him. Although he is not as mobile as in the past (nor am I), he is as engaging and funny as ever.”

Until next time, sending you all my best wishes. Teresa

1987

Chris Padgett padgett60@gmail.com

Hello Class of ’87! I write this in October, with the seasons starting to change here in St Louis, Missouri, … leaves beginning to turn, cooler during my morning walks with the dog, and Cardinal baseball over (a bit prematurely this year). I don’t know about you, but time seems to be going by faster and faster — wasn’t it just a couple months ago we were in Charlottesville for Reunion? What, more like six months? The way time flies, our next (40th?!) Reunion in 2027 will sneak up on us, for sure. I’m not sorry for the first shameless plug! Anyway, thanks to everyone contributing to this edition of the Class Notes, and let’s get to them!

Late summer and fall in the southeast, in particular, means hurricane season, and this year’s big one (so far) was Ian, hitting Florida in late September. With over a dozen classmates living there, we hope everyone made it through safely. John Hodgson shares his experience:

“It’s been an interesting week. Flew down to Sarasota, Florida, with Blythe on Saturday, 24 September, and spent the next day — our 29th wedding anniversary — doing hurricane prep. We put plastic sheeting, water dams and about 60 sandbags around our vulnerable spots; raised all our furniture and secured all our outdoor stuff. We flew home on Monday, and spent the week tracking Ian. Thankfully we — and Nancy McLean and her husband Ron — were spared by a scant 20-30 miles.

“The devastation just south of us is national news. I flew back down solo on Sunday, 2 October, and spent Monday stowing the sandbags and getting the house back in order. On Tuesday I participated in Operation Airdrop to deliver disaster relief supplies to barrier islands cut off due to destroyed bridges and causeways. I was able to deliver 750 pounds of supplies into a small grass strip on the north end of Pine Island. It was a perfect mission for my Skywagon. I wasn’t

sure how necessary the effort was until I learned today that Pine Island’s bridge won’t be restored for another 3 days. Feeling very blessed right now.”

While I try to not spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, being semi-retired, I do enjoy reading Bubba Fortner’s newsletters about career exploration; his latest “Quietly Quitting or Quietly Being Fired” is a quick, good read I’ve shared with a few people I’ve worked with. Bubba, or as he’s known professionally, Everette, is now a full-time career coach — you may not need his wise counsel, but you probably know someone who does. In his own words:

“After 20 years at Darden and UVA, I’ve started my own career coaching business. What a fun, inspiring business! While I haven’t had the opportunity to coach any Darden classmates yet, I have coached one of your daughters and one of your grandsons. Keep them coming! I love helping early and mid-career professionals figure out what’s next and then helping them tap ‘our’ network to get there. everette@everettefortnercoaching.com.”

“Beyond coaching, Bubba also writes: “Just purchased a bottle of Elvelo — while I love tequila, I have a friend who I am visiting for Thanksgiving who really loves tequila, so I purchased it to bring him a gift to share and enjoy together. Thanks for the inspiration.” For the uninitiated, Elvelo is one of the liquors offered by Lyons Brown’s Altamar Brands … taste tested and highly recommended!”

Marian Hewitt writes: “We have purchased a house in the town of Pound Ridge, New York. It is not exactly in the country, and not exactly in the suburbs. I call it the suburbs with large lot sizes. For the moment, at least, we still have our place in New York City. I have one foot in each place, and it is confusing at times. What things are where? As previously reported, I declared myself retired in 2020, so I am devoting a lot of time to gardening, trying to root out invasive

Pat O’Shea (MBA ’86) and his family attended the Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

John Hodgson (MBA ’87) took this photo of his Operation Airdrop supplies, delivered to Pine Island, Florida, after Hurricane Ian.

plants, of which we have a fair number, all in abundance, of course.”

Marian is also looking for nearby classmates: “Does anyone else in the Class of ’87 live in northern Westchester County, New York? If so, we should be in touch.” (And send news of any joint activities!)

We received this update from Werner Stahlecker: “Well, after a long time of low-travel activities, I had to look after my business in Atlanta, Georgia. Guess who I met almost coincidently: Steve Powell! See the pic to witness our great get together in one of these great Marriot in the suburb of

Atlanta. Cheer with a good sip of Elvelo tequila.” I’ll also post the picture on the Class Facebook page — and let me know if you are not a member of the page and I’ll add you.

One of the fun conversations I had while at our Reunion this past Spring was with Brad Colton, who shared with me his experience leading tours at the Washington, D.C., Temple of the Church of Latter-day Saints. While enjoying retirement just outside Park City, Utah, Brad and Melanie continue their volunteering, having been asked “to help with the Tabernacle Choir … for those that know me well can be assured they have not asked me to join them in singing, but more in a support role. I am also on several nonprofit boards trying to make our community a little better.”

Jim Sowers writes with some “it’s a small world” news, and a party invitation: “I have a Moffett on my mother’s side that always made John Moffett curious. John did some research, and going back 10 generations we have a common ancestor born in 1590. Cousins ninth removed or something like that. So, we are planning a family reunion at the UVA Parent’s Weekend on 30 October — any excuse for a Bloody Mary. Please join us in the West Lot, spot 234.” Please forward pictures of the extended family for the

next Class Notes!

Sharing that he had the most recent Class Notes solicitation email open on his computer for two weeks, Matt Aaron called me at-deadline with work and family updates (calling, texting … I’ll take updates in any format). Matt’s insurance app business takes him to numerous insurance conventions and conferences (yes, there really are such things), most recently to Insurance Tech Connect in Las Vegas, Nevada (over 30,000 attended, according to their website). He says the industry moves at the speed of glaciers, but it has finally caught up to the technology Matt’s company has developed. We also talked about the crazy cost of college (Matt’s two boys are still in the thick of it) and how great it is to have a distributed, lean company workforce (in Matt’s case, including the United States, India and the Philippines).

Speaking of apps and software, Bill Tonetti writes: “We sold our software company Demand Works to Netstock, owned by Strattam Capital, last December.” Demand Works focuses on the areas of forecasting, demand management, inventory planning and optimization, and capacity planning. “Working hard and loving it, splitting our time between southeastern Pennsylvania

YOUR CAREER CONSULTANTS FOR LIFE

Werner Stahlecker (MBA ’87) and Steve Powell (MBA ’87) had a chance meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

e Armstrong Center for Alumni Career Ser vices

and western New York. Our three children are grown up and doing great, and Suzanne (M.Ed. ’87) and myself are happy, healthy and thoroughly enjoying them and our growing collection of grandchildren.”

And finally, Craig Zarider texted he will be in St. Louis, Missouri, in a couple weeks for Parent’s Weekend at Washington University, and we hope to connect, as I live just 10 minutes from there … and I know the campus well, given two of my sons went there (as did my wife Sandy for Law School). News and pictures to follow in the next Class Notes.

Thanks again for all the contributions this time around — it’s so much harder for me to make up news! And please keep it coming, and we’ll keep track of who is still actively working, those who are pursuing new adventures, and/or diligently practicing their first (or second) retirements! As always, anyone planning to be in the St. Louis, Missouri, area — give me a shout. Stay connected with our classmates!

1988

Chuck DiMeglio darden1988@aol.com

Welcome to the pre-reunion edition of the Class of ’88 Notes! Thanks to all for taking time to send an update about your part of the world. Another Earl Black and the Whites T-shirt surfaced. As did an HP-12C. Also hearing about lots of travel, retirements, downsizing, kid-launching, grandkids and our upcoming 35th reunion. Reunion should be a strong turn-out with lots of yes’s. How did 35 years pass so quickly? To put it in perspective, the new Darden Master Plan includes upgrading the aging infrastructure built years after our graduation. Not sure what that says about us! I know my infrastructure has aged. No replacements or enhancements … yet. There is now a second Inn at Darden; both Inns built after we graduated. The first Inn is now considered obsolete! No worries, though, the Class of ’88 is always current.

Carolyn Speer Miles, in memory of her husband Brendan Miles, recently donated a tree to the new Inn at Darden’s Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Following Carolyn’s lead, our class will donate a grove of trees in memory of our deceased classmates for our 35th reunion gift. Thanks for your leadership, Carolyn. Classmates, thanks for your support and gifts. I am looking forward to taking a walk in the spectacular arboretum and even enjoying the trees and the leaves. My thought, with any money left over, we should build a wall around the Arboretum and charge the law school daily admission. Got

to fund that aging infrastructure. And that is why I am not on those committees. More to come! On to the notes.

Shelly and I enjoyed a trip to New England in early September. Stopped at Mike’s Pastry in the north end of Boston, Massachusetts, to kick things off. Grabbed some lobster rolls and then headed to Mount Washington, New Hampshire; Pawtucket and Newport, Rhode Island; and finally finished at Martha’s Vineyard. I left the Massachusetts off of Martha’s Vineyard on purpose. It really needs to stand alone. I am still swimming off all the extra calories from our coming-and-going stops at the Pie in the Sky Bakery located by the Woods Hole-Martha’s Vineyard ferry. Overall, a lot of driving, but enjoyed the sights, beaches and food. Next stop: the Grand Canyon. My son finished applying to 35 medical schools this summer … already has a handful of interviews and rejects. Still early. He should know more about the time of our reunion. My oldest daughter enjoyed working at INOVA Fairfax Hospital’s pediatric ward this summer. She will continue to work there on her college breaks. Turns out some of the skills to get kids to stick their faces in the water as they learn to swim, transfer to giving shots and IVs to kids. So does managing their parents. My youngest daughter enjoyed working at an extreme sports camp this summer and will head to Aspen, Colorado, this November. The Mayflower Hotel keeps Shelly very busy. Lots of weddings and meetings, some of which had been put on hold for years. Events sprinkled with dignitaries and politicians keep things interesting. I continue to serve on a couple of charity boards, consult, golf and swim. As for swimming, I am shooting for 2 million lengths in a 25-yard pool for my next goal. The swim around the world got me to about 1.75 million. Should take me around another five years to get into the club. Enough about me… .

Mark Allen’s golf group is aging well: “We had a recent golf weekend in Alabama with Will Lindenmayer, Jay West and Bob Whalen. Lots of fun reliving Darden days and former golf outings. Bob nearly shot his age (which is getting more attainable every year as we play from the forward tees).”

Mark, shooting your age, now that is a goal!

Laurie Alkire Selby is unsure: “Not sure about the reunion this year! My undergrad 40th is in May, and my husband is retiring this summer, so not at all sure how the spring will go.”

Joe Balog walks The Walk: “I walked about half the Camino trail in early September with some time in Madrid, Spain,

and Porto and Lisbon, Portugal. I tacked on a trip to Ireland on the back-end. Jim Goulden walked with a group on the Portuguese Camino route at the same time, but we missed each other in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, by a couple of days. Finished the Camino on a Sunday with a Mass at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. Walked 205 miles in 14 days. Beautiful country, great food and wine, and wonderful people. Probably not coming to the reunion as we are planning to spend a month in Tuscany, Italy, in April/ May.”

Joe, I am tired just reading about all the walking.

Dan Baumbach is working hard to keep the economy moving forward: “Our manufacturing addition is on track and should be completed by year end, with potential to double our output. Staffing is always a challenge, but we’ve improved our recruiting and retention by going to 10-hour days, Monday–Thursday. We haven’t been immune to the slowing caused by inflation and aggressive action by the Fed, but I’m optimistic about the future. I do plan to attend the reunion.”

Karen Beyer Radulovacki has a legacy: “My son is a First Year student at Darden and we’re looking forward to spending more time in C’ville. Also looking forward to attending the Class Reunion in April!”

Steve Biggerstaff finds treasure, lives vicariously and goes on lunch dates: “Digging out from downsizing, I found an Earl Black and the Whites T-shirt … now probably the oldest piece of clothing I own. As have so many of us, we are still living life a bit vicariously through the exploits of our children. Our youngest son, Micah — who has Down syndrome — was selected to play on the Charlotte FC Unified Team, a soccer team affiliated with both the new Charlotte FC MLS club and Special Olympics. Unified teams across the country are made up of players both with and without special needs, and the Charlotte FC club played a homeand-away series against the Atlanta club that included a game in Bank of America (i.e. Panthers) Stadium right after an MLS match in June. Not sure anyone else in my family has ever played in such a lofty setting!

“After the road-trip game to Atlanta, Georgia, Janie, Micah and I stayed with Vicki and Peyton Day and then met up with Steve and Jen Hull — and their daughter Hailey, and several of their grandkids — in Greenville, South Carolina, for lunch and a long overdue visit on the way home … big fun all around! Also had a fine lunch recently with Sylvia Bray Kinsey, who remains one of the finest lunch dates in Dixie! Definitely planning on attending the reunion in the

spring.”

Steve, see you in your Earl Black and the Whites T at the reunion. Congrats to Micah on playing in the Panther’s stadium. What a treat!

Chris Bowen is not excited about Post Malone, but, grateful: “I retired in late August from a rewarding 32-year career as a bond salesman. I decided that it was getting a bit creepy, approaching my 60th birthday covering accounts with traders in their late 20s and early 30s and trying to share their excitement about the latest Harry Styles or Post Malone concert. I loved my job and career. The beauty about sales and trading was that with the uncertainty of the markets came a need for the flexibility to pivot from your investment thesis to match the prevailing psychology of the market. No two days were the same. I welcomed the challenge and particularly enjoyed working with colleagues, and now close friends, building the fixed income platforms at Wachovia, Wells Fargo and lastly US Bank. I am very lucky to have left this business on my own terms and can now cheer my older daughter Megan (Duke ’18) on from the sidelines as she has the exact same job as I did, but at a much larger platform (hint: Vampire Squid).

“Sticking with family, my younger daughter, Madeline (Rice ’20), is gainfully employed and works as a management trainee for a private Chicago, Illinois, based industrial supply company. Chicago is a great city to visit and I am looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with Maddie in her new home/city.

“The next chapter will focus on exploration. My partner Sarah and I love to travel. She is a professor of nursing at a local university in Los Angeles, California, which allows her to take the summer off. Through our ten-year relationship, we have always shared our list of cities to visit/live on a parttime basis. Was the city a one-month city or

a two-month city? She tends to lean toward the Pacific Rim cities whereas I love the Scandinavian cities. It will be fun to explore the world and immerse ourselves in culture.

“Home will always be Los Angeles for me. If you find yourself out West in either Los Angeles, California; Park City, Utah; or perhaps in Brooklyn, New York, drop me a line.”

Chris, congrats on the 32-year career. By the way, I looked it up: Austin Richard Post (aka Post Malone) entered this world on 4 July 1995… seven years after you graduated from Darden.

Sylvia Bray Kinsey couldn’t be happier: “2022 could not be better. My daughter Marjorie got married 7 May at Mount Ida Farm in Charlottesville to Scott McDowell. She raises money for major gifts for the Medical School at the University of Maryland and now lives in Ellicott City, Maryland. In July I went to Lisbon, Portugal, to visit my son Richard, his wife Izabella, and 1-year-old granddaughter Claudia. Richard is CFO of PandaDoc, a unicorn startup. He opened the office in Lisbon to help support their Ukrainian workforce. I also hosted a luncheon celebrating Mary Roff Long’s 60th birthday, joined by Amy Owen (class of ’87). With a marriage, a granddaughter, Ralph and retirement how could I be any happier? Of course I will be at the reunion. Reservations have already been made at the Boar’s Head Inn.”

Sylvia, I hope you have an even happier 2023. Attending the reunion will make it happen.

C. Russell Bryan settles into the empty nest: “My wife, Scott, and I are now in the second year of the empty nest, but due to COVID-19-related back-and-forth, it feels like the first year. Our daughters Scotty (senior, Furman), and Pheriby (sophomore, Elon), are busy at their respective schools and seem to be enjoying campus life along with their studies. Most recently, we had a

fantastic family trip to the Canadian Rockies this summer (Banff, Lake Louise, etc.), which I highly recommend to anyone considering travel/vacation options of the sort.

“I am in my fifth year at a Nashville, Tennessee, based investment bank called Bailey & Co. which also has an affiliate private equity fund. I am in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office. We focus on advising healthcare services and healthcare information technology companies on M&A and financing transactions, continuing what I’ve done most of my career. I do still have some legacy clients in other business sectors going back to my days at BofA, including one large manufacturing company that I work with on their North American acquisitions.

“Work and family take most of my time, but I enjoy my board service at the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation in Durham, North Carolina. We support Duke University in various ways, as well as K-12 education and the arts in the Research Triangle region (i.e. around Durham/Raleigh area). I’ve also enjoyed serving on the board of a healthcare company that provides wellness services (nutrition counseling, weight loss and related healthcare provision) via clinics and telehealth.

“When I can, I enjoy seeing the Charlotte-Darden ’88 crew and others from our class that make it here from time to time. Chip Stelljes was in town recently and it was great to see him. We also expect a visit from Tori Frazer soon.

“Hope to see everyone at the reunion if I can make it up to C’ville.”

Lee Buckner tours New York City: “I just returned from my first trip to New York City since COVID-19. Lots of my favorite haunts are gone, but the Empire State Building still stands tall. Planning to be at the reunion.”

Chris Burk says: “Probably will be at the reunion, it should be fun.”

Dave Horger (MBA ’88) with his family Dave Katz (MBA ’88) visited Utah.

Jim Goulden (MBA ’88) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Britt Byrne wings it: “I hope to be at our 35th next April, but there is a good chance that Saturday will be my younger son’s last collegiate lacrosse game (and probable Senior Day), so we’ll ‘wing it!’”

Britt, hope you can swing by.

Frederica Carpenter ponders: “Planning on attending the reunion. How has it been 35 years?”

Bob Cashion at 100 miles per hour: “NYU is back more or less in full swing. And that has me running about 100 miles per hour. I won’t be able to make the reunion. Please send my regards to the class!”

Bob, 100 miles per hour is fast.

Harry Chiam turns green: “I’ve started graduate study in sustainability at Cambridge. I was never a greenie but I turned late last year. The climate crisis is real and we’ve all got to do our part. Sydney is having its wettest year ever, so my shoes and hair are always wet. I don’t know if I can make the reunion, but I will try!”

Steve Colton walks in the dark: “Jeri and I have just passed our two-year mark serving as Mission Leaders in the Philippines Olongapo Mission. COVID-19 has made things very challenging, but the missionaries are outstanding, and the work is really progressing. We are currently responsible for 100 missionaries, 90 of whom are Filipino. The mission covers the west coast on the Luzon island facing the West Philippines Sea.

“Jeri and I had a delightful reunion with Raffy and Monette Villanueva in Subic, Philippines, at the end of July 2022. Raffy is as wonderful as ever and he married a woman just as wonderful as he is! Two of our sons visited last month. We went Island hopping, toured Corregidor Island (of WWII fame) and climbed Mt. Pinatubo (volcano erupted in 1991). We also discovered that the AllTrails app can be very inaccurate on rarely used trails. We decided to hike to the peak of Mt. Mariveles, an extinct volcano. The AllTrails app said it should be an eight-mile, seven-hour roundtrip hike, with a 4,000 feet

elevation gain. We started at 6 a.m. and entered the jungle portion of the hike around 10 a.m. Up to that point the app was accurate. Then the trail became very sketchy. The last two hours of the hike was more a climb, taking as much arm-strength as leg-strength. This portion of the hike also included over 100 leaches looking for lunch. The views overlooking the West Philippine Sea coast were spectacular. We finally reached the peak around 3 p.m. and soon turned around. Fortunately, we made it out of the rain forest before sunset. We hiked the last two hours in darkness. The 17-mile, 14.5-hour hike (the 4,000 feet elevation was accurate) was exhausting, but what an adventure!

“Meantime, back in Atlanta, Georgia, I am fortunate to have two great business partners. While we have been serving as Mission leaders, Zerorez has continued to grow. Life is good. My son, Brandon, started at Darden this year and is really enjoying it so far.

David Copenhaver checks in: “I’m in for the reunion.”

Allison Cryor DiNardo thanks Zoom for making a way to stay connected to family, friends … and co-workers. “Here’s a quick update from Alexandria, Virginia, with fascinating stories of exotic trips taken by Rob and me around the globe. OK, I am exaggerating our activities. We did visit Spain in May 2022 on a group trip organized by UVA, which was rescheduled five times, so we were thrilled to go. And, of course, our first flight was cancelled, and we lost a day … Spain is beautiful and the locals were delighted we had boldly ventured across the Atlantic.

“Work hasn’t changed much since the beginning of COVID-19. Beth Moffett retired as planned and it takes three people to do her old job. Like many others, I haven’t seen some of our company’s staff and contractors in person for what seems like a decade. Planning to be at our reunion.”

Peyton Day is still Roaming: “I am now a

grandfather of two little girls (age 1 month and 16 months). The girls will one day call me PeyDay. Vicky and I are loving every minute of it. Wow, what a thrill! My youngest daughter got married at our home in October. We could not be more pleased. We are grateful to have reached these milestones.

“Like many, we are primary caregivers to my mom, age 88, and step-father. (As you may recall, my father died when I was young.) It is a gift to still have my mom in my life. Life is a vapor … it continues to pass by quickly.

“I am still leading Roam, a comprehensive work, office and meeting place designed to meet the needs of today’s hybrid workers and businesses looking for offsite meeting space. We are opening our newest workplace in Dallas, Texas, in January.

“Unfortunately, I will not be able to make the reunion. But, please give my classmates a fist bump when you see them!”

John Delta unfortunately reports: “No plans to attend the reunion.”

Paul Diodati says yes: “I am hoping to attend the reunion this time.”

Don Dunham cruises and herds cats: “How did any of us find time for work? From house projects (whether you do them or manage them in this time of few knowledgeable contractors, it is very time consuming and stressful), to hosting visitors and traveling (both of which we love to do) … How did any of us find time for work?

As I am writing this, Linda and I are in the Montreal, Canada, airport (which needs a few MBA projects — queuing theory, HR, performance and reward …). I was the organizer for a nine-person luxury family reunion in the Canadian Maritimes for 12 days. Anyone that wants the 39-page itinerary, let me know. Pays to have a great travel agent, and we found one in Charlottesville. I had a great time and I learned a lot. Still don’t believe the War of 1812 was started when the United States. invaded Canada.

“Since the last class update, we had our

Geir Lie (MBA ’88) captains a dingy. Jim Goulden (MBA ’88) and Martha Shenkenberg (MBA ’88) caught up in Spain.

Steve Biggerstaff (MBA ’88) in his Earl Black & the Whites T-Shirt

40th UVA reunion and welcomed Martha Shenkenberg and a number of other classmates for brunch. Always great to reconnect. Our 35th Darden reunion will be a bit more intimate. Linda and I also celebrated our 40th anniversary, and our gift to each other is a 16-day cruise plus land trip of the Adriatic and Aegean in late October. It was just us at first but now six couples are going. More herding cats.”

Don, I’ve got to get you on the reunion organizing committee.

Scott Essley is renovating: “Still doing Airbnb. Working on renovations. Heading to Turkey to visit my daughter in November. I will be at the reunion.”

Scott, are you Airbnb-ing in C’ville? Got to get the insider’s guide.

Stacey Gehringer goes way, way north: “I will not be attending the reunion. If all goes well, I will be on vacation in Svalbard, Norway, at that time. Going on a 12-passenger ship to the Arctic to see the wildlife.”

Stacey, send photos. Got to see this ship, too.

David Gold is heading to C’ville: “Barring any unforeseen events, I will be at the 35th.”

Jim Goulden takes The Walk, too: “Buen Camino! I walked the Camino with Martha Shenkenberg in September along the ‘Portuguese Way.’ We missed Joe Balog at the end in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, by just a couple days — would have been truly cosmic. Thank you again, Martha, for putting this all together and for finally convincing me that my time had come. My titanium hips held up very well. However, bilateral knee replacement is definitely in my future. Days walking in quiet contemplation through some of the most beautiful and peaceful places helps clear your mind for sure. Big takeaway: I’ve been truly blessed. Give more and forgive more. I think everyone at some point needs their own Camino.

“Work? I work with Hooper Hardison at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. He’s a great leader, and he runs a fantastic company. My job is tremendously rewarding with no end in sight. I try to spend as much time as possible in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with my daughter Katie, her husband Chris and my grandson (the Mighty) Quinn. Life is good.”

Jim, hope to see you walking around the arboretum during our reunion.

Blanton Hamilton is in conflict: “I’m afraid I have a conflict for the reunion and will miss it. Hope it’s great!”

Simon Harford haunts the haunts: “We are currently in Europe for two weeks. Tina and I just spent time in Tuscany, Italy, revisiting many places and restaurants that were local haunts for us when we lived in Italy 22 years ago — and surprisingly little

has changed! I am impressed that the autostradas (interstates) in Italy are world-class and lacking the potholes seen on I-95 in the United States!

“We recently celebrated a major birthday milestone for Tina in New York on the terrace of Martina Hund-Mejean’s apartment. Martina was ever the gracious host for 20-plus people and she is clearly taking her cooking as seriously as her previous career — the food was outstanding! The kids (young adults) are growing fast. Maximilian, our youngest, just graduated from Bates

College in May and is shortly starting work in financial services in New York and my daughter Isabella is also moving from Boston, Massachusetts, to New York for a new job in marketing. Hopefully at some stage in the future at least one of them will apply to Darden. Patrick, our oldest son, works in the Hamptons, New York, helping run a notfor-profit bakery.

“I continue enjoying work in biotech, despite the rocky markets this year. On the home front we bought a new apartment in Boston’s Back Bay which we will be moving

into in the coming months. Yes, we are planning to attend the reunion next spring and looking forward to coming back to Charlottesville.”

James Haskett is still deciding: “I am considering attending the reunion but haven’t made up my mind.”

Dan Hirschhorn shares a sabbatical: “Gina and I just returned from a week in beautiful Park City, Utah. As a 35-year veteran at Bank of America’s commercial bank, Gina is entitled to a six-week sabbatical this year, a benefit of increasing length that is offered by the bank on every fifth anniversary after year 15 or 20 (I’m not sure which). We spent her first sabbatical week together in Park City, enjoying hikes, the beautiful fall colors, terrific weather (which all go together hand-in-hand), plus great meals (too great…), a wine festival, exploring other small towns in the area and otherwise just relaxing. It was a great kick-off to her sabbatical!

“Our twin ‘boys’ just turned 20 last week, on 1 October. It’s hard for Gina and me to fathom (though I know most of you reading this passed that milestone a while ago). The boys recently began their sophomore years at college after very good freshman years for both. So that transition has gone well. And it warms our hearts that one son is spending part of his fall break visiting his brother this weekend.

“My business returned to the office three days a week (Tuesday–Thursday) beginning 3 May after operating remotely for over two years. So far things have gone well. There was no resistance to speak of from existing employees around returning to the office, and we have fortunately not had any trouble filling several open positions with this policy in place. Hopefully, we have hit on a schedule that will work for us long term.

“I am planning to attend our reunion, at least for the first night, and have my hotel room booked. So, I’m good to go!”

Dan, maybe we can get Darden to fund a

sabbatical for alumni every five years.

Dave Horger laments the empty nest: “After reading your thoughts on the leaves, I couldn’t compare to the emotions you brought up with that! The empty nest thing is harder than we thought because now my wife and daughter are living at our place in Meggett, South Carolina, while I continue to practice in Hartsville, South Carolina. No amount of video calls makes up for not being together. I know our frequent-flyer classmates know the feeling, but it is rough. Our daughter is about to start driving on her own which adds a certain amount of terror to our lives, but it is another milestone we have to embrace. We are planning on being at the reunion. Look forward to seeing everyone soon.”

David, teenagers with new driver’s licenses, always a memory or two from that milepost.

Martina Hund-Mejean “spelunkers” by boat: “Joe and Cheryl Balog and Bruno and I met up at the Algarve in Portugal … it was a great couple of days, including seeing the caves at the Algarve from a boat. We reminisced about Darden and the changes there, as well as in the world, mostly over excellent food and wine in super-nice weather. Our daughter Katarina graduated from Darden in May and it was a fantastic celebration. Our (younger) son Christophe graduated from Boston University. Both kids are gainfully employed, one in Austin, Texas, and one in New York City, New York, though not quite yet off the payroll.

“Bruno and I continue to travel a lot and we look forward to finally finishing the construction on our own apartment in Florida by year’s end. Besides playing tennis and exploring the world, Bruno is now working with a company in Cleantech and I continue with my board work. Wishing everyone a wonderful fall!

“Yes, as the chair of the Darden School Foundation I surely will attend our own reunion. Looking forward to it. Need to get the fund-raising up, as some other classes might beat us!”

Martina, thanks for your continued leadership and support of Darden.

I recently spoke with Walt Kaczynski. He founded a company shortly after graduation. The company, located near Seattle, Washington, continues to thrive and grow. He sends his best to the class. He shares: “reunion, probably not this time around.”

Walt, congrats on your success. The class is pulling for you! We look forward to catching up soon.

David Katz stops lurking: “Long-time reader, first-time contributor. My wife Linda and I spent an amazing week in June with

Stephen and Karen Lindseth Parker at their new vacation home in beautiful Park City, Utah. (If you’ve never been to Park City, go. It’s spectacular. Carolyn Speer Miles and Helen Maher Brownell joined us for a fun trip to Moab, where we visited Arches and Canyonlands national parks. Highly recommended!

“Caught up with Jay West recently during one of his business visits to the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Always great to catch up with him. Also had dinner with Rick Coffey in September at his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, vacation house. Rick’s wife Ellen is, coincidently, my wife Linda’s bestie (they were roommates in college).

“By the way, I still have my HP12C, and I am eagerly awaiting the release of the long-delayed HP13C. Any year now.

“On the could-be-better front, at the beginning of COVID-19 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Too late to meet Muhammad Ali, unfortunately. The good news, though, is that of all the worst diseases, I’ve got the best one! I can’t run like I used to, for example, but I’m able to play pickleball (the fastest growing sport in America, in case you haven’t heard) most days. I hear that pickleball is quite popular at UVA, and I’d love to play with classmates during our next Darden reunion.”

David, good luck with the fight, we are here to support you.

Colleen Keller aspires for the outdoors: “Heading back to C’ville next week for the 30th anniversary of the Charlottesville Free Clinic. Of the 20 years of nonprofit work I did, this remains the closest to my heart. We survived COVID-19 with grace, and patients were able to experience a tent with flu vaccines and a dental hygiene check, all in one. Mainstream healthcare should work this way. Here are my thoughts on retirement, 18 months in:

“That state of mind called retirement. I am on track to achieve the goal of spending most waking hours outdoors. In 1988, Anne Thys and I camped across western Canada. At that time, according to The Atlantic, the average American spends a mere four percent of their life outdoors. This fact inspires my retirement plan. Mondays are the Girls Hiking Club; it should be noted that my first hike, rated ‘medium,’ was 16 miles with a 2,200 feet elevation gain. Welcome to girls in Montana. Mondays also offer outdoor meditation. Tuesdays and Wednesdays offer outdoor yoga and a farmer’s market. Sunny afternoons are made for the rooftops and tents of local breweries.

“My own roof deck beckons with an unlimited supply of library books from the greatest small-town library in the United

Class of ’88 classmates Will Lindenmayer, Jay West, Bob Whalen and Mark Allen enjoyed a golf weekend in Alabama.

States. And soon, the snow beckons. They say you need eight pairs of skis to have an adequate ‘quiver’ for Montana; I am test driving number three. Some Dardenites dropped in (Thys, Bachman and Hagood).

“Our son, age 23, packed up and moved to Bozeman, Montana. We split a fishing raft, and while it’s not clear how I might earn a return on my investment, he can row. Our daughter, age 27, is only one flight away in San Francisco, California. Vince (Darden ’89) continues working, underwriting my sports equipment.

Colleen, you are going to love the new Arboretum.

Mark Kington reports: “Yes, current plans are to be at the reunion.”

Steve Krohn smoothly travels: “Way too much summer business travel, but all of it turned out very lucky. In a six-week span, I made three driving trips plus 16 flight segments, and had only one flight reschedule, which didn’t get in the way of anything except an early afternoon beach trip I had planned. Going into that run at the end of June, I never would’ve expected the schedule to go that smoothly. So, kudos to all the employees who finally came back to work to make things work so well! I am definitely hoping to be at reunion — it more or less comes to me… .”

Steve, here is at you!

Hamid Lalani: “Gina and I plan to attend the reunion; we have it on our calendars. Hope to see many of our classmates. Looking forward to it. We don’t need much excuse to drive to Charlottesville from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Our oldest son Samir is doing his Ph.D. at the UVA medical school. In fact, we will be meeting with Jim Haskett in Charlottesville the week of 3 October and will try to enjoy the fall (and of course see Samir). We need to be careful not to chase him (Samir) away from UVA.”

Hamid, tell Samir to stay away from UNC.

Tyler Leinbach docks the British Virgin Islands: “I am hoping the dock project will begin in late October/early November, once hurricane season is over. Everything in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) operates on a ‘very fluid’ weather-dependent timeline, and the government has been in flux as well since the arrest of the BVI Premier for cocaine trafficking in Miami, Florida, back in late April. The British governor has come in and taken over much of government operations with personally appointed cabinet ministers in a supposed ‘unity government’ that is in violation of the BVI Constitution, so it has been an interesting time down there right now for sure.

“On the ‘home front,’ we purchased a

small home in Charleston, South Carolina, as a full-time home for our schoolteacher daughter there and a part-time home for us to stay and visit during the frequent trips we make there as parents and as members of the Parents Advisory Council at College of Charleston. I am in the midst of making several trips to work on maintenance projects and property upgrades, so that is keeping me ‘very occupied.’

“Life other than that has included a weeklong family vacation to Savannah, Georgia, in June, two weeks in Ireland and Scotland to play golf with some European friends in July, two weeks at the family beach cottage in Sandbridge, Virginia, in August, and recently hosting a longtime group of fraternity brothers for a long weekend of golf in Sandbridge as well. Between all of the above activities and overseeing my mother’s health and financial status with trips to visit her at her retirement community in Pennsylvania, my life is quite busy.

“As for reunion attendance, my intention is to be there in April. I most likely will be coming home from the BVI to attend that event.”

Tyler, your travels are always so inspirational.

Geir Lie captains in Lofoten, Norway: “Carol and I have spent about seven weeks this summer on our new boat — including a long trip to northern Norway and the Lofoten islands, and then all the way back to our home port on the Swedish west coast. A really fantastic trip which brought back good memories from navigating these waters with Missile Torpedo Boats in my Navy days. The coastline is really beautiful and varied with a lot of wildlife such as whales, dolphins and all types of seabirds. In Lofoten, some snow might always linger until the next winter season. The mountains there go straight up from the sea — the highest in the range is about 3,500 feet above sea level.”

Geir, how cool to fire torpedoes. Classmates, if you happen to be in Lofoten, give Geir a shout, it looks like Lofoten is a fun place to tour.

Bob Lindsey is swinging and walking down the aisle: “I am still living in my condo in Reston, Virginia, with my two COVID-19 kitties. I have been cancer-free for three years, but ‘radiation is the gift that keeps on giving.’ Due to a messed-up thyroid gland from the radiation treatment I received for head and neck cancer, and sitting on my butt during COVID-19, I have gained 35 pounds. I restarted taking yoga classes in October and I hope to restart tai chi in December, and I am eating healthier.

“My niece, Brittany, who I helped to raise, got married last summer and graduated from nursing school in September in Colorado. Dad and I walked Brittany down the aisle. My father, a WWII fighter pilot, turned 98 in September, but both he and my older brother, Brittany’s father, are currently having health issues that I am helping them manage. During the weekdays, I continue to swing trade, which means I am mostly sitting on cash waiting for a bottom to the markets, hopefully before the end of 2022, if not mid-2023.”

Bob, shoot me a note a day or two before the bottom of the markets. I got to get in on this.

Mary-Kay Luke Boler settles and travels: “The class section lists brought back welcome memories. Lots has been going on in my world. I took on the role of senior director, corporate and foundation relations for Kennesaw State University this summer and now collaborate with companies and nonprofits to raise funds for scholarships, faculty support, research, etc. This is by far the most fun job I’ve ever had — a fundraiser’s dream! In reality, most of my time is spent helping potential employers and academics speak the same language.

Raffy Villanueva (MBA ’88) and Steve Colton (MBA ’88) show off their old Darden yearbook.

Sam Ruth (MBA ’88) went fishing.

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“My family is settling into its next phase: Matt, my oldest son, is finishing his Ph.D. at Auburn, Alabama, and soon will move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to work with Sandia Labs. My youngest, Finn, just graduated from Case Western Reserve and is starting his career at NSA outside Baltimore, Maryland. Like most other empty nesters, Kent and I are launching a significant house renovation and traveling. We head to Portugal this spring for a several week anniversary celebration, postponed twice due to the pandemic. Sadly, our trip makes attending the reunion impossible.”

Mary-Kay, the Sandia Tram is awesome.

Gary Marcotte is going hillbilly: “Cody and I are really enjoying Nashville, Tennessee. We are regulars at The Ryman, The Opry and season ticket-holders for Predators Hockey. All the loopy Californians have made it too expensive to live here and get down on us for driving a Diesel Jeep with 36 inch wheels, and the Grinch flipping them off in the back window, so we are going to move into the country and set up a couple of double-wides and a good still. Yes, we have gone full hillbilly. Only travel is to follow the NASCAR motorhomes to Bristol, Tennessee; Talladega, Alabama; and other gatherings.

“I went back to work in 2020. I lead product, operations and analytics for a MarTech company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We are hoping for a liquidity event in 2023, so that hopefully ends my working career or at least sets the end date. After eight plus years of bar ownership and no corporate work, I missed a bunch of changes to the workforce and the rules. Lots of T-shirts and logos I can’t wear anymore and really funny jokes that in Minneapolis cause folks to burst into flames. If you are in East Nashville, Tennessee, and see a green house with a ‘Make Halloween Great Again’ banner, with a blondehaired pumpkin in the front yard, a Betsy Ross Flag, and two metal Bigfoots, stop in and say howdy! Thinking about the reunion. I’d like to do it but we’ll see.”

Gary, send some of that still liquor our way.

Tom Mihok starts-up: “I’ve actually been recovering from working on a startup providing financial education and advice to the underserved 25-50 years old market using subscriptions. I have a day financial advisory job and teach evenings/weekends too, so all meetings had to be squeezed in the empty spaces, with multiple weekly 7 a.m. meetings, evenings with clients and workshops, etc.

My co-founder took a new job and withdrew from our startup after about nine months of stimulating but hard work this July/August, so I had to decide what to do next. Just as

that was happening, another startup project surfaced with someone who I’ve been talking with for a long time.

“Our kids are well. Son was promoted to MD at his investment banking firm, and he’s killing it in deals and comp. Our granddaughter is growing and still adorable and even more fun. Our daughter moved back from Austin, Texas, to Brooklyn, New York. We just visited her this past weekend and had great fun in Brooklyn, eating out and visiting nearby Prospect Park! My wife Jennifer is teaching Pilates with nearly back-toback clients most days and loves it. Average age of clients is in the ’70s and all walk taller and stand straighter after a month or two with her instruction. We took several tours with a friend who bought a big boat this summer (something like Geir Lie’s). One particular tour in the New York City harbor was terrific.

“We did two weeks in Maine, first time away that long for vacation, though Jen and I both worked while we were there. Played lots of golf in Maine with gorgeous weather. Jen enjoys golf too, so we take some lessons and get out regularly and both are improving our games. I’m working to be in the 80s consistently.

“I’d like to attend the reunion, yes.”

Beth Moffett safaris and aspires the simple life: “I am doing fine in retirement. (I enjoyed Allison Cryor DiNardo’s comments. Hah!) I have been busy. Retirement is life — a mix of the fun and the mundane. I am not always sure where the days go… .

“Early in the year, I signed up for three classes that helped me make the transition to retirement in April. I most highly recommend one from Darden through Alumni Career Services: The Life Design Lab led by Marty Speight. We read Designing Your Life and completed some of the exercises over three sessions. All fostered creative thinking about values, goals and next steps. In the Zoom labs, I crossed paths with Car-

ole-Lena Schwartz Aaron. Afterwards she, Laurie Alkire Selby and I formed a team to support one another. It has been fun and very helpful.

“I also decided to make the big trip I had planned for 2020, until the pandemic put it on hold. I went on safari, touring in Kenya and Tanzania. I invited my oldest son and his wife to join me. It was wonderful! The adventure of a lifetime! Matt survived on his own.

“Now that I am back, we had the basement painted after 30 years of living here. I am resolved to clean up and live more simply. I will enjoy a walk back in time and then get rid of all the unnecessary stuff. For fun, I am volunteering in the Art Room at a local Arlington elementary school. I love seeing the energy and creativity of the kids! I hope it will keep me young at heart. I plan to be at our reunion next April. It is always fun to visit Darden and be with the Class of ’88!”

Beth, good luck with the simple life. Sounds like a book title.

Mary Moser Phillips outfoxes the foxes: “We had a busy summer. Took the grandkids to the Jersey Shore and to the Poconos, Pennsylvania, for a lake trip. They are getting good at kayaking and fishing. We hope to go to Phoenix, Arizona, in March to visit friends and take a winter break. I am back singing with two groups again. We sing at local libraries and senior communities. We went to see Il Volo in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They are amazing in concert. Enjoyed an abundance of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and green beans from our garden. We still have three chickens that provide enough eggs for us. So far the neighborhood foxes have left them alone. Have a good winter!”

Mary, looks like your grandson has some fishing tips for Sam Ruth.

Mike Mulhern commutes the ICW: “Alison, the girls and I are all fine. Still no marriages, though three of the four look shortly destined. I’m just hopeful for enough of a

Joe and Cheryl Balog and Martina Hund-Mejean, all Class of 1988, met up at the Algarve in Portugal, along with Hund-Mejean’s husband, Bruno, and a friend.

Dave Parker, Linda Katz, Helen Brownell, Carolyn Miles, and Steve and Karen Parker, all Class of 1988, got together for a reunion in Utah.

delay for the market to come back a bit! Nice to see Geir Lie’s Northern Sky. Though I’ve got nothing like his impressive yacht, I am taking my boat down the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) to Florida in a couple weeks with a buddy. Short stop in Charleston, South Carolina, for some golf in Kiawah. We’ll wave to Nancy Nyquist Powell and Ted Powell as we cross through Jacksonville, Florida. It’s a fun thing to do. This will be my third trip. I don’t really do it right as I kind of rush. Last trip, in May, I went from Fort Pierce, Florida, to the Chesapeake, Virginia, in six days. Too much running hard and not enough stopping to smell the roses. One of these years, I’ll take my time.

“We’re in New York a lot and in Annapolis, Maryland, mostly fall and spring. Been in touch with recent (not that recent, but I don’t count COVID-19 time) Annapolis transplant, Jerry Connolly. We both ‘promise’ to get together for dinner with our wives just as soon as we find a date. Let’s hope this is published after we’ve had a chance to enjoy each other’s company.”

Mike, stop and smell the roses, they smell better than diesel fumes.

Tom Neir de-commits: “Hi friends! From Seattle, Washington. Like you all, just getting older and enjoying life — family and friends. With career/work in the rear-view mirror, Sally and I are planning to take a time away from our remaining commitments — as much as possible — to enjoy our good fortune and contemplate the next 20 plus years. We have two boys — adult men — both seem to be destined to settle in Seattle which is fine with us. No grandkids or an immediate prospect of any such thing.

“We regularly attend sporting events, etc., of our great nieces and nephews. Still have family dinners with my three brothers and their families. A long tradition that has survived COVID-19 and the passing of our parents. Since I’m horrible at keeping in touch with folks, Facebook somewhat saves me here … my apologies for this failing. I’m hoping to attend the coming reunion and look forward to seeing many of you. Come to think of it, Darden is so far in the past, it feels like it would be fun to do again! Ha! If you ever swing by Seattle, please look me up! Warm regards, Tom. (TomNeir@gmail.com)”

Tom, I am good on one serving of the Darden educational experience, happy with multiple reunions though.

Jack Oakes coaches: “My work helping Duke MBA students with their career and leadership success continues as does my private coaching practice, which I am focusing on more. Wondering when I’ll start ramping down the full-time work on a path to ‘retirement,’ whatever that is!

“Kelly continues to wow people with her art … whether those are the high school students she teaches at the Trinity School, adults who are just beginning to learn to paint, or gallery visitors admiring her portraits of 12 formerly homeless individuals that she painted based on a grant from the Orange County Arts Commission in an exhibit called ‘To See and Be Seen, to Know and Be Known.’

“Our children are living good lives. Tommy works remotely for a fintech company which allows him to live in different parts of the United States for a few weeks at a time (good way to explore the country). Brendan and Ana are in C’ville, she running a house cleaning business while he works in retail and focuses on helping people with autism.

“Looking forward to our reunion soon back at Darden (and wishing the UVA football team can play to its potential!).”

Jack, catch up with Beth Moffett, she has a good retirement definition.

Duane Paige says: “Sorry, I don’t see the reunion fitting into our upcoming travel plans.”

Stephen Parker with turbo mode: “Karen and I are happy to start traveling again after Chicago, Illinois, isolation as essential workers. No remote working here; just very open commuting highways. With three kids out west, our best play was buying a place in Park City, Utah. Our presence there has been vastly outperformed by our children who can work remotely and now serve as knowledgeable guides for the area when we visit. Perhaps the best outcome was a reunion with Carolyn Speer Miles, Helen Maher Brownell, and David and Linda Katz who joined us in Utah in June. Great catching up and exploring. And a road trip down south found us at Canyonlands for our 40 mile hike … or was it somewhat less than that? Utah parks are stunning. A special shout out to the inventor of E-bikes, which as we age we find necessary in a mountain town. We love blazing past traditional, sweaty bikers who don’t have turbo mode.

“Karen and I hope to free our schedules up in the near future to enjoy a lot more time out there. Until then, it seems that time with parents and kids on both coasts is our priority. We do continue to connect with Curt and Donna Voges who, despite retiring to Michigan, are always good for a theater night near us or a guys’ Whiskey Club outing. Curt and I have a lot of fly fishing in our future. We look forward to seeing our classmates in April. Our first reunion since the 5th … so it’s been a while.”

Jeff Pottinger is teaching and golfing: “Things are going great! Terry and I have settled into our new home in Savannah

Lakes Villages in McCormick, South Carolina. We love the slower, quieter life here, the river and lake, and the two golf courses! My dream of working less, making more and playing more golf is finally coming to fruition!

“I’m still teaching and coaching WHY Discovery and Gallup Strengths for the Honor Foundation and seeing the impact I can have on these veterans. The Honor Foundation has expanded to eight campuses (six live and two virtual) and are conducting short one-day and two-day seminars around the country. I’ve taught in Tacoma, Washington; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and virtually this year! Fortunately, I get the chance to see some of the kids and grandkids on these trips as well. And, occasionally drag my clubs with me. I’ve also started working with Chad Clay (Darden ’02) and his company, Real Frequency Consulting (College and Career), who also use the WHY Institute, WHY Discovery and Gallup Strengths. Just another way to do what I love doing!

“Assuming no conflicts with my teaching schedule, Terry and I plan on attending the reunion.”

Jeff, keep up the good work!

Mark Price in Chile: “Coming to the close of my first year at CaringBridge — lots of learning about culture and differences between for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. Our leadership team is excited about our strategy plan and the expanded opportunities we see to make a difference.

“On the personal front, our older daughter, Jessica, got married to a wonderful man at the end of October. So happy for her and to officially welcome her husband to our family. The next month Julie and I are taking our belated 25th anniversary trip — to Chile. We have been married 28 years, but the trip got delayed due to the pandemic. I told my wife we had to do our 25th trip before our 30th anniversary came around! Still planning on working remote in January/February in Orange County, California, to be with my mom.”

Mark, writing a case or two about for-profit and not-for-profit?

Lew Privon slides the slopes: “I will be teaching skiing again this season at Deer Valley, Utah. Anyone in the area, please say hello. My schedule is a bit more flexible this year, so give me a shout if you want to get together and slide down some hills. A few years back I obtained a Residential and Commercial Building license here so I have been doing some project management work.

A bit different than graduate school, as just talking doesn’t get me too far. Yes, I will be at the reunion.”

Udo Reichling goes to Brown: “What can I say? We came through a record summer, are waiting for the gas crisis in winter and the rest is insecurity. I ran into Diana Suko Hage in May at the Brown graduation, where we both had a child attending. Big circus, three years of graduations in one. Germany is waiting to see whether there will be a big crash or a simple fizzle. Currently, it looks more like fizzling, but tomorrow it can change again. I have already booked my trip for the reunion and came to the same conclusion about the hotel at Darden. Staying at the Omni as always.”

Meredith Riley is sea swimming: “My twins have recently finished university. Alex spent his last year on exchange at LSU primarily because of his love of American football (no I’m not sure either) and managed to work-in several holidays with his godmother, Anne Thys. He would struggle to tell you what happened in 1066, but he is encyclopedic on American football, and is now looking to pursue a career probably as a journalist. Simon is enduring the slings and arrows of job application rejections. My youngest, Kate, has just started university and I’m expecting the ‘I’ve run out of money’ phone call in about six weeks.

“I’m still living the dream in Cornwall, U.K. (as a reference, it’s where Doc Martin is filmed), working as a freelance management consultant. Remote working means I’ve only been to London, U.K., once in two years, and with makeup and good lighting can still pass as dynamic on Zoom. Anyone visiting the U.K. is welcome to come down and stay. My wife, Jo, is training to be a counsellor, and we spend our time walking the dog on the coast paths, gardening and sea swimming.”

Meredith “…finished university.” I like how that sounds, you Brits have such a way with words.

Mary Roff Long: “Reunion, yes, with Sylvia Bray Kinsey as always. Already have our Boar’s Head reservation.”

Sam Ruth catches some exotic great-eating: “All good here in south Florida. I feel bad for the other side of the state with recent Hurricane Ian. I am playing a lot of golf, doing some fishing and getting ready for the coming art season. During some recent deep water fishing, we were going for Tile fish but catching a lot of Blackbelly Rose fish that day. Deep-water exotic. Clean. Great eating.

“See you at the reunion this spring.”

Sam, looks like you are having a blast.

Mark Sanford returns: “After a year in Raleigh, North Carolina, I’m finally going home to Charleston, South Carolina, in a

week! Raleigh is in the tail lights! And this was a terminal move. That’s it! I’m staying here! I’ll be there for reunion!”

Mark, always nice to be home.

Anurag Sharma tries and tries: “My second book project is fits and starts, the finish line somehow always moves forward as I get close to it … but I’m on it! I just got emails from Anne Thys and others, so the reunion is now on the radar.”

Sharma, is your second book about your retirement?

Martha Shenkenberg also walks The Walk: “Martha and Jim Goulden, along with 31 others, walked the Camino de Santiago from Tui, Spain, in six days. It was a fabulous experience, almost 90 miles! So worthwhile. We just missed Joe Balog who was doing a different route. I will be at the reunion!”

Martha, that is a lot of walking.

Carolyn Speer Miles is planning and launching: “Seeing lots of Darden friends over the past six months! Stephen and Karen Parker, David Katz and his wife Linda, and Helen Maher Brownell and I took an amazing trip in June to see Arches and Canyonlands as well as the beautiful sights around Steve and Karen’s fab home in Park City, Utah. Magical place! I also caught up with Helen and Bucknell friends in July and again in September.

“Been very busy at Darden teaching a sustainability class this quarter, as well as my two other courses on CEO leadership and humanitarianism (we’ll see if any MBAs want to take that one — new course this January–March!). I spent most of the summer planning and launching, together with many at Darden, the first Women in Leadership conference at the Rosslyn campus — 130 attendees, 15 faculty members, 30 speakers and Darden leaders all convened on 23 September at Rosslyn, and it seemed a giant success. Just part of the efforts at Darden to get the percentage of women to 50 and to improve the overall experience while there.

“And bonus — I met Udo Reichling’s daughter Victoria who attended as one of our Washington, D.C., area young women leaders! And you will all be glad (or maybe you won’t…) to know that many Darden students still live in Ivy Gardens, which as far as I can tell has not changed much in the over 35 years since many of us lived there. Thus, the discussion about building new student housing on Darden’s footprint in the coming years. On the topic of buildings, the Inn is really coming to life now and I hope to see many of you celebrating that at our reunion in April!”

Carolyn, congrats on the new roles, and thanks for the leadership.

Chip Stelljes splits time: “Life is going

well, splitting time between Virginia and Florida and doing some overdue travel (Italy this summer and London, U.K., over Christmas). I am still active in private equity and serve on several boards of directors. Recently, I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and caught up with C. Russell Bryan and Blanton Hamilton. Suzanne and I are planning to attend the reunion and are looking forward to seeing everyone.”

Diana Suko Hage shares: “I attended the Darden Women’s Leadership Summit in September and wanted to give a huge shoutout to Carolyn Speer Miles for the fantastic job she did in planning, organizing and emceeing the event. I came away from the day very energized and inspired by all the amazing women executives she pulled together for this inaugural event.

“I’m still running an RFID technology firm in Reston, Virginia, and would like to give another shout-out to Jon Wallace for patiently coaching me on this up-and-down rollercoaster of a tech business. One of the only good things about the last two years of COVID-19 has been all the supply chain challenges, which has driven demand for tracking physical assets and supply chain visibility. I also got a chance to catch up with Udo Reichling at Brown University’s graduation in May, which was fun and unexpected.

“Finally doing some travelling again this year — spent Christmas in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and am writing this note from Seattle, Washington. We have one son in grad school in California and another doing his junior year in Scotland, so we are heading to Edinburgh, U.K., this fall. I’m looking forward to the Scottish Highlands and distillery tours.

“I’m definitely planning to attend next year’s reunion. Martha Shenkenberg and I caught up at our UVA undergrad reunion a few months ago, and both of us would be happy to participate in planning our class events. We’re still living in Great Falls, Virginia, and will be glad to host some pre-reunion planning sessions at our place.”

Tinu Thakore is chasing bears and jaguars: “Still teaching. Went jaguar tracking during Christmas break, which was fun. End of summer, I spent 10 days in Lake Tahoe with Greg and my daughter. Great weather and beautiful nature. Saw several black bears.”

Tinu, good for you, turned the tables on the jaguars.

Curt Voges crews, reads and travels: “Summer went by quickly. I’ve progressed as an additive crew member on friends’ sailboats, and next year will have to be more careful accepting crew invitations, as I was a little burned out by the end of our friendly

racing season. Donna and I were away visiting friends throughout the Midwest in the late summer. Like so many, we have recently taken up pickleball. So far we have not hurt ourselves!

“My presidential reading progress has slowed as I remained distracted by the Civil War and wound up reading more broadly about the leading figures and controversies from those troubled times. I am now finally leaving that period and just got going on Chester Arthur, president number 21. I’m looking forward to breaking into the twentieth century.

“Our son has set a date to be in Mexico. I’m sure we will enjoy his event in late January for many reasons, including its location, which will take us away from the Michigan winter. His event has prompted us to plan a fall trip to New York so Donna and our daughter can shop together. We are looking forward to a post COVID-19 visit to New York City.”

Curt, pickleball and presidents, what a great combination.

Jon Wallace downsizes: “Jacqueline and I sold our Great Falls, Virginia, house and are now in a condo in Reston, Virginia. We also have a Morgantown, West Virginia, retreat and are thinking about a warm weather place, maybe Florida. The new investment bank I started, Sojourner Capital, is doing well and is a great complement to my private equity investments.

“Both of our children, Morgan and Chris, are enjoying the early part of their careers. Our children are about the same age we were when we all met — time flies by! Jacqueline and I are determined to work less and play more. We are planning a trip to St. John in January and thinking about Europe in a year or so. We recently saw Jerry and Vanessa Connolly and Diana Suko Hage. Jim Beddows (MBA ’89) stopped by for lunch as he made a swing through the Washington, D.C., area. Hope to see many more classmates at the reunion!”

Jonathan, congrats on the kids’ successfully launching!

Keith Watkins is in a tent: “We finished our camping in Colorado in mid-July but spent the last two weeks of that trip, along with the drive home in COVID-19 quarantine… . Ugh, but feeling robust now. Really nothing new to report for now as we leave in a week for a photo-safari in Tanzania and Zanzibar. Should be interesting as we spend two weeks in canvas tents in the Serengeti before visiting some villages, schools and hospitals (sorry we are not much for museums!). The Darden reunion is still a TBD. I may have a conflict with an old Navy squadron reunion, both of which were important

to me personally and professionally.”

Keith, from fifth wheel to tent, really downsizing.

Chris Williams stresses the sweet grapes: “I’m out in California and am still making wine. We’ve had some good successes recently with wine awards and accolades. Recently we were named ‘Best red’ and ‘Best downtown tasting room’ in a local reader’s choice poll, beating a lot of much larger wineries, which was gratifying. We’re also about to start selling in a local grocery chain and we have distribution in Japan. We have employees now (besides ourselves) and are growing, even in a challenging economy. As we are still in harvest season; people may be wondering about the 2022 vintage. It will be awhile before we know for sure, but climate change is here and caused an extended heat wave right at the start of picking season. This was unexpected and caused some distress to the grapes, spiking sugar levels. I’m not sure if 2022 will be one we’ll be remembering or want to forget, but time will tell.

“Beyond wine, I’m still writing software, both for my own company and for an employer, but that career is transitioning more and more to the winery these days. I’m located in central California in the Paso Robles area, and I invite anyone coming this way to reach out and stop by. Our winery is called Kula Vineyards & Winery.”

Chris, sweet grapes are better than sour grapes, I think.

Bob Wirth is recruiting: “I am definitely planning to attend the reunion. Of course, so will Udo Reichling. We will see if we can get Jan Poczobutt and Sherri to come. I very much would like to see Simon Harford and his wife as they missed the last one. I will work diligently to get Jean Giraudet and his wife Nienke to attend.”

Tim Wright says: “As of now, the reunion is not in my plans.”

Scott Ziegler, the accountant: “My COVID-19 recovery was a literal one as I got fairly sick in Paris, France, and had a hard time getting back in the United States (back when the rules still required a negative test). A good reminder to be thankful for our many blessings. I am really looking forward to the reunion and seeing everyone … hotel booked, schedule blocked. I appreciate the culture of our class and the examples of many of our classmates … inviting, open, kind, interesting, all better writers than me (there was a reason I studied accounting) and willing to help others. Take care and see you all soon!”

Scott, stuck in Paris, France, with COVID-19, I can think of worse places to be. Thinking of Stacey Gehringer in the arctic, in a 12-passenger boat.

That’s a wrap! Thanks to Shelly, Allison Cryor DiNardo, Karen Lindseth Parker, and Bob Lindsey for their editing help. Looking forward to seeing everyone and their aging, but turbo-mode “infrastructure” at the reunion in April. I will leave you with two pieces of advice. The first we have heard before from Blanton Hamilton: to never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever quit! The second is from Bill Murray, the great philosopher and movie star (think Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Ground Hog Day): “Whatever you do, always give 100 percent, unless you’re donating blood.”

1989

Champe Fisher; Steve Hassett champe59@gmail.com shassett@hassett-mail.com

I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Hagood will support the school and its academic mission as a new member of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees. According to Dean Scott Beardsley, the “new trustees hold leadership roles at innovative organizations across various sectors taking on the world’s most pressing challenges. Their wealth of experience and global perspective represents the very best of Darden, and they are uniquely suited to help us achieve the full potential of our mission.” Elizabeth is one of seven accomplished Darden graduates who began their threeyear term on 1 July. Elizabeth is the former director of the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, a startup nonprofit land conservation organization in South Carolina. Working collaboratively with landowners, businesses and other nonprofit organizations, she led the organization to become one of the premier land trusts in the country, protecting thousands of acres of land along the South Carolina coast.

Also, I am honored to share that Naren Gursahaney was elected to the Pennsylvania

Barry Clay, Rob James, Russell Logan and Robert Reton, all Class of 1989, watched the NFL playoff games during Tampa Bay’s Gasparilla weekend.

State University Board of Trustees effective 1 July, representing Business and Industry. Naren is a former president, CEO and a director of ADT Corporation and currently serves on the boards of NextEra Energy, Terminix Global Holdings and Berwind Corp. Naren has created scholarships and excellence funds in Penn State’s College of Engineering and College of Information Sciences and Technology and provided support for the Student Veteran Center. He has been recognized with the Penn State Alumni Fellow Award, Distinguished Alumni Award and Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award.

Please join me in congratulating Elizabeth and Naren on their important new roles!

Robert James reached out to say that he recently had dinner in Tampa, Florida, with Russell Logan, Barry Clay and Robert Reton. The picture was taken in January when the group got together to watch NFL playoff games during Tampa’s famous Gasparilla weekend (a Florida event similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana). In the past this group has got together to eat, smoke cigars and have a drink whenever Russell, Barry and Rob are in town.

Robert has been living in Tampa, Florida, on and off for 23 years. He went to Montana in early 2019, but returned to Tampa in early 2020 just in time to get settled before everyone was grounded by the pandemic. Robert says he has been doing consulting for a few years, mainly with smaller, entrepreneurial companies who need help developing financials, business models, dashboards and bringing in investors. He finds the work interesting as it provides flexibility for worklife balance, and it’s very satisfying to help out hard-working entrepreneurs following their visions.

Russell and Cheryl (MBA ’92) Logan celebrated their 30th anniversary this summer, and they are enjoying their fourth year of being Washington, D.C., residents and empty nesters! They try to find a reasonable work-life balance with Russell running Freeman-Logan M&A advisory/business brokerage firm and Cheryl working in an internal consulting group at Fannie Mae. During the past several months they spent time in Rotterdam, Netherlands, for the North Sea Jazz Festival, as well as Barcelona and San Sebastián, Spain. For leisure closer to home, they recently joined the pickleball craze and play a couple times a week whenever possible. During 2022, Russell has connected with several classmates. Professor Jacquie Doyle invited him to be a guest speaker for her Leaders Taking Action class and in May, Alex Picou treated Russell to a “fantastic” lunch at J.P. Morgan’s Private Client office in

New York.

Robert James reports he is still running a finance/accounting staffing and consulting firm in Chicago, Illinois. He commented that like most classmates, “the nest is finally empty” at his household.

Pete Ten Eyck checked in to say his daughter is starting her freshman year at Emerson College where she will be studying costume design. Pete reports he and his wife are now empty nesters. He says they have been hanging out with Rooney and Barbara deButts, and Charlie Wilson and his wife Andrea in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Exciting update on Octavia Matthews: she was named among Crains Chicago Business 2022 Notable Black Leaders and Executives. The list highlights her work as Aramark Vice President of Strategic Partnerships (Facilities Management), and the many ways she is helping businesses grow and improve communities.

The recognition also considers her leadership role in MBE certification review and recommendations in Chicago, Illinois, and work as Ethics Instructor with the PIPE program for MBEs, which is co-sponsored by the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council and Aramark. Octavia commented, “Overall, this honor also speaks to what is so important to me — being able to uplift and impact the community in ways to help others move forward. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., for 41 years, as a member of The Links, Inc., and in providing experiences for youth at risk, I am passionate about helping others reach their potential. ‘Because they are … I am.’”

Finally, I want to share the final fiscal year 2022 class giving report In total, our class achieved $134,172 in contributions with a 35 percent participation rate. Congratulations to one and all on these strong results, and let’s try to improve our numbers in 2023. As always, please stay well and keep the Class Notes coming.

1990

Heather McGrew; Steve Silbiger

heatherjmcgrew@gmail.com

silbigers@gmail.com

Our column is a bit light on news this go around. Please remember that we are now using the darden90notes@gmail.com account to collect tidbits for the column. We love stories of mini reunions, especially when they are accompanied by photos, humble bragging about the accomplishments of your children, and tales of travel and adventure. That Gmail account is also the email address we use to send out class e-blasts that often contain many fun pictures of classmates. If you aren’t getting our emails, please be sure to add the address to your approved sender list.

As you all know, we have some movers and shakers in the class. And this time we literally mean “movers.” Sanja Skansi deGarmo shared that she and her husband, John, recently downsized and moved out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a large piece of property where they are enjoying the wildlife, especially the birds, and are remodeling a mid-century modern home. Sanja is putting her undergraduate architecture degree to use in designing and orchestrating the remodel, while also volunteering at local nonprofits. This summer they traveled with their two kids, now college grads, to Iceland, their first trip since the pandemic started. Sanja writes, “I have been back to Virginia many times over the past two years to care for my aging father, which seems to be a through line for so many of us. Our kids are both out of school and working, and our dog would like to know when are we going for a walk … .”

After 25 years of looking at mountains outside of Charlottesville, Connie (MBA ’91) and Austin English decided they would like to spend the next 25 looking at water. They sold their house in C’ville in June and embraced a nomadic summer enjoying road trips and visiting friends. At the end of Au-

Steve Silbiger (MBA ’90) with his daugher, Sarah, who was part of The Washington Post team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the January 6th Insurrection

These two Class of 1990 couples met and fell in love at Darden and got married after graduation: Dan and Cammy Bryce and Sally and Brian Cors.

ALUMNI PROFILE CONNIE HALLQUIST (MBA ’91)

Reinvention from QVC to Garnet Hill

Currently serving as the president of direct-to-consumer retailer Garnet Hill, Connie Hallquist (MBA ’91) has experienced a broad range of roles and a number of reinventions during her career.

Hallquist came to Darden as a career switcher. After working in banking trading currencies (putting an undergrad French degree to unorthodox use), she was searching for a long-term career and a transition into marketing. Imposter syndrome reared its head at first. “I had so many doubts,” she recalled, but ultimately, her learning team eased the stress when she realized, “We’re all here to help each other.”

Hallquist’s career-switch gambit worked, as she landed a brand management job at Kraft Foods after Darden. When the dotcom boom reached a fever pitch in 1999, Hallquist took a leap. She founded Gold Violin, which sold products for senior citizens. When the NASDAQ crashed in 2000, one week after the company shipped its first product, Hallquist had to think outside the box — and she found an unlikely lifeline in TV shopping network QVC. Hallquist found herself in the unenviable position of needing to go live on-air at the last minute. “This was about company survival,” she said. “I either did this, or we would go down in flames. So I dug deep, I pushed outside

my comfort zone, and I walked onto that stage set and spent the next four years on live television saving our company.”

But another inflection point came through the sudden loss of her husband, Brian Cowan (MBA ’91), to brain cancer in 2019. “Everything happened so fast,” she said. “He was 61 when he passed away, the picture of health. I never even conceived of something like that happening.” Navigating grief took time. “There are things in life — it could be divorce, loss of a spouse, loss of a parent or child — that you’ll deal with during your career. How you handle that if you have a busy career or you’re in a leadership role, how you come out the other side, nobody talks about that. We have a long way to go.”

After taking a year to process the loss, help manage the sale of Cowan’s company and spend time with their children, Hallquist wondered what she would do next. She knew she had plenty of options in theory, but “it was really hard at that point. I had always been recruited. I had never been unemployed. I was a little lost.” But her powerful network worked its magic, and today Hallquist is leading as president of Garnet Hill through the shocks of COVID, remote work and beyond.

— Molly Mitchell

gust, they bought a place on Burnside Island in Savannah, Georgia. When Connie sent in their note, they were on a month-long trip to Portugal and Spain. Their move is scheduled for early October so by the time you read this, they will be Georgia residents. Connie wrote, “Once we’re settled, we’d love to see anyone coming through the area!”

Dorothy Batten is happily settled in Charlottesville, but her son, Hunter, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, has recently relocated to San Diego, California, where he will be training on the MH-60R helicopter. Do you remember the winery, Oakencroft, off Barracks Road about halfway between town and Foxfield? Dorothy bought it a few years ago and has been renovating the winery and bringing the vineyards back to life. They have been making wine for two years now. Next time you are in Charlottesville, be sure to visit for a wine tasting. Their new tasting room opens in March 2023.

Dan Phillips continues to move swiftly through water. He and his wife, Kelley, traveled to Colombia this summer where he competed in the Masters Pan American Championship where he won a gold and a silver medal.

Basil, of course Basil Morris, sends his best to the class and his hope that our next reunion will be in person, because that Zoom thing is just not the same. Basil is the chief strategy officer at Hanover Insurance. He leads a team that analyzes the future of property and casualty insurance and develops their long-term strategy. That includes innovation, mergers and acquisitions, and diversity and talent — all the stuff they trained us for at Darden. He splits his time between headquarters in Worchester, Massachusetts, and home in Columbus, Ohio. His most exciting news is his two granddaughters: Milan, age 4, and Sarya, age 4 months.

Tim Krongard is still in Baltimore, Maryland, but doing an entirely different thing, operating a company rather than investing in one. He bought a local company that sells commercial dishwashers and the chemicals for them as well as products for commercial laundry machines. His customers include restaurants, country clubs, assisted living providers, caterers and hotels in Maryland; Washington, D.C.; and northern Virginia. Frances continues to work with Potomack Company Auctions in Alexandria, Virginia, where she does appraisals and helps people sell their estates, collections and individual art pieces. Both kids have grown up. His son graduated and is working for a forestry company in Alabama and volunteer firefighting, and his daughter is a senior at Elon University.

A note from your humble scribe, Steve:

“Sometimes we do great things, but it is better when your children do them and make you proud. Sarah was part of the team from The Washington Post that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in May for their coverage of the January 6th Insurrection — before, during and after. Her photos of the “melting” infamous enabler Rudy Giuliani went viral. In my TV world, old gold is best. Top Dog resurrected our FDA-cleared medical device, the BeActive Brace for sciatic back pain, and it is hitting the charts on a wide rollout on TV, Amazon and the retail shelves, which is not what it used to be before COVID-19.”

A note from your humble scribe, Heather: “This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Camp Stawderman in Edinburg, Virginia, originally founded in 1929. Situated in a beautiful location in the Shenandoah Valley, the girls’ camp is near and dear to Jeanne Mockard’s heart. She grew up spending summers at the camp as a camper, graduated to being a camp counselor and now she and her partner, Valerie, run the place! I spent a fabulous afternoon with Jeanne at the beginning of the summer as they were doing final preparations before the campers arrived the next day. Running Camp Strawderman is a universe away from Jeanne’s life living in Boston, Massachusetts, and being interviewed for her financial expertise on CNBC. Running a camp throws interesting new challenges her way. She manages a huge property, a whole lot of horses, staff, campers, counselors and occasionally has to cajole ornery equipment back to life. This fall, they hosted a huge group of Darden students for a weekend of “glamping” (I used that word specifically to give Jeanne a chuckle) and hiking before the school year starts. Mountains, hiking, fresh air and very limited internet access. True bliss. If Jeanne invites you to visit, it would be criminal not to take her up on it!”

1991

Christopher Black; Laurel Peltier chrisblack0545@gmail.com laurel.peltier@gmail.com

As Laurel Evanson Peltier and I reflect on this past year, we are so thankful for your increased engagement and the very social way that our class has renewed relationships. Our D’91 Wine-n-Zoom meeting on 16 May 2022 had over 30 guests. We are planning a second Wine-n-Zoom for late January 2023. And the D’91 Summerfest Philadelphia was an epic dinner for 12 classmates at Ro and Martin King’s home on 31 July 2022. Lastly, does anyone remember the infamous pink D’91 Cookbook? No worries, it’s been digitized and can be found here: issuu.com/greenlaurel7/docs/darden_ class_1991_cookbook.

D’91 Spotlight — our private LinkedIn group — has grown to 100 members at this address: linkedin.com/groups/9151939/. Please join D’91 Spotlight to see posts and re-posts of classmates. Thanks to our class engagement, D’91 is also celebrating continued high giving participation at just under 40 percent for the past two years. We are 30 years out and those are impressive results! Our Darden community is so thankful!

I continue to stay in touch with my study group member Karen Boecker. Karen sent my niece Alice to visit me here in Washington, D.C., from London, U.K., this summer. It was great fun being called “Uncle Chris” and being taken out to dinner in Georgetown. Alice is a mini-me of Karen and shared how her incredible mom semi-retired from over 30 years in private banking last year. Karen writes that she is now doing some ad hoc client consulting in real estate and wealth management (i.e. when she feels like it …) and spending time traveling, volunteering and catching up with friends coming through London, including Julie Mollick Hallowell and Shin Furukawa

(MBA ’92).

Phil Bowman writes: “We’ve settled in on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. We’ve come here for 18 months as volunteers at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). Our job is to mentor a group of six amazing students from BYU Hawaii in the Customer Analytics department at Hawaii’s number one tourist attraction. The PCC’s purpose is to protect and nurture the cultures of Polynesia and provide employment for students at BYU Hawaii. If you are on the north shore, look us up. Phil and Gloria Bowman.”

Connie Dato English writes: “We continue to be ‘selectively employed’ — I as a career coach (and some executive searches), while Austin does continuous improvement consulting. Austin taught a second-year operations elective at Darden last year too. After 25 years of living near the mountains on C’ville, the call of the sea beckoned … . Austin and I decided we’d like to get closer to the ocean and his family in Georgia. So, we sold our Albemarle County, Virginia, house in June and embraced a nomadic summer enjoying road trips and visiting friends for a while. At the end of August, we bought a place with deep water access on Burnside Island in Savannah, Georgia. We already had a month-long trip to Portugal

Anne Hennessey (MBA ’91) trained for the Army 10-miler in Washington, D.C., this fall.

Chris Black (MBA ’91)

Brian Morgan (MBA ’91) is still figuring it all out.

Richard Dodd (MBA ’91) with his family

and Spain planned for September, so we put off fully moving in until early October. Once we’re settled, we’d love to see anyone coming through the area!”

Richard Dodd writes: “Sorry for the radio silence — I still live in London, U.K., with my wife Emma and son Ozzie, age 8. My other four kids are grown up and (mostly) self-sufficient. I was delighted this year to welcome my first granddaughter, Aoife. I don’t feel old enough to be a grandfather! I work in smaller business and mid-caps with private equity, mainly in telecoms and technology. I’ve just joined the board of a fiber telecoms business, backed by a European PE group. I am currently working closely with my long-term business partner selling an aerospace business in the United States. I spend my spare time (such as it) traveling, riding motorcycles, and playing cricket. This summer we managed to complete a long-delayed trip to South Africa in August, which was a real treat. Hope this is what you need and hope to find a chance to catch up with more of the crew soon!”

Pascal Monteiro de Barros is another classmate who is London-based. Pascal writes that he will be celebrating his sixth

anniversary at Stirling Square, a mid-market pan-European private Equity Firm based in London, where he is head of Investor Relations and fundraising. Pascal lives between London and Gloucestershire (the Cotswolds), where he spends Fridays and weekends. He often sees Casey Norman, who lives near him. Pascal’s four grown children are strewn across Europe and America (two girls in Paris, France, and Lisbon, Portugal; two boys in Los Angeles and New York City, USA), all U.S. college-educated including one boy — Edward — at UVA. Edward has been working for the company that Guillaume Cuvelier started and sold to Diageo. He writes that “Darden is always near, somehow.” Pascal has agreed to lead the European update during our D’91 Wine-n-Zoom call in late January 2023.

Halsey Cook writes that “After 30 plus years as a corporate gypsy with 10 moves to the Midwest, Northeast and European locations, Michele (you may remember her from Darden days) and I have settled in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where I serve as the CEO of Milliken and Company. That journey was 17 years with Carrier and 12 with Legrand & Sonepar, two French companies

in electrical infrastructure manufacturing and distribution. We have had three children (one in France and two in Italy) along the way and are now empty nesters. Milliken is privately held with leading positions in industrial textiles and specialty chemicals, amongst other products. We are investing in acquisitions and retooling core operations as we navigate to capture opportunities in rapidly changing markets — a familiar story for all the members of the Class of ’91, I’m sure!” Halsey suggests that we reach out on LinkedIn — he welcomes a social visit or business collaboration. And he sends his best!

Risa Dimacali continues to live in Tokyo, Japan, astounded that she and husband Brian Burns have been in the country for seven years. Staying in Japan during the pandemic, when the borders remained closed for over two years, gave the couple a chance to explore the more remote prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Kagoshima.

Many thanks to Laurel Evanson Peltier for digitizing the D’91 Cookbook that Clay and Jeannie authored at Darden. Jeannie Tabor writes that she has been in Memphis, Tennessee, for 23 years and has three grown kids (ages 26, 24 and 21). Jeannie is publish-

Halsey Cook (MBA ’91) has settled in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Peter Kirby (MBA ’91) is taking advantage of early retirement.

Eric Randall (MBA ’91) spends his free time biking and skiing.

Carolyn Lyons (MBA ’91) is living life to the fullest in Cape Town, South Africa.

Jonathan Russell (MBA ’91) is enjoying life in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Risa Dimacali (MBA ’91) continues to live in Tokyo, Japan.

ing director of River City Lifestyle magazine. She loves traveling (mainly to see the kids), tennis and pickleball. Clay Flynn Gill has been living in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Peter Kirby writes that since taking early retirement from IBM in his early 50s, he has served as director on several boards, for-profit and nonprofit, while taking care of kids and home. He spent 2021 as (unpaid) acting executive director at Climate XChange, where he has been on the board for about seven years. Despite their small staff of ten people, Climate XChange has become a key source of information and support for legislators and activists working to improve climate policy in all 50 states. Peter encourages us to check out Climate XChange’s State Climate Policy Dashboard. He really enjoyed the chance to work directly with a young, motivated team, but is glad to have the time back after they hired a new executive director earlier this year. Peter is now running their annual fundraising raffle, giving away a Tesla of the winner’s choice (taxes paid), along with four cash prizes. Visit climate-xchange.org for details.

Cal Lyons writes: “In general all is well here — our experience living in Cape Town, South Africa, has continued to impact all of us in different ways. Both kids are (finally) in high school (I was a late bloomer in terms of marriage) — one looking at international relations programs in college, and the other just starting an IB program at a French Lycée here in Boston, Massachusetts. Career-wise I’ve managed to avoid the commitment of a ‘real’ job, and have continued to consult with nonprofit, philanthropic and corporate leadership on strategies to increase social impact and improve the lives of young children and families. All of my clients are either national or globally focused with visionary leadership and platforms for systemic change. I was especially busy representing multiple perspectives during

the recent UN General Assembly week, participating in convenings with policymakers, NGOs, activists and philanthropists at the UN and helping to manage Clinton Global Initiative 2022, with a significant focus on climate change’s devastating impact on young children. Outside of family and work, my passions are travel, living an active lifestyle, and my incredibly cute (and first) dog! I’m still in touch and treasure time with my Darden buddies, including Sharon, Katie, Kate, Mary, Patti and Laurel.”

Brian Morgan writes: “After 25 years in Dallas, Texas, running a small/mid-sized contract research organization, I’m still figuring out what I’ll do when I grow up! My daughter, Valirie, and son, Cole, have grown up and moved on to Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, respectively.

“My wife Laurie (UVA ’84) has been teaching preschool all the while, and we spend our free time fleeing the empty nest and enjoying live music and great barbeque in Texas. (That, and the cold beer, help us endure the heat and the politics out here.) We share a sailboat with a friend and do some lake sailing. This past January fulfilled a longtime dream to bareboat charter a sloop in the British Virgin Islands. We spent 10 days with our kids reconnecting with the slower rhythms of the water and the wind. No screens, lots of cheap rum and … no bickering! Unexpected. Highly recommended!

“We miss the mid-Atlantic, and one day will move back east. In the meantime, the clinical research work is always interesting, and MedTrials (shameless plug) is a bit of a small player in a competitive industry. No NPV analysis to speak of, but my Darden experience, so long ago, still guides my passion for providing high-quality technical services with integrity.

“I was sorry to miss the Zoom call with classmates I’ve not connected with in so

long. Cheers; to the next time!”

Eric Randall writes that he is … still working! He is editor-in-chief of a newspaper covering public education published by a not-for-profit organization. He also has an IPO: income-producing offspring. He is spending his free time biking and skiing. Eric says, “Best to all my Darden classmates!”

Jon Russell continues to enjoy living with his wife and two kids in Knoxville, Tennessee. He writes: “In September and October I’m spending as much time in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, as possible.” He stated that he “might soon connect with John Harris (in Charlotte, North Carolina) and Greg Warmuth (in Boone, North Carolina).”

Dan Yates writes: “After Darden I went to work for Spirit Cruises, at the time the largest dinner boat company in the United States, and managed two boats for them. In 1993 I left and moved to Portland, Oregon, to start a dinner boat company with my uncle, Wayne Kingsley, Darden Class of ’71. We have grown from one 600 passenger boat to two 600 passenger vessels and three 150 passenger vessels, and one shore restaurant. I got married 15 years ago to Maggie, or as my close friends call her, Saint Maggie. I am sure her nickname is not a mystery to those who know me. We currently have four dogs, but a fifth is on its way as my wife competes in sheep herding with our border collies. I still collect books but enjoy work too much to retire. Over the years, several classmates have joined me for a dinner cruise. My treat … come visit Portland.

1992

Asli Eksioglu, ake@derinmermerci.com

Very few updates this time and yet, it’s always good to hear from George Collins who wrote us from Prague, Czech Republic. George transitioned away from finance and launched a new career as an independent

Pascal Monteiro de Barros (MBA ’91) celebrated his sixth anniversary at Stirling Square.

Laurel Evanson Peltier (MBA ’91) recently digitized the Class of 1991 cookbook!

Phil (MBA ’91) and Gloria Bowman

musician, releasing his first EP, It’s Been a Long Time, on 16 September 2022. This EP collects five original songs that were released over the previous year and have racked up tens of thousands of Spotify streams and YouTube views. You can check out George’s music and videos on his website, georgecollinsband.com. Congratulations, George, and all the best in this new journey. We all can enjoy your music online and, who knows, maybe at the next reunion.

Another happy update is from Robbie Huffines: “Rick and Kathy (Hercig) Edmunds’ daughter Maggie Edmunds (MBA ’21) married Alec MacIntyre (MBA ’21) on Saturday, 24 September. Chip Caravati and Michael Meyer upheld the Class of ’92’s reputation on the dance floor, but with the bride and groom both in the Class of ’21 they had numbers and youth on their side. Rick’s toast to his daughter and new son-inlaw would have made even our most critical professors proud. Yea Maggie and Alec! They dated prior to Darden. Loved the school and now both work at Bain.”

I (Asli Keskinel Eksioglu) write: “Now that travelling is somewhat okay, I am doing my best to keep myself busy between Alaçatı and Istanbul, Turkey … visited a few friends in Bodrum, Turkey, over the summer twice. Went to Berlin, Germany, to experience a Coldplay stadium concert, which was a magical night, and I am grateful to have another tick on my bucket list. I still wear masks while on the plane (also wore one at the Coldplay concert) and am somewhat proud to say I am a ‘COVID-19-virgin.’ Another wonderful trip was to amazing Cappadocia, Turkey, for a friend’s birthday weekend. I also travelled to Mardin and Antakya, Turkey, both of which have unique energies and fabulous archeological sites. I certainly recommend all of you to travel to my beautiful country and let me know when! I miss you and want to see you more often than every five years.”

Finally, please do keep in touch and write updates, short or long. Take care, be healthy, happy, joyful and enjoy every moment. Sending each one of you love and a big smile.

1993

May Ng; Rebecca Kilduff

ngmay2000@yahoo.com

beccaindc@gmail.com

Jim Edwards shares: “I’ve now wrapped up my year of chairing the American Bankers Association, which was a great experience allowing me to travel and meet/work with bankers from all over the country on banking policy and regulatory issues. Laura and I are adjusting again to the empty nest world

after our daughters moved back to Dallas and Austin, Texas, after the pandemic. We see them often and our son even more as he works in Atlanta, Georgia. Laura and I’ve enjoyed our recent post-pandemic travel to Ireland and Italy. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with everyone soon at our upcoming reunion!”

Congrats to Ken Pawlak on his recent purchase of a condo in Maui, Hawaii! Ken and his wife, Carol, are enjoying the good life in paradise, whether that’s relaxing on the beach, skiing at NorthStar (Lake Tahoe, California), or chilling out in their comfy home in Reno, Nevada.

1994

Tamara Harvey de Dios tamaradedios@yahoo.com

Thirty years ago we met on-Grounds to begin an amazing adventure. Fall of 1992 started two of the best years of my life. That much I know for sure. But time has a way of making some memories a bit fuzzy and many of the details seem to be fading. Here is what I remember: We didn’t have a big fancy building with an arboretum or a five-star hotel. How did we do it with just one kind of ugly building in the middle of nowhere, Virginia? Charlottesville was just a sleepy little town with only a few restaurants and no mall. Tuition was reasonable and one could even pay out-of-state tuition and not break the bank. (Yep — that was me!) We had plain coffee without croissants every morning. We had four sections who bonded immediately over George’s T-shirts and Shifletts and every other case that had a cold call every day. (Elvis, any memories here for you?) We had study groups who helped us figure out how to approach each case. No special tutors or hand-holding were required — just jump in and figure it out. We did it using our collective prior knowledge along with our intellect and/or (mostly or?) our common sense. Who needed to calculate the WACC if the payback was only two months? We were still a bit of a “business school boot camp” and those who came before us said we had it easy because we didn’t have classes on Saturday. The trend continues as I shake my head in disbelief at some of the changes — but that’s progress, right?

Between now and our reunion in 2024, I will do my best to help us remember what brought us all together, and how we endure as a strong class filled with friendship and life-long relationships with a little business acumen thrown in for good measure.

The past 30 years have been good to our class, so I’ll start with one success story.

Congratulations to Cliff Farrah whose

company, the Beacon Group, was acquired by Accenture in September. His consulting firm had grown to over 60 experts in growth strategy, market modeling and mergers and acquisitions advisory. It is always a pleasure to report on accomplishments such as these! Thank you to Doug Fletcher for sharing this story with me before it broke on the Darden Facebook page.

It is also my pleasure to share general life updates.

Mark Kotzer shared the following: “The last two years have been full of change — generally in a good way. I left Liberty Mutual and have been exploring what’s next by doing independent consulting, advising start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs, and evaluating the potential for creating a new, next-gen world’s fair event. I’m not sure where this will all lead but it’s been fun. My wife, Lauren, closed her chocolate store and is now happy working for a tech start-up. Fortunately, I remain very well-supplied with chocolate. We also adopted a retired racing greyhound who excels at being a couch potato. A shout out to Dana Sims for providing some great advice from his experience adopting greyhounds. One constant … still in Seattle, Washington. Will probably be here for life! For those who travel to the northwest, please visit! There is now a critical mass of Darden ’94 in Seattle between me, Dana and Joanna Bressel-Wilder!”

Beware to all classmates who try to share brief updates, because I will ask for more. Mark shared the prior note only because he had shared this with me first: “My wife and I were in France for a wedding and had the great pleasure of visiting Topper Power on his home turf just outside Paris in Versailles, France. It was wonderful to catch up after 20 plus years as if no time had passed. Topper has been living the life of an expat since Darden, based previously in Russia, Ukraine, the Netherlands and now France. He’s married and has a son, age 5, and daughter, age 6.”

Topper Power (MBA ’94) and Mark Kotzer (MBA ’94) met at a café in Versailles, France.

That was it for our updates. Thank you so much to Doug and Mark for reaching out — you make my job so much easier! I am also grateful for Facebook where I can glean a few details:

Lauren (Pantos) Murphy, Lea Varelas Medow, Christy Brock Miele and Susanna Jacobus get together annually over a long weekend, and their destination in September was Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From the photos posted they all look amazing in cowboy hats! So glad that our classmates have created life-long friendships and make time to meet up.

On a final note, I was worried that I would have scant news to report, so I decided to pull together a few stats about the Class of ’94. Open call to Andrew Logan if you can come up with more interesting and creative stats for our next Class Notes!

Number with Mystery Jobs (list employers but no job titles): 10

Number with Mystery Lives (no listing for titles or employers): 30 (Are we all happily retired? (I am a member of this group, but prefer the designation “extended sabbatical.”)

Number who claim to work in the C-suite: 31 (including only those with an actual “C” in their title; we have another group of Co-Founders, Founders, Managing Executives, Managing Partners, Owners and Presidents)

Number living outside the United States: 16 (Places we call home include Australia, Bahamas, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Spain and Sweden)

U.S. State with the most Class of ’94 grads: Virginia with 38 (California is a close second with 25!)

Number of businesses that exist with our family names in them: 10

Company with the most classmates who claim to work there: Wells Fargo with 3

We are truly diversified as a class.

Please let me know what’s going on in your lives. The countdown to reunion 2024 has already started — mark your calendars to come to Charlottesville so you can share your stories about your injuries, your travels, your kids, or whatever. Also, please review your Darden profile on the website to make sure your details are correct. My notes will be edited to match whatever you have on this site, so if you use a nickname and it’s not noted there, then my writeup will be edited to match your official record. Plus, Mike Burke and Martha White will appreciate knowing how to reach you.

One Starfish at a Time

As a first-generation college student, Carl Peoples (MBA ’94) didn’t have a blueprint for building a career through higher ed. Rather, Peoples says he was “feeling my way along.” Toting an economics degree from William & Mary and a handful of years in retail banking, he found his way to Darden in search of something new. Now he’s sporting an 18year career in investment management in Atlanta, Georgia, at Goldman Sachs, “the best firm to do private wealth management in the world.”

His hunger for challenge made Darden his business school of choice, with its reputation as a rigorous program that facilitated “testing yourself against some of the brightest people you’ll ever meet.” After Darden, corporate and investment banking took Peoples to Atlanta. He resisted suggestions to consider private wealth management. As a “hardcore finance guy,” it didn’t seem serious enough, but he finally agreed to give it a shot and ended up loving it.

Peoples says finding balance is one of the biggest challenges of his career. “Wall Street will take everything you have and still demand more,” he said. “If you allow yourself to work as much as you possibly can for too long, you will have bad outcomes emotionally, physically and professionally.”

Nowadays, Peoples finds satisfaction and pride in moments like his kids heading to college or getting involved philanthropically to help disenfranchised students and entrepreneurs access opportunities, and also

CARL PEOPLES (MBA ’94)

in milestones like the ability to retire and provide for his mother’s care.

Peoples connects many of the essential pillars of his life, career and relationships back to Darden and the doors his experience opened. “You would be hard pressed to ever talk to someone who got more out of Darden than I did, and still do,” he said. “As a Black kid from a single parent home, whose mom raised four of us on a teacher’s aid salary, I didn’t know these opportunities existed.”

Peoples is most excited lately about helping others get similar opportunities. “All the board work I do is focused around helping Black and brown kids and white kids who come from disadvantaged backgrounds get to and through college.” He is also taking an interest in helping entrepreneurs historically excluded from systems of funding.

He cites the parable of the starfish to describe how he feels about these endeavors: A skeptic questions a child who is throwing beached starfish back into the ocean one at a time, but there are thousands more languishing in the heat. The skeptic suggests that the child’s efforts won’t make a difference to the starfish population. The child throws one starfish back in the ocean and replies, “It made a difference to that one.”

“That story is how I feel about the scholarship work we do. We can’t reach everybody, but the people you can reach, it will absolutely change their world.”

— Molly Mitchell

1995

Nene Spivy; Gina Merritt gmerritt@nreuv.com nspivy@aol.com

Let’s stay in touch with classmates yearround — we’re calling on all D’95 grads to join the Darden Class of 1995 Facebook Group! In the meantime, here is the latest and greatest news, starting with Conan Owen, who shared that due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on the travel and spa industries, he is closing his hotel based small business. He will continue to work with his wife to grow her medical spa business in downtown Charlottesville, which has been booming. Ever entrepreneurial, Conan said, “I will also be acquiring a commercial printing and graphics marketing company in Charlottesville that is ripe for a turn around.”

Jason Kurtz and his wife Lorra have recently become empty nesters as their twins have headed off to college in Indiana and Oregon. It’s a big adjustment, but they are filling their time with lots of fun travel including Austin, Texas, France and Greece. Jason recently started a podcast called What’s Next (“When Every Hour is Happy Hour”) — check it out on Spotify! He also shared that “I continue to enjoy my never-ending sabbatical of over 2.5 years — one day I’ll figure out what’s next for me!”

Mitch and Emily Wander shared: “Once again, we will try to make sense of the joyous, family chaos that we call our family. Some friends think that there is a method to our madness, but this double-Darden family more often resembles a sitcom. The high point for this year: our daughter Julia’s Little League team won the Washington, D.C., championship and competed in Bristol, Connecticut, for the Little League World Series (LLWS) Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament. You may have seen Julia and her brother/coach, Ben, on ESPN. They played hard, had fun, and were eliminated by Pennsylvania, a great team that went far

in the LLWS. We felt very grateful to have Julia and Ben competing together. Beyond that, we’re still living, working, and playing in Washington, D.C.” Mitch Wander also caught up with study group mate Jeff Sung in Massachusetts this year.

Mike Hilado sends his greetings: “Just got back from a wonderful three-month break in the Bay Area. Now I know what they meant by revenge travel!” He hopes to visit the Darden campus next year.

Art and Nene Spivy celebrated their 30th anniversary this summer with their own revenge travel trip to the Amalfi coast of Italy, immensely enjoying the food, wine, hiking and boating. Nene continues to lead the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation, which operates the Children’s Science Center Lab in Fairfax and is building the new Northern Virginia Science Center in Dulles. The pandemic had a nearly existential impact on the museum industry, though thanks to generous donors and government relief-funding the science center remains on solid footing. Nene was recently appointed to the board of directors for the Association of Science and Technology Centers and enjoys working with industry executives from all over the globe. Art continues his entrepreneurial ventures in healthcare devices and data analytics. Art’s pandemic highlights were sailing the Hudson River and the Chesapeake Bay with his business partner. Art and Nene recently enjoyed a Darden happy hour at the Caboose in Vienna, Virginia, in August, after a long pandemic hiatus, seeing Van Wishard, Jennifer McDowell, Bill Tolpegin and Pamela Silberman. The only fail for the evening was forgetting to take photos — a great reason to plan another one soon!

1996

Frank Martien frank@windward-strategy.com

Lynn Atkinson is a chief operating officer at Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm based in San Francisco, California, and Austin, Texas. She lives in San Francisco with her two teenage daughters and spends her free time at their cottage in the wine country and skiing at Lake Tahoe. She sees Ligia Zamora and talks with John Fruehwirth from time to time.

Román Azanza is a competitive Hobie 16 sailor and also has a 40-foot Fontaine Pajot catamaran — the best way to explore the 7,100 islands of the Philippines. He has his own sole proprietorship consultancy two years in the making!

Anthony Bailey is still a dean and vice president at USC and volunteer trainer of scientific divers at USC’s Wrigley Marine Science center on Catalina Island, California. His wife, Jen Beindorf, has been promoted to senior vice president at Spiro, a brand experience agency.

Betty and Ben Chen moved back to Boca Raton, Florida. He’s still at insurance broker going on 10 years, working with travel clients.

John Chrosniak has just settled back in Maryland and has been living in Chevy Chase since 1 September.

Andrea DiNunzio just wrapped up an amazing summer and spent the month of July in the South of France, and June and August in East Hampton, Connecticut. Lori Manise, Chris Gilbert and Andrea were able to catch up for dinner for the first time in years this past summer in New York City.

Chitra Ebenezer is working at Velcro Companies and living in Boston, Massachusetts. She recently met up with Anna Maria Anthony at their home in Hingham, Mas-

Erik Frederick (MBA ’96) and his wife, Elisa, got together with Christine (MBA ’96) and John Fruehwirth (MBA ’96) to celebrate their respective 25th anniversaries in Croatia.

Lori Manise, Chris Gilbert and Andrea DiNunzio, all Class of 1996, caught up for dinner for the first time in years this past summer in New York City.

Mitch Wander (MBA ’95) caught up with study group mate Jeff Sung (MBA ’95) in Massachusetts.

sachusetts. Their husbands went golfing, and Anna Maria and she went for a short hike and spent the day together catching up.

Larry Ehrhardt’s second born, Allen, is joining his sister Ruthie at Northeastern where he is a freshman studying computer science and she is a senior studying political science and economics with a design minor. Rebecca is into her second year as director of development at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Larry’s company, Ballast Lane Applications, is continuing to grow — it is now 130 designers and engineers strong — and works with all kinds of fast-growing small and mid-sized businesses including a few run by fellow Dardenites! Larry is also enjoying sailing and has recommenced team racing, having travelled to Stockholm, Sweden; and Newport, Rhode Island, for a couple of fun events.

Erik Frederick, his wife Elisa, together with Christine Fruehwirth and John, celebrated their respective 25th anniversaries in Croatia. They visited Zagreb, Plitvice National Park, Split, Dubrovnik in Croatia, several islands and Montenegro as well. Amazing trip with lifelong Darden friends!

Scott Garner and his partner, Kay, have turned their five-acre property outside Chicago, Illinois, (Barrington Hills) into a hobby farm with the addition of two Scottish Highlander calves along with seven chickens and one duck. In six to nine months, the calves, Macklin and Millie, will have hair that will nearly cover their entire faces along with meaningful horns. They have been bred to be “mini,” so they will be smaller than normal Scottish Highlanders and a little easier to manage in the Chicago suburbs. When Millie is two years old, she will be able to calf, so it’s possible some offspring are in the future. That said, even with the most generous assumptions in Scott’s discounted

cash flow model, this little operation has a payback period that extends beyond Scott and Kay’s lives. That is why it’s officially called a hobby and not a business.

Kent Goeking has been living and working in Southeast Asia now for over 23 years, half in Singapore and now long-term in Bangkok, Thailand. He transitioned from management consulting, finishing as the managing partner for Accenture in Thailand, and transitioned into the biotech then bioeconomy sectors. At present, he is managing director of a startup called Thai Carbon (visit thaicarbon.bio), which will manufacture biochar at commercial scale. Biochar is a carbon removal technology where biomass is converted into pure carbon, which can be used for a variety of agricultural and technological applications. It also generates carbon removal credits. He is also engaged in bioeconomy consulting in conjunction with Lee Enterprises (lee-enterprises.com) as their lead in Asia.

After almost a decade in New York City and Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Greg Hallford, his wife Tate, and their son, age 8, moved to Ponte Vedra Beach outside Jacksonville, Florida. Their home is in Marsh Landing — a great waterfront neighborhood less than a mile from the beach with golf courses. Professionally, Greg is leading Calibrant Energy’s North American business development efforts. Calibrant is a JV between Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Siemens focused on delivering financed solar, battery storage, microgrid, and EV charging infrastructure. Tate has a very successful luxury travel advisor business serving Manhattan and their son is playing “travel” lacrosse and football. They got season tickets to the Jaguars as Greg is building solar for their new practice facility.

KC Hildreth lives in Park City, Utah,

works as an Executive Coach, and has written a few books and travels with his wife Neha.

Caribou Honig and his wife, Laura, took advantage of their new status as empty nesters to permanently relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where hiking through the high desert and mountains is abundant. Caribou is active as a partner at the venture capital firm SemperVirens, while also helping to launch and grow industry tech conferences such as Blueprint (Real Estate Tech), Manifest (Logistics Tech), and Cumulus (Food/Ag Tech).

Joe Hosler’s company, Auour Investments, continues to grow, and Robert Kuftinec has not gotten to the point of kicking him out. Meggie and Joe just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Their daughter, Molly, has been living in Dallas, Texas, working for Publicis Sapient. Their son, Pete, is a senior at URI and may move to New York City once he graduates. As a signal to both, they sold their house earlier this year and moved into a small apartment. Thankfully, life has been filled with happiness and health, and just a little Mike Bucci to keep it interesting.

Yuichi Kamoto’s family is well; his wife is taking flower arrangement lessons and their kids are still growing and taking karate lessons. He is working for Shimane Prefecture (State), Japan, where he grew up, and is a member of Shimane Prefectural Assembly. He also likes golfing once in a while to let off some steam without taking lessons!

Alysia Massop has officially relocated to Tampa, Florida, and would love to connect with classmates there. She finds that the hotel business is still exciting and is in the market for an EV or hybrid.

Bob More has enjoyed life with Michelle and their dog Rumple. His two kids are at Boston College and University of New Haven. He lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and

Scott Garner (MBA ’96) and his partner, Kay, have turned their five-acre property in Barrington Hills, Illinois, near Chicago, into a hobby farm with the addition of two Scottish Highlander calves along with seven chickens and one duck.

Caribou Honig (MBA ’96) and his wife, Laura, took advantage of their new status as empty nesters to permanently relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where hiking through the high desert and mountains is abundant.

Tom Warren’s (MBA ’96) younger son, Garrett, recently matriculated at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland, and their older son, Evan, is a 2nd Class Midshipman at the Naval Academy.

spends time in San Francisco and San Diego, California. He’s been a Partner at Alta Partners for a while working with biotech start-ups, which Bob has found particularly relevant throughout the pandemic. Bob keeps in touch with Cynthia Glass, Val McMurray, Joe Hosler and Steve Shivers Marci (Mueller) Mouritzen and Luanne Pavco caught up with Mike Bucci who visited them at Lake Anna, Virginia, in August for a great hang out and visit.

Phil Murray has “retired” from the firm where he had been working since he and Julie Murray graduated, and now teaches algebra and financial literacy to high schoolers in the Santa Fe Public Schools. Their oldest son, Joseph, graduated from Northwestern this year and now works for Epic Systems outside Madison, Wisconsin. Their daughter, Susannah, is a junior at Tufts University, and their youngest, Fritz, is a high school sophomore.

Bill Nosal is working among offices in New York City; Arlington, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and his home office.

After 11 years of living in Australia and India, Arpan Sheth’s family (Nikita, Shailen, age 20; Kalin, age 17; and Lara, age 14) moved backed to the Washington, D.C., metro in the summer of 2020 (yes, in the middle of the pandemic). Their family has settled nicely back in the United States with the eldest in college and the younger two in high school in suburban Virginia. Arpan has continued with Bain where he has spent the last nearly 20 years focusing on growth tech companies and investors.

Leigh and Kurt Twiford have been in Camp Hill (near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) since 1997, and they purchased a smart building technology company out of bankruptcy in 2005. Leigh and he worked together in the business until 2017, when she decided to “diversify” and purchase a non-medical homecare business. He is her CFO, and he knows her presence is missed

more in his business than his contribution to her business. For his business, Conexus, they’ve worked hard for 15 years to build a solid reputation for quality and innovation, and he’s now actively looking for acquisitions to leverage what they’ve built, along with some geographic organic growth. Many classmates may remember Madeleine, who was often on his shoulders at happy hour … she’s now 28 and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Their son, age 25, lives in Columbia, South Carolina, which gives them excuses to spend time between Pennsylvania and a vacation property on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. They’re not ready to move to Kiawah more permanently yet, but sometime in the future.

This summer, Susan Walser met up with Sue Lipetz Brown and her family in Maine for lunch and some corn hole horsing around with the kids. For work, Sue Lipetz Brown has been at Siemens a long time, running the Americas Compensation team in human resources, and as of October she took on global compensation strategy responsibilities. Sue Lipetz Brown has also stepped into an interim USA chief HR officer role for the short term.

As chief commercial officer of AlloVir (ALVR, Waltham, Massachusetts), Jeroen van Beek is building his global biotechnology company to develop cell therapies for the treatment and prevention of viral diseases in immunocompromised patients. Valerie and he still live in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and also spend time each summer and fall at their house on Block Island, Rhode Island. Their daughter Emma graduated from UVA in 2020 and also works in New York City for an executive compensation consultancy. Their son Niels graduated from the Engineering School at UVA in May 2022. To celebrate, Jeroen and Niels went to Monaco to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Niels now works for Accenture in New York City.

Tom Warren is in Annapolis, Maryland,

more frequently these days, given Tina and he purchased a condominium on Back Creek as a getaway for them as well as for their sons. Their younger son, Garrett, just matriculated at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, and their older son, Evan, is a second class midshipman at the Naval Academy. Tina and Tom have joined the ranks of the empty nesters! Professionally, Tom is in his second year leading the go-to-market functions for a small SaaS provider called Lineup. He says, “It’s been fun joining an entrepreneurial venture after two decades with an established global company.”

Rebecca Wilson, together with her New York City-based 20/20 Foresight Executive Search team, Suzanne Mendelsohn, Shelley Raab, and Jonathan Berman (MBA, ’97) is now an empty nester and keeping the Darden spirit alive by hiring one of our fellow Darden alumni, Jonathan.

As an update on our scholarship drive from our reunion: our class came together to establish the Class of 1996 Scholarship to support inclusive excellence at the School. We collectively committed $500 thousand over the next five years to support a perpetual one-third tuition scholarship awarded to women, under-represented minorities, and international students. We aim to grow our impact over time and look forward to meeting our scholars along the way.

1997

Karen Castellon; Mark Bridgers

karencastellon908@gmail.com

mbridgers@continuumcapital.net

“No experience is ever wasted. Attitude is everything. Everyone should be squatting for health and vitality.” We begin with the wisdom of our classmate, Tracey Lake, who turned 61 years old this year and owns 8-10 American records in powerlifting. Tracey took second place in world powerlifting as “there was an equally strong woman and we

Rebecca Wilson (MBA ’96), together with her New York City-based 20/20 Foresight Executive Search team, Suzanne Mendelsohn, Shelley Raab and Jonathan Berman (MBA ’97)

Class of 1996 classmates Frank Martien, Kevin Stein, Dan Yu and Neeraj Bhagat got together in Miami Beach, Florida.

Yuichi Kamoto (MBA ’96) is working for Shimane Prefecture in Japan, where he grew up, and is a member of the Shimane Prefectural Assembly.

broke each other’s records every lift, with her finishing on top.” Incredible. As a power lifter, Tracey competes in the 148-pound class; her squat is 181.9 pounds; her benchpress is 126.8 pounds; and her deadlift is 264.6 pounds. Tracey “doubled down during COVID-19 as a way of coping, but it took a lot of time and energy. Going to scale back. I feel good about maintaining a three-year commitment and pushing through cycles of fatigue and limited gains.” We applaud Tracey’s achievements and leave you with this clarification: “Squatting is just about getting your butt lower than your knees with dumbbells, doesn’t have to be heavy, but so beneficial.” You read it here, Classmates of ’97. Speaking of achievements, Tanja Aalto’s photo on the Darden Class of ’97 Facebook page had a sign that read: “Canadian Himalayan Expeditions. Tanja Aalto’s Excellent Nepal Adventure. Island Peak climbing 6,160 meters (20,210 feet) & Mera Peak Climbing 6,476 meters (21,247 feet) via Three Passes. April–May 2022.” This explains why Tanja’s note read: “Will sadly always miss reunions as the timing syncs with peak climbing season in the Himalayas.” Indeed, it does. And yet, we are flexible and open to an “off peak” reunion with you, Tanja, to hear more about your adventures and what we can apply in our lives without actually being so high up. Tanja’s plan for her next climb is “Annapurna in 2023.” Annapurna, for the curious, is the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment and is also the 10th highest mountain in the world at 8,091 meters (26,545 feet), located in north-central Nepal. Henley Green Sims lives in Austin, Texas, and had planned a trip to Charlottesville with her daughter, who is a high school senior. Several classmates offered, via the Darden Class of ’97 Facebook page, recommendations for both accommodations and food including David Tayman (whose son is in the UVA band), Sarah Barnard

Helmicki, Brad Blonkvist and Louis Gump. David encouraged engaging with the UVA Admission Liaison Program, which is a service offered to UVA alumni (like all of us, classmates) as an opportunity for a lower stress dialog regarding your child’s application (although not necessarily an admissions bump).

Lauren Taylor has turned her advocacy to the elimination of invasive plants. She set up a “nationwide petition to stop the retail sale of officially listed invasive plants that are harming our parks, our farms and our health. Would you please sign my petition? I would greatly appreciate your support! And for the love of parks, please share widely.” The petition is hosted on Change.org and can be found at: chng.it/K4n2cKdPpb. It had almost 55 thousand signatories as of October 2022. This has garnered positive press interest. We applaud you, Lauren.

Mark Reese is the newest classmate to join the Darden Class of ’97 Facebook page, and he was welcomed by a few classmates, including Jim Hermens with “Section D, baby!!”

Simon Constable (@RealConstable) continues his writing career and has been on the interview circuit to discuss his skepticism about cryptocurrency, including on 77WABC with Frank Morano on 2 February 2022. You may recall Simon’s book The WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators That Really Matter.

Besides being a member of a daily Wordle group with Julie Steckel, Rob Coury and Karen Castellon, perhaps more importantly, Jeff Lax completed the Berlin Marathon in September 2022. This achievement is part of a “two-event challenge to help people living with multiple sclerosis and to accelerate research to find a cure for this nasty disease.”

Jeff ran with a team from the MS Society of the U.K. He continues: “I was part of a 60-strong team that ran the streets of Berlin on the same course and same day that Eliud Kipchoge smashed his world record! Running through the Brandenburg Gate to the finish line was the experience of a lifetime!” Jeff is fundraising and you can support him and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (U.S.) here: http://linktr.ee/jefflax1. More progress has been made in the development of medications and research towards a cure in the last 5 years than in the 70 prior years. Go and make a difference. Jeff and his wife, Ann Marie, are also progressing towards a sixth star as part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and will conclude in Tokyo in March 2023. (Any classmates in Tokyo?). Congratulations, Jeff, on your multi-faceted achievements.

John Vaccaro writes that during a recent

trip to Los Angeles, California, he posted an open invitation on Facebook to meet at a local happy hour, and Ivor Clark showed up. John recently (virtually) connected with Lars Christian Torhaug as well. While Lars was at home watching fellow Norwegian Casper Ruud play in the U.S. Open on TV, John was watching it in person and they were chatting real time via Facebook Messenger. John tries to get Jim Hermens to come to New York each year for the Open, but Jim invited John to join him and Bill Root (and surely Brad Blonkvist!) to follow the ATP tour once they all retire. John sees Monica Spencer and Annie Tronoski every few months for breakfast or lunch in New York City. He also spends some time in Florida on Singer Island and would love to hear from any Class of ’97 folks in the West Palm Beach area.

Rondo Moses writes: “Greetings classmates! I am so sorry I missed all the fun at our 25th reunion in the spring. This past March marked another milestone birthday (six-zero!) for me. Because of my work schedule and other commitments, I decided to delay the official celebration until early May, a couple of weeks after the reunion. I rented a villa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for five days and invited 14 of my closest friends to join me. Everyone had an awesome time.

“I would have enjoyed seeing all of you at the 25th and hearing about what you have been up to since the 20th reunion. While I was not there with you in person, rest assured I was with you in spirit. And several of you are friends with me on Facebook, so your posts provide a glimpse into your life.”

The Darden Class of ’97 page on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/groups/2066360/) averages only a few posts per year, unlike the active Facebook page. You don’t have to scroll too far to see Alok Vaish, Ron Green and Dan Newhall updates. There are currently 136 members. Please touch base even if you don’t want to appear in Class Notes for privacy or other reasons. We respect that. If you have published publicly, we may share, too. Otherwise, we ask permission. Feel free to share what matters to you. And with that, know that 25 November to 10 December marks 16 Days of Activism to eliminate gender-based violence (16dayscampaign.org/), a campaign that your class secretary supports to educate and empower the community; femicide is an issue in every locale around the globe. The anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations on 10 December 1948, is the final day of this campaign. We encourage you to read it, or better yet, gather a few colleagues and do a read-aloud. Human rights matter.

An update on the Class of ’97 Scholarship: During our 25th reunion year we raised

Rondo Moses (MBA ’97) celebrates his milestone 60th birthday this year.

$372,215 to establish the Class of 1997 Scholarship. When we reach our next goal to raise $500,000, the scholarship can be awarded to a single student to offset onethird of their tuition. So please consider contributing as we need a bit over $100,000 to be able to award the scholarship.

If you are interested in contributing to the class scholarship fund, please reach out to associate director of annual giving Gina DeMattia at DeMattiaG@darden.virginia. edu, or you can give online here: givecampus. com/campaigns/20524/donations/new?designation=classof1997scholarship&.

1998

Bill Young wyoung44@gmail.com

Do you find yourself looking in the mirror wondering where that gray hair came from? Maybe you don’t even have hair to contemplate. You know what that means? It’s been 25 years since you graduated from business school. Mark your calendars for reunion weekend (28–30 April 2023). Much more information to follow but now is a good time to hold those dates.

Light on the updates this time so you get a Bill’s eye view of the class, for better or for worse. I’m just back from my first ever campervan trip with my wife. We are not what you would call camping people, but I pulled off campfires on three out of four nights without use of any unnatural supplies beyond a butane lighter. Flashbacks to our Darden Outdoors Club adventure in August 1996. I think the statute of limitations officially runs out at our 25th reunion, so all stories are fair game. My wife and I had a great, relaxed time away, although we just missed seeing Sam Jones as he was exiting Charleston, South Carolina, to come up to Virginia for a UVA Sorority formal with his daughter as we were arriving in South Carolina. Sam is a

wealth of recommendations if you’re looking to head to the low country. We were able to enjoy the great outdoors, including a nice paddle around the marshlands that surround Charleston.

While we did enjoy kayaking, it was also a segue to an update from our most avid class of ’98 paddler, Andrea White. After taking a COVID-19 layoff and relocating from Nashville, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia, Andrea has managed to turn her volunteering passion into a day-job; she is working at Georgia River Network by day and volunteering as the chair of the Southeastern Region for the American Canoe Association in her free time. She’s kind of a big deal as Paddling Magazine recently named her one of their Top 20 River Heroes based on her success bringing kayak safety and rescue training to beginners. You can read the full profile of her work by going to paddlingmag. com and searching “rescue Tennessee.” We’re hoping to get out on a kayak soon in her newly adopted city, as our daughter is in her third year at Georgia Tech.

Speaking of our accomplished athletes, Caroline Worrall took a brief break from her ultra-biking to give an update from Gainesville, Florida. She’s already planning to make the trek north (by plane, not bike I believe) for the reunion and is challenging everyone else to make the trip as well. With the arrival of fall weather in Florida, she’s switched from road and gravel cycling to mountain biking while juggling the throes of college applications. She’s working in finance but it’s top secret, so you’ll have to come in April to find out what that means.

Last but certainly not least, Peter Thoms chimed in from Coronado, California, across the bay from San Diego, where he and Janet (Fitzgerald) Toms have lived since 2002. They have two boys and two girls, and the kids are starting to leave the house. Their oldest daughter, Carly, is now a sophomore

at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, joining Jason Hart’s oldest son, Ryan. Our class is certainly doing their part in keeping the wheels of commerce running through tuition payments. Their boys, Evan and Colin, are in high school and younger daughter Anna is in middle school, so the empty nest is still a distant thought. Janet and Pete work together on Orion Capital Management LLC, which is a registered investment advisory firm started in 2002. Nestor Blanco and his family (wife Laura and sons Fernando and Ricardo) braved customs and a cross-country flight to pay a visit over the summer from Toronto. The Darden bonds remain strong.

That’s the news for now. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for next April!

1999

Bob Loria; Rob Steinberger robertloria@gmail.com

robsteinberger@hotmail.com

Scott Swindell recently switched roles at AT&T and joined the salesforce implementation team back in March. Last year, he also began financing land buys, specializing in Westlake and Southlake, Texas, and reports that it is going well. Scott recently celebrated his five-year Alive Day (6 October) as a result of a stroke from a blood clot. Scott continues to volunteer at the stroke/brain unit at Medical City Plano on a weekly basis. He recently spent time out in Phoenix, Arizona, taking care of his mother until her passing. While in Phoenix, he got to see Shubha Prashant Ukhade and her husband, Jeff and Jill Dixon, and Steven Wu. Ron Wihardja and Scott got together for coffee when Ron was recently in Dallas, Texas, back in August.

From Stephen Wu: “2022 is definitely an eventful year! In January, I decided to hang up my hat and call it early retirement (or just a long overdue sabbatical? We’ll see)

Laura Paul (MBA ’99) and Jeff at London Stadium

Steven Wu (MBA ’99) and Katie Wethman (MBA ’99)

Steven Wu (MBA ’99) and Professor Alan Beckenstein

K A T I E W E T H M A N

after about 29 years in the banking industry. I wanted to spend some quality time with my son, who was in his senior year of high school. Yes, he graduated. He was admitted to six universities across the country, including UVA, which we visited in March. But eventually, he decided to attend UC Irvine for computer science. My daughter is now a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. This summer, we spent a great time together as a family on a vacation binge. We went to North Carolina, Germany, Austria, Hawaii and San Francisco, California, and enjoyed every step of the way.

“In addition to family time, my plate has been full. In spring, I completed FBI Citizens Academy, a thoroughly informative and fun program. I am also elected as VP of Metropolitan Youth Symphony in Arizona (www.azmys.org), and established a scholarship in honor of my late wife, Weiwen. In addition, I am serving as an advisor for Asian Corporate and Entrepreneur Leaders, a national 503c organization, and helping them with their mentoring program. I also ran into Katie Wethman who was in Arizona for a conference. This fall, I will explore New England’s foliage and attempt to hike Grand Canyon R2R for the second time.”

Long time since we have heard from

Laura Paul. She was kind enough to send an update: “All is well in London, U.K. Jeff and I have been spending part of each summer in the United States since we moved to London in 2019. Mostly to see family and friends … and working from the beach isn’t too bad either. We were in San Francisco, California, for just a few days and caught up with Richard Kim for dinner one night. I had to take care of some stuff with my house, which I’m renting out, and only got to spend a few days there, unfortunately.

“Aside from that, we’ve been taking advantage of travel and doing stuff again now that life is getting back to normal: holiday in the Maldives (and now planning Mauritius in November!) and long weekends in different cities throughout Europe; some football matches (Tottenham and Chelsea — though the Brits tell us we can’t support both! — an FC Barcelona match, and women’s finals at Wimbledon); and six concerts over the past few months (Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, Queen at the O2, Chili Peppers two times — at London Stadium and at Fenway — Sting at the Palladium, and The Who at Royal Albert Hall). Oh, and we also moved recently to a larger townhouse in London, still in Marylebone, our same neighborhood. Plenty of room if you guys want to come

visit … . Lots going on!”

I have been living in Copenhagen, Denmark, since the end of August last year. We made the move as a result of my wife Erin’s position with Pandora Jewelry, and I got to spend some extended time with my older two children (Katherine and Patrick). They both started school/daycare here in January, and then we were lucky enough to welcome child No. 3, Margaret Shea, who was born in April. Additionally, we had the pleasure of doing some traveling with Damon Woo, his wife Laryssa and their two daughters Alexis and Charlotte in late August/early September this year. We had an amazing time touring Amsterdam, Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; Oslo, Norway; and even some of Copenhagen, Denmark. Sam Tutterow paid a visit to Copenhagen in September to see his and Meredith Tutterow’s daughter Abby who is studying there this semester. It was great to catch up with Sam in person and see some sights. My family and I have been lucky enough to get to know Abby and see Sam on his visit. We’re also looking forward to seeing Meredith on her upcoming visit as well! Plans are also set for Hector Arcaya and family (Denise, Diego and Marco) to visit us on their return trip from Qatar for the World Cup. Not sure how long we will be there, but we are always open to have visitors! (The kids often ask who is coming next …).

I hope everyone is doing well. Please send updates at any time. We can include them no matter when you send them!

All the best, Rob and Bob

2000

Serena Matsunaga; Paige Killian serenamatsu2@gmail.com paigekillian@mac.com

The Class of ’00 came together last June to celebrate our 22nd year reunion!

Rob Steinberger (MBA ’99) and Damon Woo (MBA ’99) traveled Europe with their families.

Hilda Garcia (MBA ’99) and Joaquim Souza (MBA ’99) visited with Professor Bill Sihler in Portugal.

Scott Swindell and Ron Wihardja, both Class of 1999

Damon Woo (MBA ’99) and family visit Tivoli Gardens in Denmark.

The Class of 2000 celebrated its 22nd Darden Reunion at King Family Vineyard. From left to right: Mike Kelly, Susan Camp, Abby Pinto, Jose Zertuche, Pam DeGuzman, Dave Keppel, Jen Finn, Ilan Daneli, Kerry Fitzgerald, Andre Laloni, Jessica Wadlow, Heitor Carrera, Dave Pinto, Serena Matsunaga, Carlos Zuleta, Gina Flango, David Gray, David Gulliaume.

After several efforts to schedule and re-schedule our 20th reunion during the pandemic, we were finally able to gather in Charlottesville for a small, but mighty, gathering. All four sections were proudly represented.

We began the reunion with a tour of the new hotel, now under construction, on the Darden Grounds. We were also able to catch up with a few familiar faces, including Jeanne Liedtka and Martin Davidson, at Darden.

The weekend included a Friday night on the Corner complete with a stop at the Buddhist Biker Bar. A very small group braved the White Spot. On Saturday was a wine tour of King Family Vineyards and Hazy Mountain Vineyards in Crozet, Virginia.

The group included Susan Camp, Gina Flango, Pamela (Smeder) Douglas, Jen (McEnery) Finn, Paige (Newton) Killian, Ilan Danieli, Mike Kelly, Kerry (Davenport) Fitzgerald, Laird Reed, Rebecca Rippey, Jessica Wadlow, Dave and Abby Pinto, Derek Pitts, David Guillaume and Serena Matsunaga Carlos Zuleta, Heitor Carrera, Jose Maria Zertuche, Andre Laloni and Sarah Crawford represented our international delegation. Closer to home were Charlottesville locals David Gray, Karen (Kalsi) Chapman, Pam DeGuzman and Dave Keppel

Thanks to Ilan who joined Jose and Serena on the reunion team and kept up the momentum to make this weekend happen.

Pablo Ciano travelled to Charlottesville for another special reason last May. His daughter Carolina, born during Pablo’s Second Year at Darden, graduated with a Bachelor in Science of Nursing from UVA. An anonymous source confirmed that Hunter Davis, son of Ward Davis, also walked the lawn this year. Congratulations to Carolina, Hunter and all the other “Darden babies” who graduated from college this year!

2001

Trina Rogers

jones_trina@yahoo.com

In addition to life updates, I’m happy to share mini-reunion stories and some of our classmates’ favorites in this update. Thanks to all who contributed, and we look forward to hearing from even more folks next time!

In May, Thelma De la Pena-Lopez, Sandra Forero, Pilar Rivera Cruz, Mercedes Michel Torino, Soledad Boyle and Marta Noriega had a mini-reunion in Florida. They have all stayed in touch and gotten together in smaller groups, but it was the first time in 20 years that they were all together. It was so much fun! Last year, Sandra was named COO of ZS, the same firm she has been with since she graduated. She is really enjoying this new role and challenge.

In September, Wendy Bolger, Coleen (Sullivan) Curry, Trina (Jones) Rogers, Elizabeth (Wells) Shumadine, Staci (Wagenbach) Singlak and Christine (Butcher) Wilson met for a quick reunion in Norfolk, Virginia. Sarah and Chris Smythe also dropped in for a quick hello and were wonderful trip advisors.

Chris Berl wrote in with a business and family update: “My business continues to grow and I have recently re-branded from Restroom Direct to Berl’s Commercial Supply (www.berls.com), because it’s always good to eventually get out of the restroom.

“Charlotte, who many of our class knew as a newborn at Darden, has graduated from Davidson College and is now working for fintech startup, Brex. Wilder and Allaire are at Washington University in St. Louis and Kenyon College.

“Lou and I are now in Westport, Massachusetts, most of the time, since she as stopped working at St. Andrew’s School in Delaware, where we were both coaching rowing. I had a nice visit with Michelle and Paul Coviello this summer as they were

making their way through New England.”

Thes (Diamond) Spivey is still at Coca-Cola and still in Atlanta, Georgia. She sent her first-born off to college at University of Alabama and is looking forward to empty nest-hood in a few years.

In addition to updates, I asked our classmates to share the favorite things they are reading, listening to, watching and enjoying. Here’s what you shared:

From Jason Janning: “Latest eye-opening fiction book: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel; Latest eye-opening non-fiction book: Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio.”

From Sandra Forero: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. “A very good read.”

From Trina Rogers: Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler.

From Ann Nicholson: “I enjoyed Martin Davidson coming to Corning Inc. for a discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion. Ana Jo is enjoying her second year at UVA and I’m grinding through The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University (a book about Jefferson’s founding of UVA), so I think about Charlottesville a lot!”

From Chris Berl: “I am reading Shōgun by James Clavell because I remember my parents reading it many years ago and I needed something light to read. It’s a novel about a British sea captain who finds himself in Japan in 1600. It’s a fun book if you don’t mind a lot of death-by-really-sharp-sword.”

Thes (Diamond) Spivey: Medici on Netflix. “A particularly good series if you are planning to visit Florence, Italy.”

2002

Flip Pidot

flippidot@gmail.com

Matt Kaness has taken on a new role as CEO of GoodwillFinds.com, a new marketplace for the Goodwill network of stores and donation centers across the country. Matt hopes you’ll check it out and let him know what you think.

Will Thomas, founder and CEO of Happy Joints Club, was recently a guest on Professor Ed Freeman’s The Stakeholder podcast. Highly recommended — give it a listen!

2003

Graham Beatty; Lauren MacLeod gbeatty@heidrick.com

lmacleod@alumni.virginia.edu

Ladi and Sean Carr (MBA ’03, Ph.D. ’13) have switched coasts, moving from beautiful Charlottesville to Bellevue, Washington.

Thelma De la Pena-Lopez, Sandra Forero, Pilar Rivera Cruz, Mercedes Michel Torino, Soledad Boyle and Marta Noreiga had a mini-Class of 2001 reunion in Florida in May.

Class of 2001 members Paul Coviello, Michelle Coviello and Chris Berl enjoyed a summer visit in New England.

After many years leading Darden’s Batten Institute, Sean has taken on a new challenge as CEO of the Global Innovation Exchange, a graduate business and technology institute, launched as a collaboration between Microsoft and the University of Washington. Sean also received a faculty appointment at UW’s Foster School of Business. Meanwhile, Ladi proudly continues as director of Global Executive MBA Programs for Darden, so their connection to the Grounds remains alive and well. Sean and Ladi are also happy to report that their son, Sebastian, is thriving in his first year of high school.

Jeremy Jones has returned to his nonprofit roots as the marketing and communications manager for Hospice of the Piedmont. “After managing people for so many years, it’s been fun working for a small organization and getting my hands dirty with marketing again. I’m making social media posts, writing press releases and building web pages. Best of all, it’s an organization I believe in. I was literally a donor before I was an employee.”

Also in Jeremy Jones’ news: He was part of a crew that got together with Anand Stanley during a recent visit to Charlottesville. Aaron Laufer hosted a mini-reunion for fellow C’ville locals that included Jeremy, Jerry Peng and Jill Simandl David Freccia and Brian Hartman made the trek from Washington, D.C., to pay homage to Stan. A good time was had by all.

From Aron Grodinsky: “After a year owning and operating an auto collision repair business, I successfully sold the business in order to return to my prior career as an institutional investor and capital allocator. I was offered the exciting opportunity to become the chief investment officer for the Colorado Health Foundation (TCHF), a private foundation striving to provide equitable healthy lives for all Coloradans, with a focus on underserved communities. With a $3 billion portfolio, TCHF is the largest grantmaker in the state. There is a lot of work to do to

reposition the portfolio and build the investment office, so I am excited and invigorated by the challenge and opportunity. Running my own business was a tremendous learning opportunity and provided me with many valuable experiences and lessons I intend to apply to this new endeavor.”

The Class of ’03 is excited to celebrate their 20th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April 2023. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Check out the list of reunion hotel blocks and book early as hotels tend to fill up fast! Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Anand Stanley and Graham Beatty, 20th Reunion Giving Co-Chairs, have been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside them on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, you can email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2004

alumni@darden.virginia.edu

Jill Lewandosky writes that she grabbed a quick lunch with Sarah Gulla in San Francisco at Bluestem. They caught up with Justin Jed’s brother there, too.

2005

ToTran Nguyen totran05@gmail.com

Congrats on the new challenge! Neal Hoffman recently acquired a new company in the toy and games space called Metallic Dice Games. He now regrets not taking an M&A class and is thankful that Garth Monroe, Ashton Cullum and Alex Taylor were all there to mentor and guide him on this journey.

Keep an eye out … Mark Higgins’ book, Becoming an Enlightened Investor, will be landing on bookshelves in the fall of 2023. Not a small task, the book offers a complete financial history of the United States. His

project began immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark shares, “After immersing myself in financial history to understand some of the precedents that explain the COVID-19 financial crisis, I discovered that there was no single book that recounted the full financial history of the United States from its establishment by Alexander Hamilton in 1790 to the present day. The goal of the book is to fill this gap for the benefit of investment professionals, financial advisors, trustees and individual investors.”

Another D ’05 doctor in the house … ToTran Nguyen obtained her Ph.D. in business economics (work and organization studies) from KU Leuven in Belgium. Titled “Here and now: Reconsidering context in cross-sector collaboration,” her dissertation offers a new way to understand why collaborations and partnerships may still turn out disappointing despite good intentions, efforts and investment. She looks forward to returning to practice and will continue to reside in Central Europe.

Passing through…. When they heard ToTran describe her town of Leuven as the “European C’ville,” Joanna and Guim Barbour and their sons Andechs and Marco decided they couldn’t miss it during their tour of Central Europe. They join the list of other classmates who have passed through the country and had a beer or two with ToTran over the past years — Cathy Ackerson, Paul Harper and Cindy Shen! Anyone else coming?

Gabriel Lazarus and his family are still residing in Bethesda, Maryland, with growing teenagers, and yes, he is amazingly still employed with Medtronic since leaving Darden. The family enjoyed the return of global travel with an amazing 2.5-week trip to Greece over the summer, along with another 1.5 months in Valencia, Spain, visiting wife Raquel Leon’s family.

ToTran Nguyen (MBA ’05) visited with Guim Barbour (MBA ’05) and his family in Belgium.

Gabe Lazarus (MBA ’05) and family enjoyed a holiday in Santorini, Greece.

Aaron Laufer (MBA ’03) hosted a mini-reunion that included classmates Jeremy Jones, Jerry Peng, Jill Simandl, David Freccia, Brian Harmon and Anand Stanley.

2006

Email

2007

HeatherRaeDanforth@gmail.com

RyanDavis07@gmail.com

AliceAnna@gmail.com.

Christa Avampato shares her “cheers to dreams deferred that finally come true!” She reports: “I started a new master’s program in Sustainability Leadership at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge. It’s a hybrid program so I’m splitting my time between the U.K. and New York City. I just got back to New York City after my first intensive in the U.K. and it had that same magical spark as our first days at Darden. This is a real dream come true for me. I originally started my applications to Cambridge and Oxford for their graduate programs in September 2020. I didn’t submit then because I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in October 2020. I’d dream about getting to start my next education chapter while in the chemo ward. Along with messages from my amazing friends (especially so many ’07 alumni!), this dream kept up my spirits during my darkest hours. Now cancer-free, I started this new adventure with so much gratitude and I plan to use all I have to protect the planet.”

Recently promoted to SVP and Division CFO at ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, Miguel Valdovinos and his family moved to Stockholm, Sweden, in August after spending the last 15 years in Dallas, Texas.

After spending most of the time postDarden as an operations executive at Lockton Companies, a family-owned insurance brokerage, Marshall Lockton decided to make a change and test his memory of Frank Genovese’s (MBA ’74) class. He has

formed Meraki Investments with the intent to acquire a small business that has a clear purpose and strong growth potential. He is focused on professional services, B2B employer solutions and consumer products.

September brought some wonderful meetups with Darden friends for Alexandria Drohobyczer in Atlanta, Georgia. Visitors included Chris Eastman, who was in the area for work on several occasions. She reports: “We took a great picture together of me, but the lighting was horrible and didn’t do Chris’ hair justice! If anyone wants to see it, they can ping me.” Soon after, Alexandria and her family celebrated her son’s Bar Mitzvah. Guests included Kelly Greenauer, Julie Vianello and their families. “We had a wonderful time and I wish I had gotten a picture of the three of us! Looking forward to seeing others in Atlanta!”

Gwendolyn Boyce reports: “After an enjoyable five-year stint at Facebook that consisted mainly of visiting the wonderful cafeteria and finding dubious reasons to visit assorted global offices, I moved to Amazon Advertising just as COVID-19 hit. Our family temporarily moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in order to be near family and escape living with two small gremlins in an inelegant 900-square-foot New York City apartment. After some fits and starts, we’ve now settled in the leafy ’burb of Rye, New York, where, sadly, attempts at New York City hipster attire seem to be out in favor of prolific tennis whites. In January, I took on an exciting new role at Twitch, a live video gaming and streaming platform owned by Amazon. I’ve found the video gaming world to be oddly beautiful, fast-paced, and fascinating ... and I look forward to cluttering it up with advertising as quickly as possible.”

Mike Lorence writes from the ChampsÉlysées where he and his wife, Trisha, wrapped up a week and a half in Paris, France, and Alba, Italy, which is Barbaresco wine country in the northeast near the Swiss Alps. On the professional side, he and his partner are actively looking to acquire aerospace/defense companies anywhere in the United States. He requests that if you know or hear of any rumors of anyone who might be interested in selling part or all of a company in this space, please reach out to him at mike@drmikelorence.com.

2008

Pratyush Kumar

pratyush@gmail.com

The Class of 2008 is excited to celebrate their 15th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for

the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Beth and John McCann, 15th Reunion giving co-chairs, have been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside them on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, you can email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2008 EMBA

Davina Myers

davinajmyers@gmail.com

Evan Inra reports: “I’m thrilled to share that I moved into a new role at Amazon in May 2022 as an HR principal program manager for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Kuiper is Amazon’s initiative to build a constellation of satellites to provide global high-speed, low-cost internet bandwidth to underserved communities. After graduating many, many moons ago from Penn State with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, this is my first opportunity to actually work in the field that once upon a time inspired me to reach for the stars. I’m also excited to have a Second Year undergrad at UVA: our daughter Marissa; and a senior in high school: our son Nick. Finally, I remain actively engaged with Darden through the Alumni Board as a class agent, and most recently as a career coach through Darden’s Alumni Career Services. If I can help you connect or re-engage with Darden or our alumni network in any way, please reach out — I’d love to hear from you!”

Thomas Benjamin retired from full-time duty at Quantinuum on 3 June, after the merger of his company, Cambridge Quantum Computing, and Honeywell Quantum Solutions was completed. He remains an adviser to the CEO and executive team, mostly remotely. Attacking his bucket list, he bought a campervan and on 7 September set off on a five-week tour of some western

Heather Danforth Hill; Ryan Davis; Alice Ganier Rolli

Mike Lorence (MBA ’07) and wife Trisha in Alba, Italy

Tom Benjamin (EMBA ’08) visited Arches National Park in Utah.

national parks: Badlands, Wind Cave, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Arches, Canyonlands and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Great weather and awesome sights.

And … save the date for our 15th reunion to be held in Charlottesville on the weekend of 28–30 April 2023! Hope to see many of you there!

2009

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2009 EMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2010

Meredith Valentine; Kyle Power; Jacqueline Grace valentine.meredith@gmail.com kylepower11@gmail.com jacqueline.grace@gmail.com

After 12 years with Caesars Entertainment, Jackie Grace started a new role as CEO of Beam Living, a Blackstone portfolio company in the New York City multifamily housing space. Jackie is thrilled to be back in NYC and is excited about creating great places to work, live, and grow. Ryan, age 9, and Reagan, age 6, are enjoying city living and all the adventures of the same!

Ray Lamas writes: “I’ve taken on the role of president at Thrust Flight, an airline pilot training company based here in Dallas, Texas. Named the second best flight training school in the country by Flying Magazine and with significant financial backing, we’re poised to break out significantly in the commercial flight training industry with a new approach to training pilots for the growing needs of the global aviation market. Great to be leading a great group of professionals in the aviation industry again! Meanwhile, the family continues to live and thrive here

in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Texas. Alex, David, and I are tackling double-black diamonds as we explore the ski mountains of North America, while the entire family is ‘scuba-qualed,’ and we have already gone diving twice as a family this year! Boys are big into rock climbing, swimming, chess and volunteering, while I’ve taken up tennis again, and occasionally join in on Dana’s new passion, pickleball!”

Meredith Valentine married Nick Dupont on 6 August in Santa Cruz, California. Fellow Darden alumni Laura Balach, Serdjan Balach, Summer Haltli, Colin Phinisey, Kim Durik (MBA ’11), Sarah Boice (MBA ’11) and Spencer Boice (MBA ’11) joined the celebration. The newlyweds live in Oakland, California, with their three children.

Kiran Kadambi welcomed baby Adithri Kiran Kadambi, born on 30 August 2021 and weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Mom, Dad, big sister Brithi and baby are doing great! And by great, we mean sleep deprived. Dad is ramping up his caffeine addiction back to levels unseen since his days at Darden.

Amanda Branting and her husband, Scott (UVA Law ’06), had a baby boy, Hayes. He joins big brother, Benjamin. Hayes was born in Newport Beach, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just like his brother. Everyone is doing great.

2010 EMBA

Anthony Anticole; David Bonenfant anthonyanticole@gmail.com david.bonenfant@gmail.com

Congratulations to Rick Hinshaw for his new role as director of strategic relations at Singular University, a global learning and innovation community. In this role, he brings his singular business expertise to partner with large global organizations to help create future-focused leaders.

Hats off to April Jones for being promoted to managing director at Deloitte. She heads the Global Clients and Industries team, a team that spans five continents (from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sydney, Australia). This brings her one step closer to her goal of being able to say the sun never sets on her empire.

Felicitations to Paul Matherne and his wife, Linda, who welcomed their fifth grandchild this year with the addition of Liza Tucker Matherne. Paul will be retiring from the UVA School of Medicine in December of 2022, but will continue to teach his three classes at Darden in health care and nonprofits.

Kudos to Tucker Norton for taking on a larger role leading DuPont’s advanced printing business, assuming leadership of Artistri Digital Inks in addition to his existing role leading Cyrel® Solutions. Tucker is a brilliant and vibrant part of the Darden EMBA ’10 cohort; it only makes sense he takes on a larger role helping to create brilliant and vibrant experiences for companies and their customers.

Three cheers to Paul Shaw for his new role as VP of Client Delivery at LIFELENZ, an automated AI platform for planning and scheduling workforce and human capital management needs. The Accenture flag was flying at half-mast when Paul, a 19year Accenture veteran, turned in his notice. And finally, a hearty “Huzzah!” to Meghan Welch for her new role as chief people officer at Plaid. Plaid — a leader in fintech supporting over 12,000 financial institutions and providing a platform for over 6,000 digital financial services — is ecstatic about hiring the 20 plus year veteran and former HR titan of Capital One. Meghan credits her ten years in the role of Darden EMBA ’10 class secretary as crucial to helping her prepare for the top people spot.

Kirstie Chen (MBA ’11) and her family ventured to the top of a glacier in Alaska.

Jackie Grace’s (MBA ’10) children, Ryan and Reagan

Meredith Valentine (MBA ’10) at her wedding with fellow Darden alumni on 6 August.

2011

Stephanie Conell; Sarah Boice stephanie.h.conell@gmail.com sarahsboice@gmail.com

Elizabeth and Andrew Crowley welcomed their second child, John Steele Crowley, on 17 June 2022.

Matt Coleman recently joined the Demex Group as chief risk officer. Demex is an insurtech company that enables climate resilience by deploying innovative technology and insurance products to value and transfer climate risk. For nearly 20 years Matt has been working at the nexus of climate science, capital markets and insurance. Prior to joining Demex, he scaled an insurance-linked securities investment fund from 2 to 15 people and from $200 million to $750 million of assets under management. Matt currently lives in Oakland, California, with his wife Dr. Christine Coleman (CEO of POC Thriving LLC), daughter Alessia and son Kais.

Kirstie Chen sent this update: “Our family went to Alaska this summer and took a helicopter to the top of glaciers. It was a spectacular view and definitely worth it.”

2011 EMBA

Chris Mehalic chrismehalic@gmail.com

The 2011 EMBA class recently braved the threatening remnants of Hurricane Ian and gathered for what has become an annual unofficial reunion tradition. This year’s location was Alexandria, Virginia, and we tip our hats to Tom Tichenor for continuing to organize and host this endeavor. We had 12 in attendance and Tom wishes to thank those who actually managed to follow through on their Venmo promises.

Please enjoy a few updates from our class members:

On 22 September, David Schmidle married his best friend and the love of his life, Christina Dimeo, in an intimate ceremony with family and friends among the vine rows

of Crozet, Virginia.

We celebrate with Samir Doshi (and Uppasna) on the birth of their second daughter, Saira. Never one to enjoy major life events in single-doses, Samir doubled down with a professional shift to KPMG. Regarding the strategic initiatives upon which he’s embarked and the evolution in responsibility and purview associated with the new role, Samir articulated verbosely that he’s “real busy.”

Kumar Thiagarajan was recently appointed senior engineering manager with Adobe, a shift which took him and his family on a reverse path against migration traffic trends as he moved to the Bay Area, California, where he reports housing stock to be plentiful and prices modest.

Narrowly escaping a potentially YouTube-worthy public melt-down, Alfred Geoffrion recently had to be calmed with the promise of an Orange Julius and Auntie Anne’s pretzel (which were acquired and consumed as agreed upon) after becoming very agitated at seeing the new Psycho Bunny store at his local mall. The novel boutique with its hip popularity and highly inflated price point triggered Fred’s ire as he shouted, “I’ve been wearing that brand for years, long before it was popular!” He expounded further, “My friends at Darden used to even pick on me about it! What? So NOW its cool?”

Shawn Bobick was tapped as global account director with ERM, the world’s largest pure-play ESG consulting firm. The move has him shifting away from operations and he’s enjoying reaching back to his cases and lessons from Darden in exploring the nuances of his new responsibilities.

As is tradition, Dennis Monahan challenges The Darden Report editorial staff to be willing to present his prepared update verbatim, should they have the courage to commit the print real estate. (Editorial staff note: challenge accepted!)

“I completed UVA’s accelerated master’s program in systems engineering (AMP SE) in May and was awarded a master’s in engineering (M.Eng.). It was a fantastic and challenging experience taught by a cadre of amazing instructors. Like Darden, the entire syllabus was case-based. I had so much fun being back on-Grounds, in the academic environment and learning new skills. As you would expect, it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my family, who are happy that I have finished the program. I am in the process of figuring out what is next for my career. I am exploring options in the fields of robotics, human-machine interactions, artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

2012

Travis Danysh; Sadie Bear travis.danysh@gmail.com

sadiewbear@gmail.com

This was a year of major change for Andrew Blaser and his family. He took a new job with Microsoft in the commercial revenue planning finance team, switching industries from financial services to technology. In addition, along with the new job, the family relocated from Hawaii (where they have been living for the past seven years) to the Redmond, Washington, area. As many in the class are familiar, that meant selling and buying houses, packing and moving, transitioning the kids to a new place and school, and more!

2012 EMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2013

Deanna de Arango; Janet Schroeder deannadearango@gmail.com janetaschroeder@gmail.com

Jim Thomas and his wife, Samantha, welcomed their first baby in May. Gracie Gwendolyn Thomas weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces and has recently reached a fun milestone by starting to giggle! Jim currently manages Firefox software development at Mozilla, while Sam teaches kindergarten and owns a floral design business. They live in Menlo Park, California.

Arthur Berens and his wife, Jess, visited Pete Vilkins in Manhattan Beach, California, in September with their daughter Isla and son Arthur. They had a blast exploring the beach, restaurants, Pro Beach Volleyball tournaments and all that Manhattan Beach has to offer. Professionally, Pete has moved into his second year with Northwestern

The daughers of Samir Doshi (EMBA ’11)

Jim Thomas (MBA ’13); his wife, Samantha; and their daughter, Gracie Gwendolyn.

Mutual as a risk management and financial advisor.

After a two-year delay, Laura (Durity) Galvin and her husband Gregory Galvin hosted their wedding celebration at the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, in April 2022. With the birth of their son, Timothy George Galvin, in September 2021, there was much to celebrate. In attendance were Darden ’13 friends: Kathleen (Sheehan) Kamenetsky, Kakul Chaudhry, Amanda Buckland, Gregory Molnar and Hana Nah, as well as Sanjiv Tata (Law ’13). Janet (Schroeder) Pittman and her husband, Ben, welcomed their son, Avery James, in July. They currently live in Washington, D.C., and are looking forward to making their next trip down to Charlottesville for reunion in April. They look forward to seeing all of you for the 10th!

2013 EMBA

Elisabeth Brennan Wright; Joshua Newell elisabethbwright@gmail.com josh.newell@gmail.com

The Class of 2013 EMBA is excited to celebrate their 10th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Sheri Lucas, 10th Reunion giving chair, has been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside her on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2013 GEMBA

Jeffery Birkey, jeffbirkey@gmail.com

The Class of 2013 GEMBA is excited to celebrate their 10th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look

out for updates. If you would like to join the Reunion Committee, email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2014

Himanshu Singh; Margot Sakoian; Jennifer Scheurich himanshu.tevotia@gmail.com margotsakoian@gmail.com jennifer.scheurich@capitalone.com

Sally Stuart was married to Frank Shea on 9 April 2022 in Fairfield, Connecticut. They share a fond love of skiing, traveling, red wine and cooking, where Frank is Sally’s sous chef and is particularly skilled at chopping onions. The wedding was a joyous occasion and one of the first times many Darden classmates saw each other after the COVID-19 hibernation. Sally is extremely grateful to all of her classmates who were able to travel to her hometown. And, while it didn’t have quite the surprise factor as a Trinity dancefloor, everyone brought out their best dancing moves.

On the professional side, since August 2020, Sally has been at Coty as the senior director of Global Direct to Consumer Strategy & Operations, working on brands such as Kylie Cosmetics, SKKN By Kim, Philosophy and Orveda. She enjoys the personal relevance from working in beauty and has learned more about both popular culture and the science behind skincare than she could ever have imagined.

Margot Sakoian was married to Miguel Crivelli in June 2022 in a small ceremony in New York City. After Miguel made several delicious dishes for the Darden quarantine “pod” and a few weeks of working remotely in Charlottesville in 2020, he became an honorary member of the crew.

2014 EMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2014

GEMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2015

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2015

EMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2015

GEMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2016

Kelly Gerhardt; Adrienne Brewbaker; Saranya Sundararajan kelly.gerhardt@gmail.com afbrewbaker@gmail.com catchsaranya@gmail.com

Kendal Carlson and spouse, Eric, welcomed their daughter, Marit June, in August and are spending parental leave enjoying visitors and Airbnb-ing around New England. Siblings Theo, age 5, and Vivien, age 2, are thrilled (and really, really loud).

Kelly Gerhardt and spouse, Adam, welcomed their daughter, Alison Jane, in July. Her siblings Emily, age 4; Josh, age 3; and Tim, age 1, are so excited to have a baby girl to kiss and hug!

2016 EMBA

Elizabeth Goldstein; Jessica Pearson lizgoldstein15@gmail.com jessica.obradovic.pearson@gmail.com

Corey Feist, president and co-founder of Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, was proud to announce that one of its board members was featured in The First Wave, a

Teddy and John, sons of Ed Sykes (MBA ’17)

Class of 2013 classmates attended Laura Durity’s (MBA ’13) wedding.

Pete Vilkins (MBA ’13) with AJ Berens (MBA ’13) and family

documentary that recently won three Emmy awards.

Kate Myers is starting a new role as interim CEO at the Markup. This will be her second interim CEO role in her time as an independent operator since early 2021. Kate was previously acting-CEO/chief operating officer at the Center for Public Integrity from March 2021 to March 2022. Way to go Kate!

In August, Ed Kostrzebski started a new position as vice president of Growth and Capture with MetroStar, a digital services and management consulting company specializing in emerging technologies in Reston, Virginia.

This past summer Brian Shepard announced his retirement from UNOS, following the completion of his contract. His 10-year tenure as UNOS CEO was marked by groundbreaking progress in the U.S. organ donation and transplantation system. Congratulations, Brian!

Heather Moor and her husband, Joe, welcomed their second daughter in April. Emery Carol was born, and they couldn’t be happier that this sweet little bundle has completed their family. They are now settling into life with two amazing little girls, enjoying sweet baby cuddles, watching Lily blossom into a big sister, and catching some sleep when they can. Life is good.

Jessica Pearson and John Lawrence ran into each other at an NC Courage game in September. John and his wife Jill relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, from Washington, D.C., at the beginning of 2022.

2016 GEMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2017

Amy Brubaker Menendez; Gabriel Legendy amy.b.menendez@gmail.com glegendy@gmail.com

Elizabeth and Ed Sykes recently welcomed their second son, John, on 1 September! Teddy, age 2.5, is excited to be a big brother.

Peter Bergen and Ester (Barbuto) Bergen welcomed their second baby to the world on 30 April, the same weekend as our Darden 5th year reunion. First son Noah is a loving brother to Louis. Noah is 2 years old now and Peter and Ester are learning how to negotiate with a toddler.

Gabe Legendy and Helen Marks welcomed their second child into the world on 25 May. Winston was born with a strong sense of what he does and does not want, and the lung power to see his will done! Despite the noise level, his brother Westley, age 2, loves his “Winnie” and starts each day with big brother snuggles.

2017 EMBA

Nathan Uldricks; Jana Burnett nathan.uldricks@gmail.com jana.burnett4@gmail.com

Margot Bunn welcomed Jack Conway, who was born on 6 July. Casey Steffan is his godmother, and she and Margot were reunited for Casey’s baptism in September.

Michael Fox was promoted to professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona.

Lewis Nelson was promoted to director of commercial strategy and enablement at Fluke, a Fortive Corporation operating company. He moved back to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2021 with his partner Jocelyn and three high-schoolers.

Abigail Suarez and her husband, Marvin Salmeron, welcomed Mateo Salmeron Suarez on 13 May, weighing 6 pounds and 15 ounces, surprising Mom and Dad by arriving

two weeks early.

Nathan Uldricks is running for Pine Township Board in his native Porter County, Indiana. He is currently training to become a volunteer firefighter and joined the Porter County Park Foundation Board of Directors. He was recently accepted into the Indiana Leadership Forum.

2017 GEMBA

Amanda Fox, amanda.j.fox.1@gmail.com

Jason Newby relocated with his family to northern Virginia and started a new role with Capital One as a product manager in their headquarters in McLean, Virginia.

Brian Ribera and his family are doing really well; the oldest, Rylan, started his first year of college and is doing great. The whole family misses him (especially the other kiddos) but are very proud of him. Ronin, age 12, is the quarterback of his middle school football team. Ellie, age 11, plays softball and guitar. And finally, Rourke, age 8, is a baseball star!

Brian continues to run the 501(c)(3) Military Mobility which provides resiliency training to veterans in need. In addition to providing corporate adventure retreats the organization has expanded and gained much popularity with private schools for middle school and high school children. This program has filled a much-needed gap in the education field, where true leadership training and personal development is lacking in many schools.

Brian also is contracted by the military and government as a program manager for training and exercises.

Teresa Fuller enjoyed a fun summer traveling to company headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, and vacationing in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and Outer Banks, North Carolina, with the family. A particular highlight of the summer was celebrating her daughter’s 4th

Gabe Legency (MBA ’17) and Helen Marks (MBA ’17) with their children, Westley and Winston

Meg Bunn’s (EMBA ’17) son, Jack Conway

Abigail Suarez’s (EMBA ’17) son, Mateo Salmeron Suarez

SHRISTI KAUFFMAN (EMBA ’19)

Inventing a New HR Playbook

If talent is destiny these days, Shristi Kauffman (EMBA ’19) has her hand on the scales as the senior director of compensation at CoStar Group. Leading compensation for more than 5,000 global employees comes on the heels of her time at Darden as a student in the Global Executive MBA and more than a decade taking a startup from pre-seed to acquisition by a Fortune 5 company.

Kauffman ran the gamut of HR roles during her time in startup life. “The startup mentality is that you roll up your sleeves and do what needs to get done,” she said. Ultimately, she found that focusing on employee compensation satisfied her desire to have a meaningful impact on people’s lives while flexing her own talent with data.

Kauffman’s perspective also aligns with recent pushes for using transparency to improve equity in compensation. “We are headed in the right direction, but there is a lot more work to be done,” she said.

Kauffman described her time at Darden as transformative. “Having grown up in Nepal, my parents always ingrained in me the importance of education. And yet, I kept finding reasons why the time wasn’t right to pull myself out of the workforce to get an MBA that I always knew I wanted. Pulling the trigger and going to Darden is one of the best decisions I made in my life.”

She observed that what many students carry forward is more profound than the

hard skills they’re initially seeking: things like an open mind, the ability to tackle tough problems, comfort with not knowing all the answers and self-confidence. “I think you come out a better person at the end of the program. Maybe you had it in you all along, and Darden simply gave you the tools to dig a little deeper and bring out the best version of yourself,” she said.

On the heels of the birth of her second daughter last year and returning from maternity leave, Kauffman is more determined than ever to achieve her career aspirations.

“I have a very strong motivation with my girls to give them a strong female presence to be proud of; to show them that you don’t have to choose between being a mother and being a business leader.”

At CoStar Group, being an HR leader amid the Great Resignation has been challenging but also a moment of great opportunity. “Who would have imagined HR leaders having to navigate COVID and the return-tothe-office initiative? It’s a concept that didn’t even exist before.” Things are changing wildly in compensation, too, as hiring and retaining talent has become an urgent priority.

“It’s been a really fulfilling time to be an HR leader, to get to work on some really nuanced, never-before-seen issues and to get creative in terms of handling it, because there is no playbook.”

— Molly Mitchell

birthday alongside Joseph Cwiklinski and his family.

2018

Collin Bauer; Kali McFarland; Lauren Hansen

collin.bauer@gmail.com

kalimcfarland12@gmail.com lehansen23@gmail.com

Enis and Xiran Chen welcomed their second daughter, Beren, early this year. She rushed to this world four weeks ahead of schedule on Valentine’s Day night, but everything has been fine. They are in the west suburb of Massachusetts now and hope to see you if you are in town.

Kelly and Mick Denner welcomed their son, Jack (Darden class of 2048), in May 2022. Charlotte (Darden ’46) and dog Duncan (Darden ’18) are very proud of their new little brother! The Denners are still in southern California and look forward to the April ’23 reunion.

David Baum married Alexandra Ruggiero in July near their home in the Finger Lakes region of New York. They are very thankful to Chrissie Ezzell, who connected the couple when Dave moved to Corning, New York, after graduation, and to Ryan Bottini for arranging that first meet-up.

Quick life update from Agatha and Oluwatunmise Osinubi: They got married on 24 September in Puglia, Italy.

2018 EMBA

Adam Doyle; Chris Schenkkan; Laura Pettus

adamdoyle0369@gmail.com cms4v@hotmail.com lmpettus1276@gmail.com

The Class of 2018 EMBA is excited to celebrate their fifth Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you

Dave Baum (MBA ’18) and Alexandra Ruggiero at their wedding in the Finger Lakes area in New York.

are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Brian Kohler, 5th Reunion giving chair, has been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside him on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2019

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2019 EMBA

Terrell Fuller; Charlotte Gage terrell.fuller@gmail.com charlotte.jean.gage@gmail.com

Katrin Kempiners welcomed a darling baby boy into her family, Jackson Bear, born 27 April.

David Black and Heather Townsend, founders of Even Health, a mental health company serving military and healthcare professionals, celebrated its second year in business August 2019. The team now totals close to 20 staff, including Megan Berry as VP, Design.

Colin Hood and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their son, Grant Harrison Hood, on 3 September 2022.

Shristi Kauffman and her husband, Ryan, welcomed their second daughter, Riya Beth Kauffman, on 29 May 2022.

Skip Calvert was promoted to vice president of company operations at Five Guys, the Virginia-based fast-casual restaurant chain.

Chris Flock started a new position as senior manager, partner relations at the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). In this role, Chris will focus on

corporate development and cultivating strategic partnerships.

Boyd Brown sold Lexington Solutions Group’s government contracts to Castellum Inc., and is now Castellum’s senior VP for the National Capital Region.

Eusebio “EZ” Pires now leads the efforts in Technology Marketing & Business Development for Rutgers University Tech Transfer Office with a focus on Alliance Management and partnering with industry to invest in Rutgers assets

David Waidelich recently joined Feed More as their chief collaboration and program officer Feed More delivered over 40 million pounds of food to over 200,000 central Virginians who face food insecurity in 2022. In his new role, David oversees partnerships with Feed More’s 280-member food pantry network, Meals on Wheels, school programs and healthcare systems. He is also working on a strategy for their Food Bank of the Future. If anyone is interested in getting involved in any capacity, please reach out!

Bradley Intrater was recently promoted to compliance vice president for Truist Securities.

John Fontaine accepted a new business development role with Liquid Robotics, a Boeing Company focusing on delivering Unmanned Surface Vehicles for defense and environmental customers across the globe. Additionally, his local family-run personal gym business —Newtown Fitness Club, founded in summer 2020 — recently celebrated its 1,200th customer, its seventh location opening (four in C’ville, three in Staunton, Virginia), and over 10,000 hours of distraction-free workouts.

2020

Jordan Hart

jchart92@gmail.com

Alexander and Gretchen Spencer moved to Scituate, Massachusetts, in December 2021 and were thrilled to welcome their son

Theodore (Teddy) to their family in April 2022. Alexander is a director at Toast, leading the go-to-market strategy for the sales team. He is continuing the love of fishing he developed while at Darden, trading the Virginia brook trout for striped bass. Gretchen is a director at Fidelity, working on internal consulting initiatives. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and any excuse to get outside.

Alexandra Moss welcomed son Conor Moss on 26 March 2022.

Christopher Skinner, along with wife Cameron and son Finnegan, almost 3 years old, continue to enjoy life in London, U.K., where Christopher is working for L.E.K. Consulting. When not working or playing with Finn, Christopher continues to take in live opera voraciously, and the entire family has enjoyed travels back to the U.S. for skiing and visiting family in Charlottesville, as well as to France, Spain and Portugal on the European continent. They look forward to an exciting year with Finn beginning nursery, more travel (Austria, Antigua and a few others) on the horizon, and more opportunities

David Black (EMBA ’19) and Heather Townsend (EMBA ’19) with Even Health employees

Alexandra Moss (MBA ’20) welcomed son Conor Moss on 26 March.

Christopher Skinner (MBA ’20), wife Cameron and son Finnegan outside Kensington Palace in London’s Hyde Park.

Shristi Kauffman’s (EMBA ’19) daughters, Riya and Isha

to meet family in Charlottesville and beyond.

Newlyweds Meg (Lyons) Mahoney and Stuart Mahoney were married on 9 April 2022 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

2020 EMBA

Karen Henneberger

Karen.Henneberger@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who came out for our long-awaited reunion. It was wonderful to see so many classmates together again. In addition to finally celebrating our graduation on-Grounds at Darden, several of our classmates reported additional noteworthy events: Catherine and Alex Muirhead tied the knot in Cambridge, U.K., in November 2021.

In January 2022, Pat Clancey was appointed president and CEO of IDEMIA National Security Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of IDEMIA, the global leader in identity management and biometrics. Congratulations Pat!

Natalie Cucchiara and Brenton Fisk, who first met during LR1 and got engaged on-Grounds during a post-graduation visit in November 2020, were married on 4 June 2022 on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, surrounded by family and friends, including several other Darden EMBA ’20 alumni.

2021

alumni@darden.virginia.edu

Phil Gurney and spouse Ashley moved to Lemoore, California, in March and welcomed their second son, Emmett, in July.

Robert and Amanda Gex welcomed a new baby boy, George Gex (Class of 2046).

2021 EMBA

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2022

Mary W. Richardson; William Kelly; Amanda Wear; Adam Sadiq mwrichardson21@gmail.com williamhigginsonkelly@gmail.com acwear1@gmail.com syadsadiq@gmail.com

The Class of 2022 is excited to celebrate their first Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Mary Winston Richardson, William Kelly, Amanda Wear and Adam Sadiq, first reunion giving co-chairs, look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2022 EMBA

Stephen Beaudoin; Michelle Cobb; Will Payne stephenbeaudoin1@gmail.com michelle_turek@yahoo.com whpayne2@gmail.com

The Class of 2022 EMBA is excited to

celebrate their first Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Stephen Beaudoin, Michelle Cobb and Will Payne, first reunion giving co-chairs, look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

MSBA/DBA/PhD/TEP

alumni@darden.virignia.edu

Colin Jones (TEP ’81): “Still getting older, one day at a time. I am completely retired, but active in both my church and Masonic Lodge.

“I experienced a ‘fatal’ heart attack in 1983, but it just was not my time despite the efforts of the military hospital in Hawaii. I subsequently consulted and worked for the Hawaii State as the energy recovery administrator. Lots of interesting stories about that experience.

“I was elected a Life Fellow of the IEEE in 2007 and am also a Life Fellow of the Marine Technology Society. Moved here to Gainesville, Florida, with my wife in 2006 to be closer to the children and other family.

Raymond Michelini (TEP ’87): “Greetings, given it’s the 35th anniversary of my TEP ’87 program experience, thought I’d take advantage of the invite to provide some input for your consideration:

“As a young major program manager/ captain in the Navy at the time I attended TEP, I found the UVA Darden program very informative and enlightening, particularly in the area of ethics. They taught us to think ‘out-of-the-box.’ The many management ‘takeaways’ served me very well during my remaining 7 years in the Navy and my following 13 years in industry until I fully retired in December 2006.

Alex Muirhead (EMBA ’20) married Catherine in Cambridge, U.K., in November 2021.

Brent Fisk (EMBA ’20) and Natalie Cucchiara (EMBA ’20) were married on 4 June on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

Robert (MBA ’21) and Amanda Gex (MBA ’21) welcomed baby boy George Gex (Class of 2046).

Meg Lyons (MBA ’20) and Stuart Mahoney (MBA ’20) were married on 9 April in Charlottesville.

IN MEMORIAM

The Darden School offers its condolences to the families of the following individuals whose deaths have been reported to us in the past six months.

Remembering Professor Susan Chaplinsky

Professor Susan Chaplinsky, a widely cited scholar and much-admired teacher in the classroom, passed away on 28 November.

A professor in the Finance area, Chaplinsky came to Darden in 1994 following successful stints at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. At the School, she embraced the studentcentered approach to learning and fortified a connection to the world of practice — both Darden hallmarks.

The MBA Class of 1996 elected Chaplinsky as a faculty marshal, and in 2007 and 2016 she received the Outstanding Teacher Award at the School, an honor voted on by students. In 2013, she received the All-University Teaching Award from UVA for excellence in the classroom.

Chaplinsky was a widely recognized scholar in financing and financial structure, with papers appearing in top journals on topics such as IPOs from emerging market issuers, what drives delistings from U.S. exchanges and the borrowing costs for international issuers.

Professor Bob Conroy said Chaplinsky was deeply devoted to the classroom, with an overriding commitment to the development of her students. Although she lived with lifelong physical limitations stemming from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and teaching could be physically taxing, the classroom was where she was determined to be and where she found great joy. Even during a recent period of poor health, she was committed to returning to the Darden classroom this spring, he said.

“She cared about people and she cared about her students and she never wanted to be defined by any limitations,” said Conroy. “She was a wonderful person.”

Kelly I. Beeman (MBA ’72)

William Daniel Cannon Jr. (MBA ’68)

Kevin M. Cox (MBA ’79)

Ronald Dean Depew (MBA ’66)

Thomas Michael Eckis (MBA ’73)

David H. Fenton (TEP ’80)

James Holbrook Fields (MBA ’57)

George L. Fullerton (TEP ’69)

Dale D. Gilliam (TEP ’78)

William L. G. Lester Jr. (MBA ’71)

Thomas T. Moore Jr. (MBA ’65)

Betty Sue Peabody (MBA ’65)

Stuart M. Pearman (TEP ’60)

William L. Pfost (TEP ’77)

Arthur L. Pleasants (MBA ’57)

Thomas A. Saunders III (MBA ’67)

Professor Robert Smelick

Robert Alan Sommers (MBA ’61)

Carl D. Soresi (MBA ’71)

Stephen Nicholas Switchenko (MBA ’78)

Richard H. Tatlow IV (MBA ’64)

Ronald C. Whigham (TEP ’76)

Samuel Landis White (MBA ’66)

CLASS NOTES

“Since 1990, my wife and I have resided in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We travel frequently, participate in various respective organizations, volunteer and spend lots of time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Additionally, I’m a Master Gardener, avid road cyclist, and enjoy working on various landscaping and home improvement projects.

“We’re also a strong UVA family. Besides my attendance at Darden, I am grateful to have both daughters graduate from the McIntire School of Commerce (’89 and ’90) and to have a granddaughter in her fourth year (Class of 2023) in McIntire.”

Michael Cordell (TEP ’12): “My third novel, a legal thriller titled Conviction, will be published 14 November. It is the sequel to my best-selling novel Contempt, which came out in July 2020.

From John Bahouth (TEP ’00): “The nation’s most sustainable building, Apex Plaza, has been built in Charlottesville, Virginia, reflecting the vision of William McDonough, UVA’s School of Architecture’s former dean, and John Bahouth (TEP ’00). John and Bill first connected during a TEP class, and when the opportunity came to work together on Apex Plaza they relied upon lessons learned while at Darden. William McDonough and partners, following many of the principles outlined in Cradle to Cradle, listened to the Apex Clean Energy team as they sought a design to reflect the company’s commitment to clean energy and sustainability. John served as shepherd for the project: through site location, design, financing, construction and eventual occupation. The skills John learned at Darden were extremely beneficial in the completion of this successful project, which has quickly caught the attention of sustainability professionals.”

Darden Student Club Corporate Partners

3M Accenture

Airbnb

AlixPartners

Alvarez & Marsal

American Express

Axon Enterprise

Bain & Company

Bank of America

Barry-Wehmiller

Boston Consulting Group

Brown Advisory Cigna

Clark Construction Group

Danaher

DaVita

Dell Technologies

Deloitte

DICK’S Sporting Goods

DuPont

E. & J. Gallo Winery

Emerson Envista

Evergreen Services Group

EY Consulting

EY-Parthenon

Fortive

General Motors

Greystar

Harris Williams

Hershey

Houlihan Lokey

IBM

inCode Consulting

Ivy Garden Apartments

Johnson & Johnson

JP Morgan Chase & Co.

L.E.K. Consulting

Lexington Partners

Liberty Mutual

Marsh McLennan

McKinsey & Company

Medtronic

Morgan Stanley

PwC

Raymond James

Rotunda Capital Partners

Simon-Kucher

T. Rowe Price Teamshares

Teneo

The Arnold Group

The London Company

The Riverside Company

Triangle Insights Group

Vanguard

Walmart

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Securities

Zillow

ZS Associates Thank

2022-23 Corporate Partners

The Darden School of Business wishes to thank all of our corporate partners for their support. Their annual, unrestricted gifts to Darden support academic, student life and recruiting activities.

EXECUTIVE LEVEL ($25,000+)

DIRECTOR LEVEL ($15,000+)

MANAGER LEVEL ($10,000+)

ASSOCIATE LEVEL ($5,000+)

For more information about corporate partnerships, contact Kevin Kennedy at KennedyK@darden.virginia.edu or +1-434-243-4400.

Darden Leadership Boards

The five leadership boards of the Darden School of Business are composed of more than 150 distinguished leaders who serve as an innovative force in the advancement of the Darden School throughout the world.

(Listing as of 31 December 2022)

DARDEN SCHOOL FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

CHAIR

Martina Hund-Mejean (MBA ’88) Retired, Mastercard Worldwide

VICE CHAIR

Frank M. Sands (MBA ’94) Sands Capital

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

Robert J. Hugin (MBA ’85) Retired, Celgene Corp.

Scott C. Beardsley University of Virginia Darden School of Business

H. William Coogan Jr. (MBA ’82) Retired, Firstmark Corp.

James A. Cooper (MBA ’84) Thompson Street Capital Partners

Charles R. Cory (MBA/JD ’82) Retired, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc

Guillaume M. Cuvelier (MBA ’91) Davos Brands LLC

Robert G. Doumar Jr. (MBA/JD ’88) Park Square Capital LLP

Debra Draughan (MBA ’84) The Process Management Group, LLC

Frank S. Edmonds (MBA/JD ’95) Panning Capital Management LP

Arnold B. Evans (MBA/JD ’97) Truist

Richard B. Evans Darden School of Business

John D. Fowler Jr. (MBA/JD ’84) Wells Fargo Securities LLC

Catherine J. Friedman (MBA ’86) Independent Consultant

John W. Glynn Jr. Glynn Capital Management

Kirsti W. Goodwin (MBA ’02) Tower 3 Investments

Peter M. Grant II (MBA ’86) Anchormarck Holdings LLC

Owen D. Griffin Jr. (MBA ’99) Northfield Medical Manufacturing LLC

Yael Grushka-Cockayne University of Virginia Darden School of Business

Elizabeth Hagood (MBA ’89) Retired

Michelle B. Horn (MBA ’95) Delta Air Lines

Robert L. Huffines (MBA ’92)

J.P. Morgan

Rosemary B. King (MBA ’91)

Global Heritage Fund

Mark J. Kington (MBA ’88) Kington Management LLC

Naresh Kumra (MBA ’99) JMATEK Ltd.

David M. LaCross (MBA ’78) Risk Management Technologies

Douglas R. Lebda (EMBA ’14) LendingTree

Lemuel E. Lewis (MBA ’72) IVMedia LLC

Nicole McKinney Lindsay (MBA ’99/JD ’00)

Mastercard Worldwide

Amanda Lozano (MBA ’09) Spoke Sciences Inc.

Paul Mahoney University of Virginia School of Law

Richard A. Mayo (MBA ’68) Game Creek Capital

Sachin J. Mehra (MBA ’96) Mastercard Worldwide

Donald E. Morel Jr. (TEP ’97) Progenitor Capital LLC

Kim B. Morrish (MBA ’93) Ground Control Ltd.

J. Byrne Murphy (MBA ’86) DigiPlex Group Cos.

Adair B. Newhall (MBA ’09) Greenspring Associates

Patrick A. O’Shea (MBA ’86) ICmed LLC

G. Ruffner Page Jr. (MBA ’86) McWane Inc.

William H. Payne II (GEMBA ’22) Coalfield Strategies

C. Evans Poston Jr. (EMBA ’17)

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

James E. Ryan University of Virginia

William Q.O. Shelton Jr. (MBA ’93) Group 1001

Erik A. Slingerland (MBA ’84) EAS International SA

Robert W. Smith (MBA ’87) T. Rowe Price Co.

Shannon G. Smith (MBA ’90) PointGuard

Susan Sobbott (MBA ’90) American Express Mark J. Styslinger Altec Inc.

Bruce R. Thompson (MBA ’90) Bank of America

Joaquin Rodriguez Torres (MBA ’01) Princeville Global

Lilo Simmons Ukrop (MBA ’89) University of Virginia Darden School of Business

Steven C. Voorhees (MBA ’80) Former President and CEO, WestRock

Jimmy Jianzhong Wei (MBA ’02)

ImaGene Pharmaceuticals

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR

Warren F. Estey (MBA ’98)

Deutsche Bank

PRESIDENT

Patrick A. O’Shea (MBA ’86) ICmed LLC

Kristina M. Alimard (MBA ’03)

University of Virginia Investment Management Co.

Yiorgos Allayannis University of Virginia Darden School of Business

Christine P. Barth (MBA ’94)

Mary Buckle Searle (MBA ’86)

Strategic Thought Partners

Sandhya K. Chhabra (EMBA ’17) Albemarle Endocrinology PLC

Jerome E. Connolly Jr. (MBA ’88) J. Connolly Financial Consulting LLC

Andrew G. Crowley (MBA ’11) Markel Corp.

Richard P. Dahling (MBA ’87) Fidelity Investments

Christian Duffus (MBA ’00) Fonbnk Inc.

Michael J. Ganey (MBA ’78) GaneyNPD

Ira H. Green Jr. (MBA ’90) Simmons Energy

Evan A. Inra (EMBA ’08)

Amazon Web Services

Kendall Jennings (MBA ’12) Accenture

Kristina F. Mangelsdorf (MBA ’94) Visa

Taylor H. Meyer (MBA ’13)

Goldman Sachs

DeMario Moore (Class of 2022) President, Darden Student Association

Douglas T. Moore (MBA ’80) Goedeker’s

Betsy M. Moszeter (EMBA ’11) Green Alpha Advisors

Richard J. Parsons (MBA ’80)

Elvis Rodriguez (MBA ’10) Bank of America

Nancy C. Schretter (MBA ’79) The Beacon Group

David A. Simon (MBA ’03) SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

Jason Sinnarajah (MBA ’07) Buffalo Bills

Henry F. Skelsey Jr. (MBA ’15)

Connected Travel LLC

David L. Tayman (MBA/JD ’99)

Tayman Lane Chaverri LLP

Shaojian Zhang (MBA ’99) CITIC Capital

CORPORATE ADVISORY BOARD

CHAIR

Michelle B. Horn (MBA ’95) Delta

Indy Adenaw (MBA ’08)

Management Leadership for Tomorrow

Danielle Eesley Amfahr 3M Company

Stuart C. Bachelder (MBA ’06)

DaVita Kidney Care

Mazen G. Baroudi

EY

Kelly Becker (MBA ’08)

Schneider Electric

Mark S. Bower (MBA ’02) Bain & Company

Adam P. Carter (MBA ’02) WestRock

William S. Cohen (MBA ’07)

Bank of America Private Bank

Robert E. Collier (MBA ’10)

ChemTreat

Sean M. Corrigan (MBA ’05)

The Walt Disney Company

D. Lynnette Crowder (EMBA ’10) U.S. Silica Company

Daniel A. Dougherty (MBA ’94) Wells Fargo

Richard C. Edmunds (MBA ’92)

Strategy & PwC

Sarita T. Finnie (MBA ’01)

Bayer Consumer Health

Joseph B. Folds (MBA ’91) OFD Foods

Theresa O. Frankiewicz (MBA ’87)

Crown Community Development

Ivy L. Ghatan (MBA ’09)

LinkedIn

Sunil K. Ghatnekar (MBA ’92)

Prescient

Marcien B. Jenckes (MBA ’98)

Comcast Cable

Harry A. Lawton III (MBA ’00)

Tractor Supply Company

Marguerite M. Longo (MBA ’08) Johnson & Johnson

H. Whit McGraw IV (MBA ’07)

S&P Global Market Intelligence

Fernando Z. Mercé (MBA ’98)

Melissa & Doug LLC

Diem H. D. Nguyen (MBA ’01)

Xalud Therapeutics, Inc.

Ann H. S. Nicholson (MBA ’01)

Corning

Daniel E. Polk

Humana

Abby A. Ruiz de Gamboa (MBA ’04)

Deloitte Consulting LLP

Joseph V. Schwan (EMBA ’13)

Baxter International Inc.

Thomas J. Steenburgh University of Virginia Darden School of Business

Scott A. Stemberger (MBA ’04)

The Boston Consulting Group

Eric M. Swanson (MBA ’08) Amazon

Edward W. Valentine (MBA ’93) Harris Williams & Co.

Gerrud Wallaert (TEP ’18)

RWE Renewables Americas LLC

Meghan A. Welch (MBA ’10) Capital One

Steven D. Williams (MBA ’06) Delta Air Lines

Gary R. Wolfe (MBA ’92) Wells Fargo Securities LLC

DEAN’S DIVERSITY ADVISORY

COUNCIL

CHAIR

Alex R. Picou (MBA ’89)

J.P. Morgan VICE CHAIR

Nicole McKinney Lindsay (MBA ’99/JD ’00)

Mastercard Worldwide

William S. Chichester III Microsoft

Paige T. Davis Jr. (MBA ’09) T. Rowe Price Co.

Jacqueline Grace (MBA ’10) Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Ray R. Hernandez (MBA ’08) Northrop Grumman

Octavia G. Matthews (MBA ’89)

Aramark Uniforms

Tiffani C. Moore (EMBA ’16) Federal Housing Finance Agency

Caroline D. Schoenecker (MBA ’11) Deloitte

Rhonda M. Smith (MBA ’88) California Black Health Network

Cynthia K. Soledad (MBA ’02)

Egon Zehnder

Deborah Thomas (MBA ’89) Somos Inc.

Daniele M. Wilson (MBA ’11) Google

GLOBAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

CHAIR

Naresh Kumra (MBA ’99)

JMATEK Ltd.

VICE CHAIR

Joaquin Rodriguez Torres (MBA ’01)

Princeville Global

Marcos P. Arruda (MBA ’02)

Zilor

Jennifer E. Chick (MBA ’08)

Hilton Worldwide

Christine H. Davies (MBA ’09)

Poligage

David R. Frediani Ironshore Inc.

Janeth Gomez Gualdron (GEMBA ’17) Capital One Financial Management

Wei Jin (MBA ’99)

Prudential Financial Corporation

Shawn Liu (MBA ’05)

DAO Investments

Richard K. Loh (MBA ’96) Ploh Group Pte. Ltd.

Todd R. Marin (MBA ’89) Blue Ox Ventures

Lois M. McEntyre (MBA ’95) General Motors Corp.

Rajan J. Mehra (MBA ’93) March Capital

Pascal Monteiro de Barros (MBA ’91) Stirling Square Capital Partners

Nikhil Nath (MBA ’00)

NSQ Advisory

Agustín Otero Monsegur (MBA ’06) OM Invest

Antonio U. Periquet Jr. (MBA ’90) Pacific Main Holdings, Campden Hill Group

Hagen Radowski (MBA ’91)

Porsche Consulting Inc.

Yudhono Rawis (GEMBA ’16) PT Ringan Teknologi Indonesia

Mayra A. Rocha (GEMBA ’16) Project M Media

Arpan R. Sheth (MBA ’96) Bain & Company

Nishal Sodha (GEMBA ’17) Global Hardware Ltd.

Alok Vaish (MBA ’97)

Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

Jing Vivatrat Golden Gate Capital

Jeffrey J. Yao (MBA ’01)

Profision Shipping Capital Management Ltd.

Hai Ye (MBA ’04) McKinsey & Company

Questions

CATHY FRIEDMAN (MBA

’86)

Executive Venture Partner, GV

From 24 years at Morgan Stanley, where she rose through the ranks to open and serve as co-head of the firm’s biotech practice, to her newest role as executive venture partner at GV (formerly Google Ventures), two things have remained consistent in Cathy Friedman’s (MBA ’86) career. First, a lifelong interest in health care, and the power of technology to improve it. Second, the willingness to take a nonlinear career path that follows interesting challenges.

Friedman spent the 15 years before joining GV as a board member on leading public and private life sciences and tech companies, including at Grail as chair, Vividion Therapeutics, Lyell Immunopharma, Seer, Altaba, Radius Health and Revolution Healthcare Acquisition Corp. She’s also a member of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees and the University of California-San Francisco Foundation Board of Directors.

Friedman shares insights on her interests and motivations, as well as why she’s excited to be on the frontline of health care innovation.

1. What was your first job? My first job out of college ended up being my first career of 24 years at Morgan Stanley. My first job ever was helping my mom price items at a resale shop for a local charity.

2. What’s the best advice you have ever received? There are many ways to be a leader, find out what works and is authentic to you.

3. Whom do you most admire? Hero = Mom

4. What motivates you?

I am motivated and energized by working with teams on worthwhile problems.

5. What is your “superpower”? Helping others find their superpowers.

6. When and where do you do your best thinking? Early a.m., preferably on Cape Cod.

7. What’s been on your mind lately? The health and well-being of family and friends

8. What are you reading these days? Catching The Wind by Neal Gabler

9. How do you recharge?

I recharge by being with my friends and family and by walking with my husband.

10. What’s your motto? Chance favors only the prepared mind. — Louis Pasteur

11. How do you deal with conflict? Head on

12. What characteristics do you look for in people? The Four H’s: honesty, humility, humor, humanity

13. What makes you feel hopeful?

The young people in my life give me hope. They are kind and want to find solutions to big problems.

14. What is your favorite cause? The Boys and Girls Club of The Peninsula

15. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Right where I do now: California and Cape Cod.

16. Which class at Darden impacted you the most?

It’s too hard to list one: Bob Bruner’s finance course and independent study (amazing teacher and mentor), John Colley’s reading class (we were the first one), Mr. [Richard] Brownlee’s accounting class (who else could make accounting make sense and fun), Les Grayson’s class (the first to teach us that the world is flat).

17. What’s your favorite Darden memory?

Hanging out with my incredible friends, hiking Humpback Mountain, my EPIC study group, Road Rally, Pig Roast and Les Grayson explaining the only way to lose tenure!

18. What’s your No. 1 tip for current Darden students?

Keep an open mind and do not shy away from a nonlinear path that presents interesting challenges. And, anyone who thinks of the Darden MBA as just a stepping stone is missing the point of this incredible place. Engage!

19. In your role as executive venture partner at GV, what idea, technology or company are you most excited about improving the world?

There are so many incredible entrepreneurs in the world. I am currently excited about investing in women’s health, as it is a sector that is underinvested and incredibly important. I am also focused on health care accessibility and using health tech to solve heretofore unsolvable problems.

20. Why are you drawn to the health care and biotech sectors? What is your vision for how business and private investment can improve health care?

Now more than any time in history, technology and biology are so sophisticated that we can realistically solve incredible health care issues. The combination of computing power, AI and machine learning have made this area so exciting. We need to invest in early stage technology to help it flourish and become usable to help us solve worldwide health care problems.

Bonus: You’ve served on a number of boards, including the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees. Do you have any advice for Darden alumni who are considering board service? Serving on boards public or private, for profit or not, is an incredible experience and you can really make a difference, if you choose wisely. I believe you should serve on boards where you:

• Align with the mission.

• Think you can add value with your skills and talents.

• Believe you can learn new and interesting things from the entity and other board members.

• Confirm the ethics and motivations of the other board members are of the highest standard.

• You can have some fun.

Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning 2023 OPEN PROGRAMS

DARDEN ALUMNI RECEIVE A 30 PERCENT DISCOUNT. USE ALUMNI30 WHEN YOU REGISTER ONLINE. For up-to-date information on upcoming programs, please visit darden.edu/ee-spring23

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