Jones Journal -- Alumni Magazine of the Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University

Please send comments to:
Deanna Sheaffer, Editor
Director of Alumni Affairs
Jones School of Management - MS 531 Rice University
P.O. Box 1892
Houston TX 77251-1892
e-mail:JGSalum@rice.edu

Class Notes

If you would like to be included in Class Notes, send information regarding your career, family, and accomplishments to: Deanna Sheaffer, Director of Finance and Alumni Affairs, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management - MS 531, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892. Items may also be sent by e-mail to jgsalum@rice.edu. Photos must be mailed.

News About '70s Alumni
News About '80s Alumni
News About '90s Alumni
News About '00s Alumni

’70s

Richard Rudd (MAcco ’77) is a Senior Managing Director and Principal of Granite Partners, a closely-held real estate investment banking firm with offices in New York and Houston that is involved with the sales and mortgage financing of income-producing real estate and the offering of real estate advisory and consulting services. Rudd is a member of ULI, ICSC and has spoken at numerous seminars and real estate trade organizations. Back to Top

’80s

Tim Griffy (MAcco ’80) is now one of 12 Area Managing Partners for Ernst & Young in Dallas and has regional responsibility. Tim and his wife, Missy, still reside in Dallas with their two children.

Peter Schwab (MAcco ’80) is still in Chicago and is now National Director for Restructuring Advisory Services and a Senior Managing Director in E&Y Capital Advisors, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ernst & Young LLP. Peter, his wife Jeanette, and 2 daughters reside in Glenview. Peter recently finished a Far East commute working on Daewoo in Korea, the world’s largest restructuring to date.

Jay Oliphant (MBA, MAcco ’82) recently joined BOSS Corporation, an Atlanta-based Oracle Applications consulting firm. Jay presented at an Oracle Users conference in Honolulu in October. He will deliver additional Oracle e-Business presentations at upcoming conferences in New Orleans, Geneva, and Atlanta this spring. Jay teaches Accounting at Georgia State University. He also proudly says that his oldest son, Thomas, is now attending Phillips Academy at Andover.

Mark Hendrix (MBA ’83) joined the Reliant Energy management team as Senior Vice President in September 2000. Prior to joining the company, Mark was Executive Vice President of E-business and Chief Information Officer of Coral Energy L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Oil Company. During his 4 and 1/2 years at Coral, Mark oversaw the development and implementation of Coral’s technology infrastructure and application strategy. Mark was an Associate Partner at Andersen Consulting before joining Coral. While at Andersen, Mark’s primary emphasis was on the development and implementation of technology and application strategies for energy trading and marketing companies. Mark is married and has 2 children, ages 13 and 11. An avid golfer, he also enjoys water and snow skiing and coaching youth sports.

Mark Coffey (MBA ’85) and his wife, Lisa, proudly announce the birth of their son, Seth Daniel, on October 5. Seth joins older brothers Samuel and Jacob and sister Rebekah in the seldom-tame Coffey household. The Coffeys live in Mark’s home state of Oregon, in the Portland-area community of Lake Oswego. Mark is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bank of the Northwest, Portland’s largest locally-owned and Oregon’s fastest growing bank. Mark recently enjoyed serving as chairman of the “Citizens Advisory Committee on the Budget” for Tri-Met, the Portland area’s transit agency.

Carol Der Garry (MAcco/MBA ’85) has been in Sarasota for 3 and 1/2 years working as the Controller at Arthur Andersen’s Sarasota location. The Sarasota office supports AA’s central technology organization, AA’s tax technology organization, AA’s U.S. Shared Services Center, and VantageSource.

Jeff Young (MBA ’85) and his wife, Kimberly, and children, Andrew (4) and Susan (11) relocated to Ashland, Oregon, after living 17 years in Houston. They are having a great time there and would love to see any former classmates who may have an excuse to make it up to this part of the country. For the past 6 and 1/2 years, he has been employed in management consulting with a firm called International Planning & Research. Anyone who would like to reach Jeff can do so by email at JYoungIPR@aol.com.

Barbara Foelsch (MBA ’86) last summer moved to Iowa City, IA with her husband Paul (who accepted a job as CIO at Mercy Hospital there) and their sons Jared (12) and Lucas (8). After 2 years in the Washington DC suburbs, she didn’t make this move happily, but actually is really enjoying life in Iowa City. “It’s a college town full of intelligent and interesting people, culture, etc. and it actually has a reasonable number of hills and trees, which is not what I had pictured!” Barbara continues to work for HBSI, a healthcare software company based in Bellevue WA, as a Senior Implementation Manager. One of the advantages of her job is that she works out of her home so she is able to move anywhere in the US and not have to change jobs. She does an awful lot of travel, and during the 5 or 6 trips she has made to Houston in the last couple of years, she always sets aside time to stop at Goode Company Barbecue! She doesn’t have a territory for her job so she travels all over the US—anywhere there is a hospital is a potential destination for her. She saw Jocelyn Groth Turner (MBA ’86) a year or so back while in Chicago. Barbara reports that Jocelyn “looked wonderful and was enjoying the freedom of life without work every day and with both her children in school.” Back to Top

Executive Director of Admissions and Career Planning Peter Veruki accepts the check from Charlie Bates (MBA ’96), along with Director of Finance and Alumni Affairs Deanna Sheaffer (MBA ’96). BP Amoco’s foundation gave $20,000 for the Jones School “Scholar’s Weekend” this February. A small group of highly select students will be invited to visit the school and Houston to become well enough acquainted with both to decide this is where they want to get their business education.

’90s

Michael Sites (MBA ’90) has been appointed Vice President of Product Marketing for Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), the travel web site founded by American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United Airlines. Most recently, Sites served as Vice President of e-commerce at Sabre where he assessed, created and communicated Sabre’s global e-commerce strategy and managed e-commerce relationships with customers, suppliers and the media.

LeQuita H. Porter (MBA ’91) is currently a 2nd year student at Princeton Theological Seminary in the Master of Divinity program-Minister-In-Training. She spent last summer as a student pastor on the island of Jamaica, serving a circuit of Baptist churches in one of the poorest parishes. She is married, has 2 children— Brian (13) and Nia (5)— and lives in Plainsboro, New Jersey. She also does strategic planning and other types of business planning/leadership training for churches and nonprofit organizations as an independent consultant.

Tarig Anani (MBA ‘92) has been named General Counsel of SAP Arabia, which has offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Dubai. After completing his degree at the Jones school, Tarig returned to law school, earning an advanced law degree from Stanford. Tarig then joined the New York law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt and Mosle where he worked for 3 years as a Corporate Associate. Two JGS alumni have already visited Tarig in the Middle East, Bahram Panahpour (MBA ’91) visited Tarig in Saudi Arabia last year and Troy Matherne (MBA ’91) just recently visited Tarig in Dubai. You can reach tarig via e-mail at tanani@aol.com.

Caroline Caskey (MBA ’92) was a feature story in the July 6-12 Houston Press. “She wasn’t the first to offer DNA analyses when her fledgling Indentigene firm received its first paternity case in August 1994. But Caskey was the first to market that testing to the general public—and that has made all the difference….[Identigene] has averaged quarterly growth of at least 25 percent since its meager origins as a two-person firm….Caroline Caskey is not daunted by the challenge of keeping a competitive edge in the genetics industry, the potential for ethical and political controversy, or the stream of heart-breaking cases coming through the lab. She’s confident her company can continue to innovate and believes that the truth will set you free—at least from nagging doubts.” Caskey’s company also appeared in a Financial Times, July 6, story on paternity test labs.

Gerri Castor-Brooks (MBA ’92) was profiled in Today’s CPA in June. She describes how she balances work and family (which includes husband Robert Brooks (MBA ’93) and daughters Tori and Lexi). “In December of 1995, I went to a 60 percent reduced-hour work schedule. Except for tax season.…Deloitte & Touche has been incredibly supportive in helping me balance work and life. I still get my share of interesting work, I still participate in national training, I am still on a promotion track, albeit a slower one.” Mark McMeans (MBA ’92) and his wife, Sarah, proudly announce the birth of their third child, Michael Shamus “Shae,” on November 15. Shea weighed 8.0 pounds and measured in at 21 inches.

Jose Llontop Cadenas (MBA ’93) is currently the Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Logistics for Cemex (world’s third largest cement company) for operations in Egypt. He went there as part of the Cemex’s post merger integration team to take over Assiut Cement company, formerly a government owned company purchased by Cemex in November 1999. Assiut Cement is located 400 kilometers south of Cairo, midpoint between Cairo and Luxor (the latter is better known for hosting the Valley of the Queens and Kings where you can find Tutankhamen’s tomb and the temples of Karnak and Luxor) at the edge of the Sahara desert. This is his third assignment in the 3 years that he has been at Cemex. During that time he has been responsible for leading a due diligence team for the valuation of a company in the Caribbean, responsible for increasing productivity and lowering overall manufacturing costs for operations in Venezuela, and now in his new position in Egypt he is responsible for defining and executing the commercial strategy for this business, expected to gross close to $200 million next year. He is married and has 3 daughters, all of them enrolled in the Cairo American School. They are having lots of fun participating in the school’s tennis, swimming, and soccer teams.

Bill Windle (MBA ’93) and his wife, Sally Ann, proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Hannah Glen, on November 20. Hannah measured 21 inches and weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces.

Rodney Collins (MBA ’94) opened a construction company after his graduation to compliment his growing architecture firm. His design staff and carpenters now do design-build for corporate headquarters, retail buildouts, and very custom homes. They also manage and develop rental property and townhomes inside the loop. Look for his 2522 Blue Bonnet Blvd project to be on the Houston AIA home tour in March of 2001. For more information on Collins Architects and The Best Constructive Solution, Inc., visit www.collinsarchitects.com.

Robert Lawton (MBA ’94) participated in the most recent attempt to break the 282-person world record for largest skydiving freefall formation last August. Robert and 5 teammates formed the very center 6-person ring around which the world- record -sized formation attempted to build. His team, known as “da Base,” performed flawlessly on each of the 22 record attempts—a first for big-way formation building attempts. The week-long series of attempts ended in tragedy after 2 jumpers collided as they deployed their parachutes—killing one and critically injuring the other. While record attempts of this magnitude only occur once every couple of years, Robert isn’t sitting still. He actively promoted a 3-dimensional skydiving formation world record attempt in November. The aerodynamics associated with 3D formations make them extremely challenging and rarely performed. However, the sport has developed to the point where the talent now exists to build a 3-level, 18-person formation. For additional information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Robert at rlawton@insnet.com.

Eric Lindskog (MBA ’94) lives in San Francisco and works in the retail business analysis group of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. His email address is eric.lindskog@schwab.com.

Jeff Beusse (MBA ’95) and his wife, Bonnie, and son, Thomas, would like to announce the arrival of Andrew Jacob Beusse on November 25. He weighed 7 .7 pounds and was 20.5 inches long. Jeff still works for Arthur Andersen Business Consulting (not the ones that will soon be calling themselves Accenture). He is an experienced manager in the Internet solutions practice. He is currently managing an implementation of enterprise application integration (EAI) software that will integrate the customer care, billing and provisioning applications for XM Satellite Radio, a startup company that is going to deliver up to 100 channels of radio to cars via satellite in 2001.

Fred Philipson (MBA ’95) is developing new business ideas at Enron. He recently added 2 additional members to his family. Jonathan was born on June 1. Four weeks later, Fred and daughter Olivia (7) left for China and brought home 8- year -old Rao Jiafang (now Sarah) from an orphanage in Jiangxi province, which is where Olivia was living 2 years ago.

Hildy Winfield (MBA ’95) and her husband, Kevin, along with their 6-year-old daughter, Alanna, and 4-year-old son, Nicholas, are delighted to announce the birth of their third child. Andrew Mitchell Winfield was born on July 31st and weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces. Andrew joined right in with his big brother and sister to make their house a true three-ring circus.

Rachel and Rebecca Read Daughters of Roger Read (MBA ‘96)

Roger Read (MBA ’96) along with his wife, Cathy, and daughter, Rachel, welcomed Rebecca Cameron into the world on October 3. Rebecca measured 19 3/4 inches and weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces. Roger and his family are currently living in Aberdeen, Scotland where he works for Simmons & Company, Int’l.

Savita Puthigai (MBA ’96) and her husband, Dinesh, proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Sanjana. She arrived on October 16, weighing in at 7 pounds 1 ounce.

Wilson Dudley Sheaffer Son of Deanna (MBA ‘96) and Steve Sheaffer (MBA ‘96)

Deanna (MBA ’96) and Steve (MBA ’96) Sheaffer proudly announce the birth of their first child, Wilson Dudley, on May 10. Wilson arrived weighing 8 pounds and measuring in at 21 inches. Fellow alumnae Amy Oates Fitzgerald (MBA ’95), Lorri White (MBA ’95) and Holly Winston (MBA ’97) were at the hospital to welcome little Wil to the world!

Andrew Wang (MBA ’96) and his wife, Ronda, along with fellow alumnus Erik Evenson (MBA ’97) and Stephanie Stephenson, recently traveled to Egypt where they saw breathtaking monuments including the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel in Upper Egypt. In October, Andrew was promoted to the position of Service Delivery Manager for the Texaco Heritage Plaza site on IBM Global Service’s Texaco outsourcing account.

Elise, Elena, and Eli Irvine Children of Fran Vallejo (MBA ’96)

Fran Vallejo (MBA ’96) and her husband, Scott Irvine, along with their two daughters, Elise and Elena, proudly announce the arrival of their son, Eli Andrew, on May 19, 2000. Eli weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and measured 19 inches.

Paul Weber (MBA ’96) sent an email saying “For those of you who remember our first girl, Merrill, from the ‘Partios’, she is now 6 1/2 and in first grade in Santa Barbara, California. We don’t let her go to those Partio-type events anymore. Our second girl, Anna Helen, is now 4 and in pre-school. Time has really flown since the Jones School days, hasn’t it? My wife, Laura, is very busy being a mother, but loves Santa Barbara. I am a principal in Roundtree Markets, a holding company which acquires, owns, and operates retail businesses, and am CFO of the operating companies. If anyone is out this way, please look us up — we would love to see you!”

Irina (MBA ’97) and Bill (MBA ’98) Dudley are very proud to announce that on March 31 they successfully completed acquisition of Media, Inc. Media, Inc. is a small business, but has been listed twice on Houston’s list of fastest growing companies. The company is a source for CD-rom, CD-recordable, innovative packaging, diskette duplication, electronic catalogs and database management. Media, Inc. has a diverse client base (more than 200 customers have used our services for the past year) whose major clients come from such industry sectors as: technology and software development (Bindview, Geoquest Systems, Compaq); oil and gas industry (Texaco, Cameron, Conoco, National Oilwell); financial services (American General Life, Franklin Life); as well as advertising and marketing (InterNeed, Adcetera). Bill and Irina have very exciting plans to further grow this company capitalizing on the established customer relationships. The founder of Media, Inc. is their new partner and will lead the sales and marketing effort. Bill will concentrate on operations and resource allocation, while Irina will focus on cost and performance management as well as financial evaluations and analysis, essential for future growth. Irina hopes to find time to meet with fellow alums in the near future to continue friendships and discuss new business opportunities!

Vikram L. Chinchankar (MBA ‘97) married Jane C. Chesterman on May 27 at the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens followed by a reception at the Dubuque Golf and Country Club. Vikram is working with the Deere Power Systems Group of Deere & Company in Waterloo, Iowa. Jane is an accountant on leave of absence from Deere & Company and is currently attending the University of Iowa, Iowa City for her JD.

Don Porr (MBA ’97) and his wife, proudly announce the arrival of the newest addition to their family. Eleanor Lindy was born on November 30. She weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces and measured 21 inches.

Chris (MBA ’98) and Rhian Williams (MBA ’97) Farley, celebrated their first wedding anniversary on Nov. 13.

Howard Park (MBA ’98) sent an email saying “Since I finished my program at Rice, I’ve been working at Arthur Andersen doing all kinds of business consulting. I’ve also been doing some traveling (for personal and business) to such glamorous places as Allentown (PA), Hsinchu & Taipei (Taiwan), Japan, California, and Chicago. For someone who still receives mail in Houston, I’ve done a horrible job of actually keeping up with many of you. I caught up with Jonathan Kohl (MBA ’98) in Japan and Indiana, Justin Jones (MBA ’97) in Dallas, Mark Williamson (MBA ’97) (well actually, just his fiancée, as Mark was away that weekend) in Hong Kong. I’ve also managed to keep up with Trey Cash (MBA ’97), Nancy Crabtree Aber (MBA ’97) and Maury Bronstein (MBA ’97), as they still float around Houston. I am also still doing music; it’s like an addiction for me — writing, recording, doing open mike nights, opening for main acts, buying bootleg CD’s, etc. Drop me a line at hcpark@alumni.rice.edu.”

Majken Teichmann (MBA ’98) married Tim Pullin on May 13. They married after 13 years of dating (they met when she was 15). On July 17 Majken started her new (fun) role as Brand Programs Manager at BMC Software here in Houston. She works with brand strategy, brand architecture, brand communication, and product naming. Majken and Tim are currently saving to buy a house!

Celia Delphine Houston Daughter of Maya Houston (MBA ‘99)

Maya Houston (MBA ’99) and her husband, George, proudly announce the birth of their beautiful daughter, Celia Delphine, on July 23, 2000. Celia weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and measured in at 20 3/4 inches and has brilliant red hair. Maya recently joined the Jones Graduate School as director of development.

Eric Podurgiel (MBA ‘99) and his wife, Laura, proudly announce the birth of their first child, Ryan Edward, on February 1. Back to Top

’00s

Pearce Hammond (MBA ’00) and his wife, Patricia, proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Carolyn Ruth, on September 6. She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches.

Katherine (MBA ’00) and Sid Mebarkia with son Ibrahim

Katherine Mebarkia (MBA ’00) is currently working for Merrill Lynch as a Financial Consultant. Her husband, Dr. Sid Mebarkia, works for Shell Oil Company offshore division as a project manager. They have a 14-month-old son, Ibrahim, who was “auditing” every one of his mom’s classes during the last 10 months of her two-year EMBA journey. If anyone from the Jones School is interested in developing their investment strategies and financial goals with Merrill Lynch, Katherine would be more than happy to work with you. Her phone number is (281) 490-1600 and email is mebarkia@pclient.ml.com.

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