People

Advisory Board

Craig Asher is a principal at Vital Venture Capital LLC, a venture capital group investing in life sciences platforms and business-to-business software. Before Vital he was a product manager at three software startups—one in e-commerce that went public; one that he helped grow from near-death to a category leader that was purchased by IBM; and a third within IBM that is now a key part of the IBM Smarter Planet initiative. Before working in software, Craig was a consultant for retailers, distributors, and manufacturers in the supply chain strategy group at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). He has an MS degree from IEMS and an MM from Kellogg.

Tom Brody works for the U.S. EPA-Region 5 Chicago office. He serves as an Environmental Systems Engineer in the Resources Management Division. His interests are in the areas of planning, design, development and implementation of Geographic Information Systems. Recent publications of note examine critical ecosystems in the Midwest as well as threats, vulnerabilities, and management of crude oil spills at the subwatershed level. Before joining the EPA, Tom served as a laboratory/graduate participant at Argonne National Laboratory. He received a PhD in IEMS from Northwestern University in 1998.

Michael Chung is Global Co-Head of Equities and a member of the firm's Senior Management team. Prior to this role, Michael was the Deputy Global Head of Equities. He is responsible for the daily oversight and management of the firm’s equity portfolio managers and teams globally, including fundamental, volatility, convertible bond arbitrage and event driven equities strategies. For these strategies, Michael is responsible for portfolio manager selection, capital allocation, evaluation of transactions and risk exceptions, and management of the global firmwide equity aggregated risk. He has nearly 25 years of experience in trading and risk management. 

Prior to joining Millennium in 2016, Michael was the Head of Global Distressed and U.S. Credit Strategies at Arrowgrass Capital Partners, where he worked since inception as a Founding Partner. Before joining Arrowgrass, Michael spent four years working at Deutsche Bank, where he was the Head of Distressed and Event Driven Strategies at Omnis, a proprietary trading unit of Deutsche Bank. He began his career at Lehman Brothers as a research analyst for the firm’s distressed business.

Michael received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.

Jeff Dvorett is responsible for the planning, development, marketing and sales of Midwood's development pipeline including 150 East 78th Street in New York and the Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Los Angeles. Midwood is a 90+ year old, vertically-integrated investment, development and management platform that owns over 100 properties across the US. Prior to joining Midwood, Jeff oversaw the planning and development of over two million square feet of mixed used, residential and hospitality projects in New York. Jeff received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University.

Tony Gambell is a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Operations Practice. Tony’s clients are predominantly global leaders in Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, Advanced Industries, and Consumer Packaged Goods. He holds BS degrees in Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Leaders for Global Operations program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned an MBA and an MS, Mechanical Engineering.

Brittany Martin Graunke is a passionate social entrepreneur and founder of Zealous Good, a website that connects people with extra goods to local charities with matching needs. Brittany studied Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University and began her career in the Chicago office of Bain & Company as a strategic business consultant. After time in the for-profit, non-profit and start-up sectors, Brittany currently consults high growth start-ups on operations.

Sania Irwin is an accomplished technology executive. At EagleRail Container Logistics, she is responsible for intelligent, data driven solutions for port automation. Previously, as Senior Director of Engineering at Motorola/Nokia, she established and directed the Connected Car & Smart Roads initiative, and drove the 4G/LTE wireless network launch. She also defined the Intelligent Enterprise business line at Cimphoni, guided operations research efforts at General Motors, and championed Information Technology (IT) solutions at Xerox. Sania is Co-founder & President of One Community, an elected member of the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS), and serves on its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee, as well as the Leadership Development task force. She is the recipient of the 2020 Adade Wheeler Woman of Distinction Award, which recognizes significant contributions by an individual, to the personal and professional advancement of women, through education, advocacy, and mentoring. Sania earned her Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Computer Science and Mathematics from University of Rochester, and Master of Science and PhD degrees in Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences from Northwestern University. Sania lives with her family in the Chicago suburbs, enjoys distance running, and loves to travel.

Jon Izenstark is a founder and Managing Director at CultureFactors, a global management consulting and leadership assessment firm. He focuses on driving CultureFactors’ brand and growth strategy and overseeing the firm’s research agenda for managing organizational culture and leader impact. Jon holds degrees from both the IEMS and MEM programs from Northwestern University where he serves on the Advisory Board

Hina Jaffery is a Program Manager at Hamilton Sundstrand, the aerospace division of United Technologies Corporation (UTX). She has worked with customers in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, and Spain. Her prior roles include assignments in: new business development, the formation of a joint venture in China, supply chain, quality, and operations and factory transfers. Ms. Jaffery holds both a BS IEMS and an MEM from Northwestern.

Saba Jaffery is a Business Unit Supply Chain Manager at UTC Aerospace Systems (NYSE: UTX). Her prior roles include assignments in: program management, business development, the formation of a joint venture in China, quality, and operations and factory transfers. In addition to serving on the MEM advisory board, Saba serves on the IEMS advisory board and the boards of Keith Country Day School and the Members Alliance Credit Union in Rockford, Illinois. Saba is also a chair for Rockford Chamber of Commerce’s Lead 360 organization. Saba holds a BS IEMS and an MEM, both from Northwestern University.

Carley Kauble is a Senior Director of Supply Chain Strategy and Partner at Asurion, a technology company providing electronics protection and support solutions for major wireless providers, cable providers, retailers and more. In her current role she leads a Strategy Team that helps solution new product ideas, and she leads a Partner Team focused on serving existing clients. Prior to Asurion, she worked for Rockwell Automation as a simulation consultant, sales engineer and product manager. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Engineering Management, both from Northwestern University.   

Joseph S. Martinich is Professor Emeritus of Supply Chain and Analytics at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University; an M.A. in Economics from California State University - Fullerton; and a Ph. D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University. He has worked and/or consulted for several organizations in manufacturing and service industries as well as not-for-profit organizations. He has held visiting and adjunct faculty positions at the John M. Olin School of Business Administration of Washington University (St. Louis), the Engineering Management Department of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and the Industrial Engineering Department of California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. His current research and professional activities deal with environmental sustainability of business operations, and the economic development aspects of recycling, re-use, and re-manufacturing. He also serves on the City Council of the City of Creve Coeur, Missouri.

Eva McGoey is Executive Director, Innovation Leader at Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), where she leads the deployment of new solutions and delivers business technology innovation for the largest customer-owned health insurance company — the fourth largest health insurer overall — in the United States. McGoey’s solid track record of producing new and improved solutions has helped HCSC solve complex challenges with technology and moved HCSC forward as a leader in healthcare technology innovation. A native of Chicago, Illinois, McGoey holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences from Northwestern University. She is an active member of the Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences Alumni Advisory Board. 

Fernando Mercé (McCormick ’92) was born in Brazil and trained in the United States and Europe. In 1992, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden. With more than 25 years of professional success to draw on, Fernando became Chief Executive Officer of Melissa & Doug LLC in February 2020. In his role, Fernando oversees all operations for the company globally. Melissa & Doug is the leading toy manufacturer in the preschool arena, entirely committed to open-ended, technology-free, sustainable toys. Fernando previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Waters North America and President of Nestlé Purina, Latin America. Outside of work, Fernando enjoys spending time with his family and playing tennis. He is a member of the Board of Directors of DOMUS Kids, Corporate Advisory Board of the Darden School of Business, and Board of Governors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Jonathan H. Owen is Director of Operations Research (OR) at General Motors Global Research and Development. Dr. Owen began his career with GM in 1999 and was named OR Director in 2013. In this role, he leads strategic innovation activities for applied OR across diverse areas of the business that include pricing and revenue management, portfolio planning, vehicle technology selection and content optimization, supply chain and logistics, market demand modeling, and dealer effectiveness. Dr. Owen received his B.S. in Mathematical Science and Operations Research from the University of North Carolina in 1992 and M.S. and PhD. degrees in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University in 1993 and 1998. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), and serves on its Analytics Certification Board and as VP of Practice Activities. He is the author or several journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings, and co-inventor of multiple patents.

Rajesh C. Oza specializes in helping senior executives better align their organizations to achieve success. Simply put, he facilitates alignment of strategy and organization through a systems approach to client viability. Client viability includes change management, executive coaching, strategic planning, organizational design, culture and leadership development, double-loop communication and learning, high-performance teaming, stakeholder transition, roadmap implementation, and M&A integration. Dr. Oza received an MS from IEMS and a PhD in Organization Change from Pepperdine. He also facilitates T-Groups for MBA students at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Ken Porrello is a senior executive and investor focused on cyber/technology innovation and developing next generation leaders. Ken spent 30 years as a partner in Deloitte Consulting, retiring from the firm in 2017. He held significant executive/P&L responsibilities in the firm, including building and leading significant practices in North America and India. Ken now serves as Executive Director of CEO Perspectives, a leadership development program for C-level executives of Fortune 500 companies. He also serves as an Operating Partner with Kinzie Capital Partners. Ken is a board member of SteelCloud, LLC, a leader in cybersecurity solutions in high-security federal environments; MetroEdge Development Partners, LLC, an edge computing service provider; and Colony Display, LLC, a supplier to the retail sector. He also serves as chair of the board of advisors for the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, a post he assumed in 2011.

Vicki Sauter joined the faculty of the College of Business Administration in 1979 after receiving her Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Northwestern University, and currently serves as Professor of Information Systems at UM-St. Louis. Her research interests began with decision support systems, especially in the model-management area. You can view her book: Decision Support Systems for Business Intelligence. Currently Professor Sauter is working in the area of systems analysis with a focus on the improvement of methodologies. In addition, she is conducting research in the role of women in the information systems profession.

Malik Thompson has twelve years of professional experience as a leader in process optimization, business process reengineering, and change management; 8 years in the commercial sector at both large, medium and startup companies; and 4 years in the federal sector as a federal management consultant. Mr. Thompson has managed large-scale total lifecycle strategic sourcing initiatives from solution identification through contract negotiations. Mr. Thompson uses his Lean Six Sigma background and a strategic, results-focused approach to enhance opportunities from design through implementation. His degree in Industrial Engineering, certifications in Lean and Six Sigma, and his Total Cost of Ownership full lifecycle project experience have contributed to his success in company and organizational process improvement.

Alan Wasserstrom is a lifelong resident of Columbus, Ohio. He is married to his wife Diana. Alan is a big Northwestern University football fan. He is also an avid golfer and the owner of five dogs. Mr. Wasserstrom has spent his entire working career with the family business. N WASSERSTROM and Sons manufactures, designs, and installs turnkey foodservice facilities - from quick service to large institutional projects.

Sandra Waters is Vice President for Collaborative Initiatives at the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME). In this role, Ms. Waters facilitates relationships with key stakeholder groups as the “Chief Collaborative Officer” for the organization. She has been instrumental in developing strategy, improving operations and leading innovation in diverse organizations and industries. Ms. Waters holds a Master of Engineering Management degree from Northwestern University where she serves on Advisory Boards to two programs.

Audrey Williams-Lee is an experienced business executive with a passion for building organizational excellence through strategic talent management, leadership development, culture, and change. Her experience encompasses serving as a HR leader and advisor for C-suite executives and their leadership teams, community engagement, and setting and directing strategies for philanthropic giving. She has worked across several industries, holding Human Resources roles at Unilever, McDonald’s and W.W. Grainger. On the nonprofit side, she was the HR leader for Opportunity International. Ms. Williams-Lee receives her BSIE from Northwestern University and her MSOB from Benedictine University. She serves on the board of directors for Youth Guidance in Chicago, Illinois. She is a also a board member of Hephzibah Children’s Association and a member of the Oak Park & River Forest High School’s Community Council, both in Oak Park, Illinois.

Gigi Yuen-Reed directs the data and AI strategy for Availity, a health technology company that connects health plans and providers, and she leads the R&D of data science initiatives aim to reduce waste and increase automation in the healthcare ecosystem. Prior to Availity, she was the Distinguished Engineer and Master Inventor in IBM Watson Health. She received her BSc degree in Civil Engineering, and BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in IEMS from Northwestern University.