Kellogg School of Management

Passing the torch ⚕️

After successfully leading the 2026 Kellogg Business of Healthcare Conference, co-chairs Charlotte Matthews ’26 and Mackenzie Anderson ’26 of the Two-Year Program are reflecting on the experience before handing the reins to the Class of 2027.

While planning the student-run conference, Charlotte and Mackenzie managed a team of more than 50 MBAs and learned how to balance providing strategic leadership with hands-on support. The 2027 co-chairs, Rachel Tao ’27 and Joe Turk ’27 of the Two-Year Program, are former committee directors and are excited to take on the challenge of leading the nation’s largest MBA healthcare conference.

“Being a part of the logistics committee gave me a systems-level view of how a large-scale event actually functions,” Rachel says. “I had to understand every workstream and see how they interconnected. That forced me to think not just about my tasks, but about dependencies and handoffs across the whole operation.”

Meet the MBAs behind the 2026 conference and learn how the experience sharpened their leadership skills: https://kell.gg/638555

“Your greatness will not be measured in your mastering of efficiency, but in your impact.”​

Nickol Hackett ’92, ’97 MBA broke down her formula for Kellogg leadership in her 2026 EMBA Convocation speech. She encouraged graduates to look beyond operations and embody Kellogg’s core values of community and collaboration as they perfect their own leadership formulas post-MBA. ​

Special thanks to Nickol for returning to campus and sharing her insights with the EMBA Class of 2026.

Read more from convocation weekend: https://kell.gg/de5062

Most people won’t see the inside of the Ann Drake Executive Center until it opens next fall. In April, Kellogg kids got a sneak peek.

Bring Your Kid to Work Day is a beloved annual tradition at Kellogg. This year, faculty and staff families joined for a full day of exploring campus, including an exclusive look at the Ann Drake Center’s design and construction, giving kids a behind-the-scenes preview of the classrooms of the future.

The kids also cooked alongside Kellogg’s executive chef, went behind the scenes in the AV studio, took the field at Ryan Fieldhouse and collected stamps on a Passport to Adventure across campus.

Thanks to all the families who joined in the fun!

Caps, gowns and a few very proud little sidekicks.

Happy Father’s Day to the dads and father figures across our Kellogg community, from the graduates holding tiny hands to the families cheering them on. 💜

Negotiation in the age of AI

Negotiations throughout history have happened face to face: in small shops, around big boardroom tables or over a cup of coffee. And most negotiation advice leans into that in-person element with tips on how to shake hands, where to sit and how to make eye contact. But that’s not how most of us negotiate today.

“Negotiation has always required preparation, strategy and emotional intelligence. That hasn’t changed,” Professor Leigh Thompson says. “But what has changed is that negotiators — many of them unknowingly — are now showing up to the bargaining table with a silent partner: artificial intelligence. That’s a newer element that everyone needs to be prepared for.”

Professor Thompson’s Negotiating in a Virtual World course prepares students for this new element accordingly, starting with an all-virtual class experience.

Read about the student experience in the course, including how they each build their own AI negotiating agent: https://kell.gg/1820a9

CEOs should be playing by a different set of rules

Being promoted from within usually makes job transitions easier. But when the role is fundamentally different, like a CEO position, the rules don’t always apply.

Professor Harry Kraemer ’79 MBA — who led a $12 billion healthcare company — shares five things every new CEO should do in their first month.

- Manage the fishbowl: Every CEO is compared to their predecessors, so stay focused on being true to your values with a consistent self-reflection practice.

- Attract your followers: Leadership at this level is a test of whether others will follow you, which they’ll only do if you’re relatable and can relate to them too.

- Empower the best team: People will support you if they know their feedback and input are important to you.

- Focus on what is next: Leadership changes offer the chance for a strategic revamp, so avoid simply following what your competitors are doing.

- Build a sounding board: You need a supportive, honest set of people to remind you of who you are as a person, not just as a leader.

Find the full article in Forbes on what every CEO should get right in their first 30 days: https://kell.gg/524e19

How do we lead when the ground is constantly shifting?

Dean Francesca Cornelli posed this question to the 150 attendees of the Kellogg Marketing Leadership Summit earlier in May. Now in its 15th year, the Marketing Leadership Summit is an annual event led by Professor Gregory Carpenter that brings together marketing executives, board members, event partners and faculty in a closed forum to examine the issues and challenges facing the industry today.

﹖This year’s theme was “The Big Ask.”

Keynote speakers discussed the rapidly evolving marketing landscape and the extraordinary pressure facing those holding CMO roles. The summit put real leaders in the spotlight to explore the values, pressure and purpose of modern marketing leadership.

Special thanks to all of our attendees and our esteemed speakers including:
Tarang Amin, CEO of E.L.F. BEAUTY
Kory Marchisotto, CMO at E.L.F. BEAUTY
Kellyn Smith Kenny ’05 MBA, CMO at AT&T
Professor Jim Stengel, Former Global Chief Marketing Officer at Procter & Gamble

Still thinking about these proud family moments from this weekend. 🎓💜

Congratulations again to the Kellogg Class of 2026 and everyone who cheered them on.