Spring 2019 Can Venture Capital Save the Planet? Braintree founder Bryan Johnson, ’07 (XP-76), has a bold new mission: to fund scientific breakthroughs to tackle humanity’s biggest challenges. CONTENTS LEARN. EXPLORE. ENGAGE. FEATURES COVER STORY: TO FRONTIERS UNKNOWN Booth’s dynamic world of insight, joy, and impact comes alive 24-7 on social media. A Daring Join the conversation. Spring 2019 Second Act Volume 41, Number 2 Braintree founder Bryan Johnson, ’07 (XP-76), has a track record of recognizing coming revolutions. Now he is turning his attention A F S to two bold ventures that Alumni Faculty Students tackle humanity’s most 288 pressing problems. Page 30 In the spirit of dialogue and BY LEEANN SHELTON debate so fundamental to the Chicago Booth community, stories in the magazine are tagged with icons representing the participation of alumni, “I’d always wanted to spend my life contributing to the well-being of faculty, and students. others,” Johnson said. “So how do I help humanity thrive?” AN INTELLIGENT LIFE Big Data Meets Emotional Boothies know travel can open the mind to new possibilities. Intelligence As Accenture Strategy group chief executive, Mark Knickrehm, ’91, is leading the shift from traditional strategy to digital transformation. Page 46 I think seeing the Nobel Prize 124 Likes BY GRETCHEN KALWINSKI celebration in the Winter Garden is the reason why I ended up DAA AWARDS 2019 pursuing a PhD here at Booth. Rethinking Nearly 120 alumni live in 21 countries in Africa. A new alumni club, the Future founded in 2018, is helping connect Boothies across the continent. CHANGING THE GAME IN AFRICA Professor Raghuram G. Rajan discusses Meet this year’s Distinguished Alumni the connection between globalization Award winners: four A Growing Network and capitalism. alumni who have used From entrepreneurship to social impact to finance to their curiosity, drive, and development, alumni across Africa are using their Booth enterprising spirits to make education to innovate and make a meaningful difference in an impact. Page 59 both the business world and in their communities. Page 38 BY LEAH RACHEL VON ESSEN BY AMY MERRICK Follow Booth on our social channels MAKING DATA THE CORNERSTONE Economic Research, Applied At Cornerstone Research, cofounder Cynthia Zollinger, ’79, brings the best of Booth-style analytical thinking to complex litigation and regulatory cases. Page 52 COVER AND TOP BY DANIEL LENNOX / BOTTOM BY MUTI BY BRIAN WALLHEIMER Chicago Booth Magazine Spring 2019 1 CONTENTS A F S Solutions“ look a bit different in Nigeria than they do in Indiana, but the problems are common. —Mary Titsworth Chandler Cummins executive Mary Titsworth Chandler helps to advance vital causes in Ulisses Meneses Ortiz, director of international affairs at Space for Humanity, is determined to make space travel more accessible. “Space communities worldwide, with a special focus on gender equality. Page 28 is so out there and so powerful,” said Ortiz. “We think making space travel available to all will create impact on a large scale.” Page 70 Approach Engage Departments INQUIRY REQUIRED THE WORKSHOP MY BOOTH THE VIEW FROM LETTER FROM THE DEAN THE BOOK OF BOOTH 10 How Can 24 Quandaries 27 Enriching “I love to see 66 Zurich “It was really nice 04 A ‘Chicago 86 Rex Humans Work for Quants Business BY PHIL THORNTON Approach’ to Sinquefield, ’72 how I can use to meet other with AI? BY DEBBIE CARLSON Journalism at Leadership BY DEBORAH ZIFF SORIANO tech to disrupt MY CAUSE alumni who had BY ALICE G. WALTON Booth 68 Finding Sweet Education A WORKDAY WITH BY MADHUR SINGH an industry or something in Find more stories: FACE TO FACE 26 Using Tech to disprove the Success common when ChicagoBooth.edu/ 15 A New BY HEATHER LALLEY 06 Contributors magazine Help Us Unplug THIS IS WORKING FOR ME hypothesis that I was moving Perspective in BY BETSY MIKEL 28 Guiding the to somewhere Sustainability tech can’t help. 101: AN INTRODUCTION TO 73 Class Notes Fight for Gender —Yardley Pohl BY MADELEINE ZHOU 70 Space where every- Equality Page 26 Exploration thing felt so new. 77 In Memoriam BY ANNE MOORE NEW VENTURES BY REBECCA ROLFES —Julie Muggli 17 School News Page 66 and Faculty Research PHOTOGRAPH BY POLINA OSHEROV POLINA PHOTOGRAPH BY DEVOLLE JOHN PHOTOGRAPH BY 2 Spring 2019 Chicago Booth Magazine Chicago Booth Magazine Spring 2019 3 LETTER FROM THE DEAN A ‘Chicago Approach’ to Spring 2019 Check out the Leadership Education Volume 41, Number 2 Dean Madhav V. Rajan Madhav V. Rajan competition! Dean and the George Pratt Shultz Chief Marketing and Professor of Accounting Communications Officer Distinguished Alumni Awards Edition See what it takes to be a Distinguished Alumni recipient. Kurt Ahlm, ’09 n the 20 months since I joined Chicago plan where to go next. Subsequently, Harry Booth as dean, I have done a lot of traveling, convened a committee of faculty from diverse Director of Content meeting Booth alumni all over the globe. It disciplines, who then brainstormed ways to build Sam Jemielity, AB ’90 Chicago Booth seeks to recognize outstanding professional achievement among its alumni has been thrilling to chat with them, hear on the center’s work. Led by this committee, I Editor-in-Chief by presenting the Distinguished Alumni Awards to individuals who have demonstrated about their experiences at Booth, and learn how the school is now working toward an exciting the school helped shape them personally and and bold new endeavor, developing a “Chicago LeeAnn Shelton extraordinary success. professionally. The alumni I’ve met are incredibly Approach” to leadership. We are examining Assistant Editor grateful for what the school has given them. how our educational and research activities in Leah Rachel von Essen, AB ’16 The key point that comes across in these leadership might be enhanced in ways that would conversations is that what our alumni learned strengthen the school’s reputation as a leading Copy Chief at Booth has had a lasting and transformative business school while remaining consistent with Molly Heim impact on them. What they emphasize to me our values and mission. TRIVIA CHALLENGE QUESTION is that more than the knowledge they acquired Under the direction of Robert W. Vishny, the Contributing Editors in any one class, the school taught them how Myron S. Scholes Distinguished Service Professor Lou Carlozo to think. How to deal with ambiguity. How to of Finance, the Davis Center will coordinate Margaret Currie reason. How to make decisions and implement leadership efforts across the school. Rob has Heather Lalley How are the Madeleine Zhou them. How to bring others along, and guide been selected as the inaugural Neubauer Faculty the organization to a better outcome. In short, Director of the Davis Center, beginning July 1, Art Director DAA recipients selected it taught them how to become leaders. That’s supported by a generous gift from Joseph, ’65, Nicole Dudka what Booth graduates take away from their and Jeanette Neubauer. An expert in behavioral experience here. and institutional finance, Rob is a great fit for this Creative Director each year? Educating current and future leaders has role. He received his undergraduate degree in Joe Przybylski long been a key pillar of the school’s mission. economics, mathematics, and philosophy from the In true Chicago fashion, Booth was ahead of its University of Michigan, a PhD in economics from Project Manager A. The dean picks his four favorite alumni time in thinking about a leadership curriculum. the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Zach Johnson Launched in 1989 under the guidance of Harry master’s degree in counseling psychology from Assistant Director, Operations L. Davis, the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Northwestern University. He is also the cofounder B Jenny Freundt . A random lottery Distinguished Service Professor of Creative of LSV Asset Management. Management, the Leadership Effectiveness and The next step will be to launch new add- C. Development (LEAD) program was one of the on, experiential courses to give students an The award winners are chosen by their first core experiential leadership programs to be opportunity to actually try out the things they peers via a selection committee from offered at a top graduate business school. LEAD is learn. Using experimentation in leadership facilitated by second-year students who adapt the laboratories as the central means of learning, around the globe curriculum each year through choice of topic and these courses will have coaches and peer groups to presentation. Today it is the only required course provide feedback. A faculty curriculum committee D. for students in Booth’s flexible MBA curriculum, is working on a pilot class, which we expect to offer None of the above and in recent years it has been expanded from in winter and spring of next year. We also will be the Full-Time MBA Program to the Evening, introducing leadership programming for alumni. C Answer: Weekend, and Executive MBA Programs. The goal of this endeavor is to motivate and Chicago Booth Magazine The success of LEAD helped the school prepare students for lifelong learning from their (ISSN 1072-7612) develop many other experiential learning experiences and then support our alumni in Published by opportunities for students, such as the developing and deploying these skills throughout The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Management Lab and the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, their entire careers. [email protected] Test your knowledge on DAA history and award winners: New Venture Challenge. Expanding on this, and We are excited about developing a new set of ChicagoBooth.edu/magazine in recognition of Harry’s 50-plus years at Booth, offerings in leadership education, building on the school launched the Harry L.