About Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/11940822584/newshoes

After LGO, one of the common traits alumni share is looking at ordinary things in a new light.  

I excitedly bought a new pair of running shoes this weekend.  Then I started thinking…

This spring, we did a case on New Balance in our Operations Strategy class.  This course is the capstone of LGO, normally taken during the final semester and co-taught by the head LGO and textbook author, Don Rosenfield.

I reflected back on the New Balance case, and in particular how New Balance does part of their manufacturing in the US - and not for PR or ‘feel-good’ reasons.  By having some manufacturing in the US, they can produce top-of-the-line, industry-leading shoes with a short domestic lead time.  This results in lower inventory levels, decreased storage and transportation costs, with higher customer service.  Meanwhile, New Balance is able to leverage decreased costs on less trendy or older models with overseas manufacturing, where the increased lead time is less impactful to the shoe market.  A great, business-focused balance drawing advantages from both domestic and overseas manufacturing.

Following our case discussion, we were honored to have the New Balance executives speak to us.  We heard updates on business changes since the time of the case, and they enjoyed hearing our ideas and perspectives as we discussed their supply chain and manufacturing strategy. 

Not just a pair of shoes anymore - and I didn’t even discuss the raw material chain for each component and sub-component of the shoe!  :)

Also - in case you were also wondering, the New Balance website says my shoes were assembled in the US.

—-

Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/11940822584/newshoes

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/11886245319/cooking-tomato-vodka-cream-sauce

One of my recent favorite additions to my cooking:  Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce.  Its delicious and great for a fancy meal with friends or a quick sauce for dinner!

two small or one medium yellow onion(s)
3 cloves garlic
generous amounts of good extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup vodka
56 oz (two 28 oz cans) of fire-roasted tomatoes (preferrably one crushed, one diced)
sea salt
fresh oregano
parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup heavy cream

Dice onions to a small dice

Heat pan to medium-low

Add olive oil

Sautee onions to light brown in large pot

Peel and crush garlic (with side of a knife) or in garlic press, add to onions in pan. 

Cook until garlic is lightly browned and smells cooked (less raw garlic smell)

Add dried oregano and red pepper flakes

Cook a minute or two until oregano flavor blooms and smells like oregano

Add vodka and cook several minutes until mixture reduced by about half and no longer smells like vodka (indicates alcohol has cooked off)

Add cans of tomato sauce

Simmer as desired; flavors will incorporate over time

5-10 minutes before serving or finishing cooking, add cream, fresh oregano, parmigiano reggiano and more olive oil

Great to eat over ziti, orrechiette, linguini…today or later.. tutto bene!

Quick fix - I’ve also made it with whole milk instead of cream, without fresh oregano, and without vodka.  Also delicious!

—-

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/11886245319/cooking-tomato-vodka-cream-sauce

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/10046267788/california-weather

As expected, the weather here in Southern California is gorgeous all the time. Its nearly perfect 70-80s all the time, and I’ve only felt a sparce three droplets of rain.  It hasn’t really rained yet in the two months we’ve been here.  No bugs.  Sliding doors and windows open all the time, not much use of air conditioning in our house. 

We can do things like drive 20 minutes down to Malibu for a nice day relaxing in the sun or a sunset dinner on the beach. 

The weather also cultivates great beautiful plants - my front yard looks like a tropical garden I should be paying admittance to enter.

One thing that is pretty amusing to us from other places, is that people manage to complain about the gorgeous weather.  We first started out with “June Gloom”, where its a little foggy a few hours in the morning during a month or two of the summer.  This is about as bad as it gets here.  Then, I’ve since seen four people wearing warm wool-lined UGG boots - in August!  Next, is the apparent September-October “Heat Wave” where it gets a little warmer, into the mid 80s with no humidity. 

It was tough, but I developed a helpful list in case you visit the area.

Things to “complain” about for Southern California Weather

“I miss clouds”

“I have to bring my sunglasses everywhere, everyday. Its so sunny.”

“Its June Gloom again, the fog this morning for a couple hours when I’m inside at work anyway is terrible.”

“Its cold today”  Helpful on days where its slightly chilly in the morning, and long sleeves are needed - but you have short sleeves on. 

“Its hot today”  Good for when it is not exactly 78 degrees, including the aforementioned ‘heat wave’.

“Let’s sit inside at lunch today.  I’m tired of getting a tan during the workday.” 

“I miss wearing my rainboots”

“The chalk drawings on the sidewalk never go away”

“My umbrellas are lonely”

:)

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/10046267788/california-weather

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/8333211519/allfunal

We’ve been in California almost 3 weeks now, and I still have another week off before I start work!  Yeah! 

So, its all party and California living for me!  (I mean, with all that moving mess too.)

Nolan really likes what I call “fist-pumping dance music”, so driving along the California highways has added to the party feel.  I’m pretty sure there is a radio station here where every song has a line with “put your hands up in the air”.

Nolan says: “Everyday I’m shuffling”

During these first few weeks, we have done a few fun events:

Gymnastics for Kids:

Lots of running around, hanging from the rings, and hiding out under a gymnastics mat area.

Splash Park:

Run run run run!  Nolan had a blast and still talks about this park.

Karate:

Free Intro Class for Nolan - no good pictures from class.. but he’s practicing his Hollywood in my sunglasses.  He had fun in the class but was disappointed he didn’t get to “push anyone down”.  We’ll probably enroll him in either soccer or karate this fall - he has interest in both. 

Playgrounds:

He likes to swing in the baby swings - even though he swings quite well on the big swings. 

Typical conversation at swings:
“Mom, I want to swing as high as the clouds!” 
“Honey, there are no clouds here.”  (Have I mentioned the crazy beautiful weather?)
(pause)  “I am just talking about them.” (A frequent reference to things he remembers from before)

Hide and Seek:

Hiding out in the linen closet after a fun afternoon in the neighborhood pool.

Cooking:

Wearing his new chef outfit to make cupcakes from a kids’ cookbook, fun birthday gifts!  He liked to stir the muffins by lifting the spoons up in the air and dumping the batter into the bowl. 

Back to the fun!

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/8333211519/allfunal

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/8108339511/starstruck

“I’m going to a city where I have no friends, no family. It’s pretty scary.”
-Bill Rancic

Now that we have cable (for the first time in a year!) in our new house, I’m again watching more TV and relaxing a bit before starting my new job.  I’ve started watching “Giuliana and Bill” on the Style Network.  (I enthusiastically watched the first season of The Apprentice when Bill Rancic won…and then every other season.)  The couple just moved to LA area also, where they are going through moving, unpacking, and for Bill, adjusting to a new city. 

And, Bill and Giuliana are the only celebrities I’ve sighted in real life.  Last year, while waiting in the Rome airport, I saw them arriving to the beautiful native country of (the former) Miss DePandi.

——

Speaking of celebrity sightings, now that I’m in the land of Hollywood, I’m not starstruck… but I’m more curious how people react to the glitz and glam.  Are people immune to it, more part of daily life?  Or is it even more prevalent in people’s lives?

So far, I think its the second.  There are a handful of celebrities that live in nearby areas like Calabasas, Westlake Village, and Thousand Oaks.  People talk about seeing celebrities that live in the area at the grocery store, soccer game, shopping, wherever.  Its enough that, if I based it entirely on the chatter, I’m fairly confident I’ll run into Heather Locklear at the grocery store.

But, what has happened…

• Googled my furniture-selling contact from Craigs List, to find that they have their own imdb page, as a reality show producer
• Drove a few miles near a raised-up Hummer with the license plate “B PITT” (hmm, I’m sure A-list celebrities put their name on their plates…)
• Over the weekend we drove through a famous scenic mountain path, and the road was filled with speedy motorcycles, sports cars, camera crews and signs proclaiming ‘Call XX for Filming’
• Multiple sightings of places in my community on TV - including the Kardashians golfing across the street from my new place

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/8108339511/starstruck

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/8050409104/wheresdaddygoing

Today is my husband’s first day of work following a two-year parenting leave.  We loved having him stay at home with Nolan while I was in school, and it gave us flexibility to travel and have an internship in Italy.  Now, it is time for us to begin transitioning back to work and Nolan will go to pre-school.  We’ve been without income for two years (thanks to savings and a little school loans!), and its back to the working world now.  Chris is excited about his job, and we’ve been talking to Nolan about the transition.

This morning, Nolan had a few questions:

“Where’s Daddy going?”

“Why?”

“Today or tomorrow?”   (Both, Nolan.)

“Have a good day!  See you later!”

Chris and Nolan hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/8050409104/wheresdaddygoing

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7980431478/a-few-bumps-along-the-way

We’ve been in California for just over a week now.  Amazingly, most of our belongings are unpacked and the house is probably more organized than ever.

One of my high school friends who recently moved posted her top ten reasons she hates moving.  Considering the fun we’ve had moving so many times in the past two years with LGO, I don’t hate moving - I’m looking forward to the new adventure - but there were several extra “bumps” during this move.

Bumps and turns in the road:

1. Movers: Our movers who packed our belongings in Cambridge were terrible.  While we were thrilled to have a corporate relocation package to help with our 3,000 mile move, the experience with our moving company was quite negative.  Most of the issues were completely preventable, adding to the frustration.  A few examples:  food packed with cleaning supplies, missing large panels for TV stand, 3 or 4 crushed lampshades, heavy tools packed on top of a hair trimmer and my now-smashed walking cast (from a soccer injury this spring), furniture damage/mishandling, and trash and a broom left in the elevator… just a few of the many things that made it a very stressful experience.
2. Mail:  We forwarded our mail from Cambridge to my parents house in Ohio for a month before now forwarding it to California.  I haven’t seen any mail forwarded from Cambridge apartment yet, now its been six weeks.  We’ve started a ‘case’ with USPS to investigate, but nothing there yet either.  Update:  Just got a few pieces of mail yesterday.
3. Nolan Adjusting:  It has been much harder for Nolan this time.   First, he’s afraid of the bath/shower because if the water is on a low flow setting, it has a bit of water hammer.  Now, he jumps at any noise from the faucet.   He has also been waking up during the night and not sleeping well.  Poor little guy, I hope things get better in the next few weeks.
4. Not Quite: There has been several things around the house that just don’t quite fit.  My large Kitchen Aid mixer doesn’t fit under the upper cabinets, and there are no plugs on the other side of the counter.  The nice built-in bookshelves were installed so low, I’m not sure if the old tenants were able to fit any books in them!  Happily, all the books fit great after adjusting the shelves. 
5. Phone:  My cell phone doesn’t receive reception at our house.  Not even outside.  Chris has the same provider and his works well.
   
6. Finding “Your” Places:  Like Tobe’ said, it takes some time to find things when you move.  Specialty shops (produce, seafood, ethnic foods), health care, hairdresser, groceries, decent library, and housewares…
7. New Things:  Speaking of housewares, things are just a little different in a new house and its common to need a few new little things - soap dishes, trash cans, or big things like a washer and dryer and lots of furniture.  This is taking some time, but will help us feel settled, particularly because we moved from a place half the size with much less furniture.
8. New People and Friends:  I remember when we started at MIT, several of us talked about how exhausting it was to talk to new people for hours a day.  We knew it was worth it, but took some time to get to know our 47 new friends and their SOs.  Now, those memories of meeting new people become fresh again.  We only know a few friends out in SoCal, but happy that we’ve been introduced to a few mutual friends in the area. 

—-

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7980431478/a-few-bumps-along-the-way

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7687959520/aftermit

Now that I’ve graduated, what’s next?

We recently moved to Southern California where I will continue my career focus in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing at Amgen (LGO partner company).  I start next month working in a corporate group supporting all of the world-wide manufacturing operations. So… that means I’ll be working as a Leader of Global Operations!  How exciting!  While many B-school students are career-changers, I have continued in pharma manufacturing - exactly what I was working towards in my previous roles and during my education.

Arriving at LAX - The Theme Building 

A common question asked by applicants is “How is life and career after MIT LGO?”, and I’ll be continuing blogging to help answer this question from my perspective.

—-

I’m very excited to have graduated from MIT, but I’m also so excited for the LGO’13s who are starting an amazing two years.  Check out the new LGO bloggers, including frequent blogger Victoria, and Ashleigh, who was influenced to come to LGO from my blog!

Also, congrats to my management thesis advisor, Andreas Schulz who recently received the Humboldt Research Award, from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation!

-Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7687959520/aftermit

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7522260405/nolanthird

We recently celebrated Nolan’s third birthday!  He’s so fun and, I really think age 2 to 3 has been the most fun yet!  It was good here!

He talks so much now, learning lots and even makes up jokes.  It is also great to see him learning and interpreting new things and becoming more rational.  On an interesting note, he was born in Indianapolis, celebrated first birthday in Boston/Cambridge, second birthday in Italy, and third birthday in Ohio (at my parents) right before we get ready to move again.  What fun! 

—-

Here are a few things that Nolan’s been up to…

-Nolan makes up words for things that didn’t have definitions before.  Mostly they remind me of Swiss German words or maybe a new shelf from Ikea.  flinderflacker,  zinderfin-der..

-Wants to know how things work.  He spent the whole ride at a festival last week looking at the middle to see how it turned around.  While the other kids were waving at family and smiling, he looked very serious.

-He started to draw a strong association with the MIT Dome when my Aunt Mary and Uncle Joe visited this spring, and only grew stronger with graduation events.  He now calls the Lincoln memorial on the back of the penny the “MIT Dome” (and pretty much anything else with pillars and/or a dome). 

-Nolan also REALLY likes fireworks.  He regularly talks about the fireworks at the MIT 150th birthday celebration and he really likes the Firework song by Katy Perry :)  I think he believes that birthdays are celebrated with fireworks, especially with America’s Fourth of July fireworks.

-He makes jokes.  Some of my favorites:

• Says “I’m going to sing Wheels on the Bus.  (pause) A, B, C, D…  hahhaha”  (funny because he sings a different song)
• Saying things opposite intentionally, and then laughing (left and right
• While playing games online, picking the wrong options first because its funny and makes the game last longer

-He recently started walking around occasionally like his hands are on a steering wheel and turning his hands to go left and right.  Super fun!

-Pretends to call people on the phone.  Commonly, its friends Todd, one-year old Sean, Cynthia, memaw and papaw, or me.

-He’s potty trained!  So proud of him!

-Basement play time and pillow fights with Papaw

Things Nolan says:

• “its probably” and “maybe its” 
• “its like.. “
• “It’s just Nolan!”
• “I’m just joking”

He loves to ask questions:

• What’s your favorite color?
• What’s THAT called?
• How’s that turn on?
• What’s that noise
• WHAT was THAT?

Looking forward to many more fun years with our Nolan!

Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7522260405/nolanthird

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7328493092/opslab

Operations Lab Course - Cold Chain Technologies Team

Mike Donohue LGO’11, Annie Kang LGO’12, Steve Wessels LGO’11, Kacey Fetcho-Phillips LGO’11 with Bob Bohne and Larry Gordon, Cold Chain Technologies

—-

As I was evaluating returning to school, one of my considerations was concern that I would mostly be working on developing myself (for future impact) rather than contributing to society for these two years. 

However, I learned that MIT is very focused on improving the world by not only producing exceptional students, but producing social contributions.  This experiential learning is integrated into our education as an opportunity to utilize what we’re learning. 

This concept is integrated across MIT:

-MIT’s motto of “Mens et Manus” (Mind and Hand)
-MIT Sloan’s motto is “In the World, For the World”
-LGO program integration of engineering, management, and industry

within many courses and activities:

-Internships
-CLGO partnership
-China Operations Lab (called “Lion Teams”),
-Global Health Delivery lab
-Entrepreneurship
-Design courses

And, Operations Lab:

—-

After a great experience in Spring 2010 with an Operations Lab project with Children’s Hospital Boston completing a lean improvement for the ICU rooms, I completed the course again this past spring.

To begin our project, a group of four LGO ‘11/’12 students met with the eager executives at a local company, Cold Chain Technologies.   First, we learned about the solutions produced by the packaging company for cold shipping of life-saving pharmaceutical products. 

The executives developed a list of several projects, from which we together picked the project where we could best use our diverse skillsets to make a strong contribution during our semester-long timeline.

We completed a great project focusing on a new area of their business.  It was an enriching learning experience for each of us, learning from each other and from our sponsor company about pharmaceutical distribution, leading a small company, project leadership, and applying skills from courses including optimization, marketing, lean, and supply chain.

—

Kacey Fetcho-Phillips

http://kaco1.tumblr.com/post/7328493092/opslab