Six named to Board of Trustees

Six distinguished individuals have been named to Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees. They are:

Heather Bogdanoff Baker

Baker focuses her time on various philanthropic endeavors related to education, health and hearing loss, and Jewish causes. She is the executive vice president of the Board of Directors of the Center for Hearing and Communication, a non-profit that provides services to individuals with hearing loss. Having struggled with her own hearing loss, she is committed to helping individuals with hearing impairments receive the best possible care and support. Baker is also a member of the Board of Overseers at NYU Langone Medical Center. Prior to starting her family, she worked on several research projects examining the social and emotional health of adults and children with hearing loss.

Baker serves on the Board of Visitors of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and she and her husband have supported undergraduate research at the College, helping to allow students the chance to deeply investigate important questions alongside renowned faculty members.

Baker received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern, where she majored in psychology and completed certificate programs in Jewish Studies and Integrated Arts. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from American University.

Tarek Elmasry

Elmasry is a senior partner with McKinsey and Company and has held a variety of leadership roles with the firm since 1994. Currently, he leads the firm’s Global Tech, Media & Telecom Practice, overseeing all of the firm’s activities in these important sectors.

Previously, Elmasry led the firm’s M&A activities, as well as established the McKinsey Technology Ecosystem. Earlier he led the Middle East, North Africa practice. He joined McKinsey in the firm’s Chicago office and has since worked in the Sydney, Jakarta, Dubai and Silicon Valley offices.

Elmasry is a long-time member of the Kellogg School of Management Global Advisory Board. Outside Northwestern, Elmasry is a lifetime board member of the Interfaith Youth Core and co-chair of the 30% Club, an organization dedicated to improving gender diversity on boards and management teams across the globe.

Elmasry received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Kellogg. Two of his three children attend Northwestern.

Bridgette Heller

With more than 30 years of experience in both Fortune 100 and private equity-owned enterprises, Heller is co-founder and CEO of the Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation, a 501(c)(3) with a mission of advancing literacy and closing the achievement gap for underserved students in South St. Petersburg, Florida. The organization is succeeding in improving educational experience and outcomes, thereby driving higher high school and college graduation rates and better economic opportunities.

Until January 2019, Heller served as the executive vice president and president of Nutricia, the Specialized Nutrition Division of Danone. Under Heller, the business led the industry in performance for three years, driven by significant sales growth in China, Asia and Latin America. Previously, Heller served as executive vice president and president of Merck Consumer Care, where she led an organization of approximately 2,400 employees, generating revenues of more than $2 billion with strong profitability. Prior to joining Merck, Heller was an executive at Johnson & Johnson and Chung’s Gourmet Foods, an Asian food manufacturer owned by private equity and Kraft Foods.

Heller is a member of the Kellogg School of Management Global Advisory Board. She also serves on the boards of Novartis, Dexcom, and Preserve Vision Florida.

Heller received a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer studies from Northwestern and an MBA from Kellogg. In 2019, Heller received the Northwestern Alumni Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Northwestern Alumni Association.

Yie-Hsin Hung

Hung is CEO of New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM), New York Life’s $350 billion global multi-boutique third-party asset management business, a role she has held since 2015. Since joining the company, Hung has led NYLIM to achieve a three-fold increase in assets under management through a combination of geographic expansion, organic initiatives and acquisitions. As CEO of NYLIM, she is responsible for all aspects of her global business, which spans seven specialist firms in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia.

Hung is a member of New York Life’s Executive Management Committee. She joined the company in 2010 with more than 20 years of industry experience at Bridgewater Associates and Morgan Stanley.

A longstanding member of the McCormick School of Engineering Advisory Council, Hung also serves on the non-profit boards of Next for Autism and the New England Center for Children.

Taking the lead from her late father, Yuan-Chung Hung ’65 PhD, Hung received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern. She earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2019, Hung delivered the convocation speech for the graduating undergraduate class of the McCormick School of Engineering and received the Northwestern Alumni Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Northwestern Alumni Association.

John Kukral

Kukral is CEO of Northwood Investors and has been an active real estate investor for more than 30 years. Throughout his career, he has been involved in more than $43 billion in real estate transactions worldwide, including office buildings, shopping centers, hotels and residential.

Kukral started his career at JMB Realty Corporation in 1982 and was most recently with Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, where he served as president and CEO from 2002 until his departure in 2005. During his tenure, Blackstone Real Estate Advisors grew to become one of the largest and most successful real estate managers globally.

Kukral received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Albert Manzone

Manzone is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Whole Earth Brands since June 2020 and Chief Executive Officer of its predecessor company, Flavors Holdings Inc., since February 2016. He is responsible for creating value and accelerating profitable growth for Whole Earth Brands as a premier global sweetener and flavors company. Previously, Manzone was president, Europe at Oettinger Davidoff AG. Prior to Davidoff, he served as president of Consumer Health, South East Europe, at Novartis; was president, Europe at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company; and held global executive leadership roles at PepsiCo, including president, PepsiCo Shelf Stable Juices North America.

A native of the Principality of Monaco, Manzone is director of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation for the Environment in Switzerland. He is also director of Monaco Digital in Monaco on behalf of the Principality of Monaco.

An active member of the Northwestern alumni community, Manzone serves as president-elect of the Northwestern Alumni Association. He started volunteering with Northwestern following his graduation from Kellogg as an alumnus in Chicago, and then as president of the Northwestern Alumni Club of Switzerland. 

Manzone holds a graduate degree in international business from Sorbonne University in Paris and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Manzone and his wife, Nathalie, are the proud parents of three children, including  one who graduated from Northwestern and one who is a current student.