The Man. The Myth. The Construction Updates.
- Cathy Campo
- May 26
- 5 min read
Updated: May 26
By: Cathy Campo, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Every Friday, sometime before TG and somewhere between recruiting stress, group projects, and existential questions about whether anyone actually understands accounting, a familiar subject line appears in Kellogg students’ inboxes: “Kellogg Construction Updates.”
You know it. You read it. Apparently, you love it.
“I’m going to miss the regular construction updates upon graduation 🥹,” wrote Rubaba Shukurova 2Y ’26 in #hot_takes. “I love the construction updates!!” added Tom Zyer 2Y ’25.
When approached by The Kelloggian, Isabelle Hofgaertner (2Y '26) echoed the same sentiment: "The construction has become a bit of an obsession, so I love to know what's going on. I spend a lot of class time staring out the window at the construction site, and Danny's emails give me the inside scoop."
But behind the bullet points about scaffolding, elevators, and pedestrian reroutes is a man many students may not actually know: Danny Fisher, Kellogg’s COO, a Kellogg MBA alum himself, and—perhaps most surprising of all—a former Deloitte consultant.
“Yes,” Fisher admits during his exclusive sit-down interview with The Kelloggian, “according to my wife, I annoyingly use terms like ‘circle back,’ ‘pivot,’ and ‘bandwidth’ too often.”
For Fisher, the now-iconic weekly updates began simply as a way to keep the community informed during construction. But somewhere along the way, the emails evolved into a strangely comforting piece of Kellogg life: equal parts operational memo, community touchpoint, and unofficial signal that Friday has finally arrived. Read his full interview below.
[Cathy] Hi Danny! So nice to meet you. I have to ask before anything: did you have any idea the construction update emails would become such a beloved part of Kellogg culture? You’re quite literally keeping the fabric of Kellogg together.
[Danny] First, I have to say, “wow”. I have heard many terms used to describe the weekly construction update email, but “beloved” has never been on the list.
Honestly, the idea of the emails spawned out of our leadership team wanting to make sure the community was kept regularly updated. The bulleted structure is pretty characteristic of my communication style which has been influenced by a mix of my time as a Naval Officer as well as Management Consulting.
[Cathy] So what actually goes into putting the emails together each week?
[Danny] I have to give credit for the email to a partnership of two teams at Kellogg that generate it each week. These are some of the amazing staff that folks may not know, but these staff help keep the administrative and operations machine behind Kellogg greased:
Facilities Team:
Dan McCrudden, Senior Director of Facilities
Sylvie Powell, Facilities Planner
Integrated Marketing and Communication Team
Amy Chiou, Director of Executive and Internal Communications
Margaret Bode, Communications Consultant
The four team members put the message together each week and then provide it to me for final review, edit, and distribution.
[Cathy] And you’ve worked at Northwestern for 15 years in a variety of leadership capacities. What has changed most about the school during your time here?
[Danny] I’ve been an administrator for 15 years at Northwestern across four parts of the University. My most recent five and a half years have been at Kellogg. I am also a 2009 graduate of the 2Y program, so I have a perspective that even pre-dates my time as an administrator.
But over the last 15+ years, there are two things that have perhaps changed the most:
The students each year are more amazing than the last. At times, I wonder if I would be admitted today.
And the buildings…of course. The Kellogg Global Hub (and soon the Ann McIlrath Drake Executive Center) are amazing facilities enabling the best teaching and learning experiences for Kellogg students.
On the flip side, what hasn’t changed is the amazing Kellogg culture perpetuated by the students, leadership, faculty, and staff. The culture from my time as a student persists today, and that is why I, as well as my colleagues, love working at Kellogg.
[Cathy] Like any good Kelloggian, you worked in consulting at Deloitte after earning your MBA in 2009. What parts of consultant-brain have never left you?
[Danny] Like any consultant, I love a good whiteboarding session. And for those who know me, some of my best thinking happens with a whiteboard marker in my hand—whether or not I am actually writing. Also, according to my wife, I annoyingly use terms like “circle back”, “pivot”, and “bandwidth” too often.
[Cathy] What’s something students may not realize about the role of COO at Kellogg?
[Danny] The role of COO is relatively young in Kellogg’s history. The first COO was hired ~15 years ago at a time when many business schools were aligning their administrative support structures to reflect changing needs.
[Cathy] And when construction eventually ends, do the emails retire too? Or have they become too iconic to disappear?
[Danny] I haven’t put too much thought into it, but the email in its current form will likely come to an end. That said, I could see us pivoting—see… I just used “pivot”—to some other regular communication to the community. I expect the Kellogg leadership team would love to find a way to build on what we have learned by regularly updating the community this way. Everyone loves a good bulleted list.
[Cathy] Final question. As someone who once sat where the Class of 2026 is sitting now, what do you hope we take with us from Kellogg—beyond an appreciation for construction updates?
[Danny] We live in such a connected world today. There are so many options to communicate that it is important to ensure your communications are thoughtful, deliberate, and meaningful. To that end, two notes on communication—one personal and one professional:
I know you hear a similar version of this from others who have come before, but I truly believe it. The connections you’ve built here at Kellogg (classmates, faculty, and staff) will serve you for life. Make sure you do the work to stay in touch and maintain those relationships as they will be more meaningful in the future than you can even realize today. And be ready to help others, you never know when you may need the favor returned.
And, in the vein of the construction update, great leaders spend time thinking carefully about communications, their words, and when they matter. You all will take on roles where these details in your communications are extremely important. So be sure to engage your teams or trusted advisors and take the time when you communicate to be effective. Read More by Cathy Campo: Where Did All the Presidents Go? The Bureaucratic Battle to Bring Broth to Kellogg Who Is Cameron Greenwalt? Inside the Mind of Kellogg's Most Prolific Slack Poster Trolley Night Sparks 1Y Prom Funding Controversy
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