Ann McIlrath Drake ’84 MBA | Kellogg 2026 Convocation Speech

Why It Matters

Her remarks offer a practical leadership mindset for graduates entering an era of rapid disruption: prioritize adaptability, humility, and human connection over premature certainty to navigate complex business and social challenges. This approach signals how future managers can foster resilience and innovation in organizations confronting continuous discontinuity.

Summary

Ann McIlrath Drake, Kellogg ’84 MBA, delivered the 2026 convocation address urging graduates to embrace uncertainty and view chaos as creative potential rather than mere disorder. Drawing on her 30-year supply-chain career and personal detours, she argued that answers and certainty close doors while sustained curiosity, deep listening, and willingness to sit with discomfort unlock new opportunities. Drake framed chaos as an ‘‘implicate order’’ rich with possibility and encouraged graduates to reframe their pursuit of significance as ongoing ‘‘mattering projects’’ that evolve with life’s unpredictability. She closed by reminding the class that relationships forged at Kellogg will sustain them through future instability.

Original Description

In her 2026 Convocation address, Ann M. Drake ’84 MBA invites Kellogg graduates to embrace the chaos and uncertainty awaiting them in the business world and beyond. She encourages these future leaders to recognize that value comes not from having all the answers, but from staying curious and asking questions.

“Possibilities emerge if you are open to them,” Ann says. “If you can accept that you’re probably going to reinvent yourself multiple times, and that’s okay.”

Watch Ann's full speech and learn more about the Kellogg experience ➡️ https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/the-experience/