Karen Tanner ’87

Karen died Sept. 20, 2015, at age 49, of a brain tumor that had been diagnosed only weeks before.

Karen had settled in Germany with her husband and three children and was a partner with McKinsey & Co. and the firm’s director of CSS personnel. She began her career with McKinsey in 1994 in the Boston office and transferred to the Munich office in 2000. She is remembered by her colleagues as a brilliant, caring, and innovative leader.

Karen came to Princeton from Vienna, Va., and graduated with honors from the Woodrow Wilson School. She later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. At Princeton, Karen sang with the Tigressions and was a member of Tower Club. Her Tigression friends remembered her with these words: “Poised and quietly elegant, Karen was known for her rich, smooth, alto voice that was an asset in both song and conversation. Playful and creative, earnest and deeply intelligent, Karen added immense value to campus life during her years with the Tigressions, as business manager and music director. She will be greatly missed by so many fellow Tigressions.”

The class extends its deepest sympathy to Karen’s husband, Uli Schmid; their children, Emily, Robert, and Henry; and her entire family.