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Wharton 125
Wharton in India: A Global Kick-Off
On January 6, Wharton's 125th anniversary festivities launched at the
sold-out 2006 Global Forum in India. More than 400 alumni and business
leaders offered a warm welcome and a rousing kick-off to a 16-month-long
celebration that includes a faculty tour around the United
States and other special events.
While India's National Center of Performing Arts was nearly 8,000
miles from the site of the Wharton School's founding, attendees
found themselves in a fitting location. The host country's burgeoning
economy and rapidly changing society showcased both the
reach and promise of Wharton's impact 125 years after the School
invented collegiate business education.
 
"Wharton brought U.S. management thinking to a wider
audience in the developing world and Asia," said attendee Tarun
Kataria, WG'85, head of Asia/Pacific sales for HSBC Ltd. in Hong
Kong. "I'm here to celebrate Wharton's contribution to global economics
and finance."
Donald Woo, WG'73, president of Tower Group Asia, who
also flew in from Hong Kong, agreed, "Wharton is a very powerful
source of business education that benefits not just the students but
the whole business world."
 
Wharton currently has more than 3,000 alumni who live in
Asia—its highest number of alumni outside the United States.
The School's regional influence was underlined by participants who
included Deepak M. Advani, WG'98, SVP and chief marketing
officer, Lenovo; Rangnath (Rangu) Salgame, WG'94, president,
India & SAARC Region, Cisco Systems; Shiv Vikram Khemka,
WG'90, G'90, vice chairman of SUN Group; Dhruv M. Sawhney,
WG'71, chairman and managing director, Triveni Engineering and
Industries Ltd.; and Finance Minister of India, P. Chidambaram,
who spoke on "The Indian Economy at Inflection Point." Also discussed
were critical issues affecting India—including outsourcing,
foreign investments, and Indian pharmaceuticals—as well as more
general topics, such as the future of telecom, alternative medicine,
and social entrepreneurship.
Wharton alumnus Anil D. Ambani, WG'83, chairman of Anil
Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises, served as chairman of the Forum's
Organizing Committee. Speakers included Narayana Murthy,
chairman and chief mentor, Infosys Technologies Limited; Takeshi
Natsuno, WG'95, senior vice president and managing director,
Multimedia Service, NTT DoCoMo, Inc.; Kenneth Moelis,
W'81, WG'81, president, UBS Investment Bank; Pridiyathorn
Devakula, WG'70, governor, Bank of Thailand; and Wharton professors
Jeremy Siegel, Ian MacMillan, Harbir Singh, Jitendra Singh,
Michael Useem, Jagmohan Raju, and Anjani Jain.
While the Global Alumni Forum was an occasion for celebration,
it was also an opportunity for business. The School announced
the upcoming fall 2006 launch of Knowledge@Wharton India and
presented the Wharton-Infosys Business Transformation Awards
(WIBTA) 2006, Asia Pacific. The awards entered their fifth year,
recognizing visionaries and organizations that use technology in an
innovative and creative manner to revolutionize their businesses.
Honorees were Cyworld, a South Korean social network service
comprising nearly 17 million people; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
founder of Biocon India; and OhmyNews, a South Korean online
citizens' reporting forum.
Shaili Shah Kejirwal, W'02, an associate with Tamara Capital
Advisors, a Mumbai private-equity firm, saw the celebration
through a more personal lens. "125 years is a lot of history," she
said. "Since the beginning, Wharton has had a very proud and rich
tradition of graduates becoming business leaders around the world.
I know that I can go anywhere in the world, and find someone in
the alumni directory who's very distinguished. I know they'll be
very responsive because I am a Wharton alumna."
2006 Global Alumni Forums
Don't miss upcoming Global Alumni Forums in Istanbul June 8-9 and Rio
de Janeiro August 10-11. The Wharton School holds Global Alumni Forums in centers of economic promise and
business growth around the world, giving alumni the chance to learn about business opportunities and meet
regional business and government leaders. For more information, email: globalalumniforums@wharton.
upenn.edu or call 1.215.573.6774. Visit the website at www.wharton.upenn.edu/alumni/forums/.
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