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Club Spotlight: Middle East
The New Wharton Middle East
Club Serves a Thriving Business
Community
Over the past few years, the Middle
East has been one of the world's most
active emerging markets. Changing
geo-politics and high levels of liquidity
driven by rising oil prices, accompanied
by local economic reforms, have fueled
the growth of this region and bolstered
its business environment. The finance,
real estate, petrochemicals, and services
sectors have all been thriving, and are
providing attractive career opportunities
for talented business professionals.
As a result, there has been a significant
inflow of both local and expatriate talent,
including Wharton graduates.
An Active Regional Club
With the growth in the number of
alumni in the region, current students
and alumni have been working to
tighten the links with the School. The
hard work of many dedicated individuals,
led by Fadi Abou-Arbid, WG'03,
and Raymond Noujaim, WG'02,
finally resulted in the School's approval
of the Wharton Middle East Club
(WMEC) in February 2006. The Club
has three goals: 1) to provide a forum
for interaction amongst alumni in the
Middle East, 2) to foster strong bonds
between alumni in the region and the
School, and 3) to increase the name
recognition and prestige of the School
in the region. The Club will offer a
wide range of social, educational, and
career development activities throughout
the year. Its first official event was
the Wharton Alumni Global Forum in
Istanbul, held in June.
To organize these activities, the Club
will rely on the 150 to 200 Wharton
alumni living in the Middle East, as
well as the more than 500 alumni from
the Middle East living outside of the
region. Anyone with Wharton alumni status—undergraduate, graduate,
or special programs—is encouraged
to join. The Club will be a nonprofit
association managed by officers elected
by the membership and committee
members who serve on a voluntary basis.
Members are welcome to participate
in this management process.
Wharton's Growing Regional
Presence
The Wharton School has long recognized
the importance of the Middle
East region, and has been expanding its
presence there. The following are a few
notable achievements:
- The Wharton School added two
prominent Middle Eastern businessmen
to the Wharton Executive Board—Mohammed Alshaya, WG'84
and Hassan Yamani,WG'83.
- The University of Pennsylvania's
Lauder Institute of Management
and International Studies added an
Arabic language track, which includes
a two-month stay in Morocco
learning the culture and language,
and visits to leading companies in
Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
- The Wharton classes of 2003 and
2004 had the largest-ever enrollments
of students of Arab descent
- In 2005, the Wharton Family
Alliance chose Dubai as the location
for its first official meeting.
- Since 2003, three Admission receptions
have been held in the region
(in Cairo, Beirut, and Dubai). Each
reception was attended by a representative
of the School's Admissions
Office.
- In February, the School gave its final
approval of the Wharton Middle
East Club.
- In May, Dubai World announced the
launch of Dubai Leaders Program, a
leadership initiative aimed at building
a corps of leaders, in collaboration
with the Wharton School.
- In June, the Wharton Alumni Global
Forum for Europe, Africa, and the
Middle East was held in Istanbul.
The WMEC is off to a great start,
and is looking forward to a bright
future of growth and opportunities for
Wharton alumni living in, or originating
from, this thriving region. For
more information about the Club and
its activities, contact its START-UP
committee members: Fadi Abou-Arjid
at fadi.abou-arbid.wg03@wharton.upenn.edu or visit WMEC's website,
www.whartonme.com.
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