100 Plus 25
By Kelly J. Andrews
In honor of Wharton's
125th Anniversary,
Centennial graduates
reflect on changes
in their lives and the
world since 1981.
The lives of individuals are measured in hours,
days, and years. The longer lives of institutions
are counted in decades and quarter-centuries.
For the Wharton class of 1981, those two
timescales intersect. Twenty-five years ago, a
cohort of students graduated amid the hoopla
of the Wharton Centennial year. Now, those same alumni recognize
their own milestones as Wharton celebrates the 125th
Anniversary of its founding.
Over the past quarter-century, those Centennial alumni
took the lessons from Wharton undergraduate and graduate
classes into the real world—a world that was rapidly changing.
The Soviet Union disintegrated while the European
Union coalesced. The economies of China and India matured,
and the Western workforce aged. An Internet bubble burst,
and real estate markets boomed. Global stock markets spiked
and dropped, then repeated the cycle a few more times for
good measure.
Shaped by Wharton, the class of 1981 became leaders in
the world—influencing events both global and local, building
families as well as businesses. Counted among those
alumni are Farouk El-Okdah, WG'81,GrW'83, chairman
of the National Bank of Egypt; Akinari Horii, WG'81,
Director General, International Department, Bank of Japan;
Thomas F. Loeb, WG'81,—Chairman, Mellon Capital
Management; Kenneth Moelis, W'81, WG'81; President &
Joint Global Head of Investment Banking, UBS Investment
Bank; Brian Roberts, W'81, CEO, Comcast Inc.; Philippe
Soussand, WG'81—Founder, Soussand Associates; former
CFO—Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton for North
America; Mark Zandi, W'81, GR'83, Co-founder & Chief
Economist, Moody's Economy.com; David Karlgaard,
WG'81, Vice Chairman, Nortel PEC.
This single year's worth of graduates is impressive for its
accomplishments, yet it represents just a small percentage of
Wharton's 81,000-plus alumni worldwide. To understand the
interplay between Wharton and economic developments, between
individual alumni and world events, Wharton Alumni
Magazine drilled down even deeper to discuss the past 25
years with a few members of the class of 1981.
- Old Europe Is Renewed and Transformed
Jacob Wallenberg, W'80, WG'81
Chairman, Investor, Stockholm
- Marketing Takes a Central Role
Ann R. Marks, W'80, WG'81
Chief Marketing Officer, Dow Jones, New York
- Entertainment Becomes Digital
Paul Vidich, WG'81
Adviser for Video Strategy, AOL, New York and Dulles, VA
- Continual Reinvention and Learning
Beth Kaplan, W'80, WG'81
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Axcel Partners, LLC, Baltimore
- Cementing the Asian Economy
Leslie Koo, WG'81
CEO and Chairman, Taiwan Cement Corp., Taipei
- World Interconnections Grow
Michael Dee, W'81
Managing Director and Regional Head, Morgan Stanley, Houston
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