Friday, May 16, 2008
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Professor Michael Useem -- "The Go Point: When It’s Time to Decide."
The William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management;
Director, Center for Leadership and Change Management

G06, Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street

Moments of decision are those times when an individual, team, or organization faces a tangible opportunity to go one way or another. And ultimately, every decision comes down to a go point – that moment when the essential information has been gathered, the pros and cons are weighed, and the time has come to get off the fence. Decisions at such points are at the heart of leadership and a driver of organizational performance. Drawing on the decision moments of a range of company leaders, corporate directors – and even mountaineers on Mt. Everest, firefighters in the wilderness, and generals at Gettysburg – Michael Useem identifies what it takes for making timely calls when leadership really matters.

Friday, May 16, 2008
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM

“Wharton Town Meeting” with Dean Thomas S. Robertson
G06, Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street

Join Dean Robertson for a State of the School address that includes an update on The Campaign for Wharton along with the dean’s vision for the future of the Wharton School.

Friday, May 16, 2008
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Professional Education Workshop Lunch
Network with fellow Wharton MBA alumni over an informal lunch under the tent on Lehman Brothers Quad

Friday, May 16, 2008
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Professor G. Richard Shell -- "The Art of Woo! Selling Your Ideas to Your Organization, One Person at a Time."
Thomas Gerrity Professor
Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics and Management

G06, Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street

Former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca once noted, "You can have brilliant ideas; but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere." In their new book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell and management consultant Mario Moussa provide a systematic approach to the problem Iacocca identified. Using relationship-based, emotionally intelligent persuasion to secure both individual and organizational buy-in, everyone from CEOs and entrepreneurs to team leaders and mid-level managers can sell their ideas -- a skill that everyone needs to learn if they want to be effective in their organizations.  In this interactive session, Professor Shell will help attendees to measure their own personal “Woo I.Q.” using some notable video examples, including one involving rock star and social entrepreneur Bono.

Friday, May 16, 2008
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM

Concurrent Professional Educational Workshops
(Please choose one)

Workshop 1:  Healthcare/ Leonard Davis Institute Session
Urban Health: Issues and Actions
G60, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.

Moderated by: David Asch, M.D., M.B.A., Executive Director, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; and Robert D. Eilers, Professor of Health Care Management and Economics
Penn faculty and administrators will review research and public policy in the area of urban health. The subject serves as a starting point for discussions about biological, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental influences on health.

Workshop 2:  Perspectives on Career Transition
F85, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.

Moderated by:  Ursula Maul, WG81
This session, moderated by Ursula Maul, will include a panel of alumni and experts in search, placement and human resources, sharing their perspective on how to effectively manage a career transition.

Workshop 3:  The Entrepreneurship Perspective – Lessons from Wharton Alumni
Co-sponsored with Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs
F95, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.

Moderated by:  Robert J. Chalfin, Esq., W78 WG78
Wharton alumni entrepreneurs have founded some of the world’s leading companies.  This panel of Wharton entrepreneurs will provide a compelling look at what it takes to start a successful business. Their inspiring stories will help explain what the motivations, challenges and greatest rewards are of owning a business. The alumni will also address such critical issues as finance, human capital and growth and acquisition strategies.

Saturday May 17, 2008
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Professor Jeremy J. Siegel -- “Future for Investors”

Professor of Finance; Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance

Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center
3680 Walnut Street

Professor Jeremy Siegel, one of the world’s top investing experts, will discuss the valuation of the current market, the most promising asset classes, the connection between growth and return, the Age Wave and International Investing.

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

A Conversation with President Amy Gutmann
G06, Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street

Join Penn President Amy Gutmann for her annual State of the University with an emphasis this year on Making History: The Campaign for Penn. There will be opportunity for questions about the programs and facilities that will help Penn“make history.” Seating is limited; simulcast will be available for overflow crowd.

Saturday, May 17, 2008  2:15 PM – 3:45 PM

Concurrent Professional Education Workshops

Workshop 1:  Reentering the Workforce: A UBS Fellowship Program for Professional Women
G60, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.

Monica McGrath, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Management
Women returning to the workplace after a hiatus face a number of obstacles and Wharton, along with other business schools and corporations are beginning to address these issues through training and educational efforts.  The Wharton School has designed a program in collaboration with UBS to help women in this transition back to their career.  This presentation will help participants to update their business knowledge, develop transition strategies, and network with business leaders.   Dr. McGrath will discuss the impact of this issue on how organizations manage talent and on women themselves as they advance in their leadership role and career.  In addition, she will offer ideas and proven strategies for women to use as they prepare for their transition back to work. Finally, she will discuss what actions organizations and business schools can and should take to leverage talented women at all stages of their career. 

Workshop 2:  Hedge Funds: Risk, Return and the State of the Industry
F85, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.

Moderated by:  Christopher C. Geczy, Assistant Professor of Finance
Hedge funds and other alternative investments have become fixtures in the asset management industry, having experienced explosive growth in the last decade, with institutional and private investors alike making significant allocations and the news media closely tracking their failures and successes.  This panel will explore important trends in the industry with some of the best-known figures in the hedge fund world.  We will discuss recent performance and volatility, the hottest strategies and ideas, and address the question of whether and how hedge funds add value in investor portfolios. Panelists will also explore what are and will be the effects of increased competition, whether systemic risk has paralleled growth in the industry, and where the risk hot spots are.

Workshop 3:  What’s Happening in the World of Real Estate?
F95, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.

Moderated by:  Peter D. Linneman, Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate; Professor of Finance and Business and Public Policy
This panel will address the rapidly fluctuating real estate market.
Among the questions to be considered: When will the housing market turn around, what are the implications for the overall economy of the housing slump, and what are the opportunities in commercial real estate?