Home > 125 Events > The 2007 Wharton Economic Summit
The 2007 Wharton Economic Summit ::
Panels
| Creative Leadership: What Really Works |
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Sponsor: Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management Moderator: Michael Useem, The William and Jacalyn Egan Professor; Professor of Management Panelists: Connie Duckworth, Alex Gorsky, Vernon W. Hill, II, Todd S. Thomson |
| Thursday, April 12 - 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. :: Full Summit Schedule |
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Whether building an enterprise, launching a product, or restructuring an organization, what creative leadership capacities are increasingly essential? Todd Thomson, Founder & CEO, Headwaters Capital LLC, Michael Useem, Director of the Wharton Leadership Center, and a panel of distinguished business leaders identify the critical qualities for leading in an uncertain, fast-changing, and demanding environment that is placing ever greater premium on new products and innovative methods. By looking back on their own leadership experience, speakers also identify how those creative capacities can be developed and instilled in any organization. |
| Panelists |
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:: Connie Duckworth , WG'79
President and Chairman of the BoardArzu, Inc. Connie Duckworth serves pro bono as president and chairman of the board of Arzu, Inc. and is an active member of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council, a public/private partnership established by Presidents Bush and Karzai in 2002. In addition, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations initiative on women and foreign policy. She is a retired partner and managing director of Goldman, Sachs, & Co., where she was named the first woman sales and trading partner in the firm's history during her 20 year career. Her book, a primer on how to start a business entitled The Old Girls Network: Insider Advice for Women Building Businesses in a Man's World (Basic Books 2003), was published in September 2003. Ms. Duckworth sits on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern Mutual, the Boards of Directors of Smurfit Stone Container Corporation, Nuveen Investments, Inc. and DNP Select Income Fund, the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School and is Chairman of the Board of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. She is a past Chair of the Committee of 200, the organization of leading women entrepreneurs and corporate business executives in the U.S. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from the University of Texas. |
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:: Alex Gorsky , WG'96
Chief Executive Officer and HeadNovartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Alex Gorsky was appointed head of Pharma North America and CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the fall of 2005. He is responsible for North American pharmaceutical operations, which includes both the United States and Canada. Since joining NPC in 2004 as COO and head of General Medicines, Mr. Gorsky quickly established himself as a leader who is well equipped to build upon NPC's success. Mr. Gorsky has overseen the continued growth of Novartis' industry-leading cardiovascular franchise, which includes blockbuster products Diovan and Lotrel. He oversaw the launch of Enablex, a product for over-active bladder, and completed a deal with Procter & Gamble to co-promote and further develop the product. He was also involved in the launch of Focalin XR for ADHD. He was instrumental in developing NPC's Medicare strategy and oversaw a realignment of the company's sales force. A champion of diversity in the workplace, he created NPC's CEO Diversity & Inclusion Award. Before joining Novartis, Mr. Gorsky was based in London as company group chairman for Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to that, he spent 15 years in various sales, marketing and management roles at Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Johnson & Johnson unit, and was based in New Jersey. Mr. Gorsky began his pharmaceutical career as a sales representative and held various roles of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and general management. Mr. Gorsky holds a 1982 bachelor's of science degree from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY, and spent six years in the U.S. Army, finishing his career with the rank of Captain. During that same time, he earned the Ranger Tab, Airborne Wings, and served in Europe, the United States and Panama. He obtained a master's in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. Mr. Gorsky has also been actively involved in the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Alliance on Aging, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the Doylestown Hospital Board, the Boy Scouts of America, and as a Youth League lacrosse coach. Mr. Gorsky is a former marathon runner and tri-athlete. His passions include his family, American and English literature and fitness. |
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:: Vernon W. Hill, II , W'67
Chairman, President and CEOCommerce Bank Vernon W. Hill, II is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Commerce Bank, which he launched in 1973 with the opening of the bank's first store in Marlton, New Jersey. Vernon Hill and Commerce have revolutionized banking and developed an intense customer-focused power retailing strategy that has produced dynamic results. Since its inception, Commerce has grown from one location and a staff of nine, to a network of nearly 450 stores with more than 14,000 employees and assets that exceed $46 billion. Creating "Fans Not Customers" is the cornerstone of the Commerce philosophy as evidenced by J.D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports Magazine both naming Commerce #1 in Customer Satisfaction. In addition, Tom Peters, one of the world's foremost business management experts recently noted, "The Commerce story is virtually one of a kind -- it's not about a little better -- it's about in-your-face-over-the-top visible all-the-time better." Mr. Hill received the first annual Marketing Pioneer Award from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. He also was named Bank CEO of the Year for 2003 by US Banker Magazine and one of the top five CEOs of all businesses for 2002 by Investor's Business Daily newspaper. Mr. Hill is a member of the Board of Overseers for the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, where he and his wife Shirley recently endowed the new Hill Pavilion. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. |
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:: Todd S. Thomson , WG'87
Founder and CEOHeadwaters Capital LLC Todd S. Thomson currently is founder and CEO of Headwaters Capital. From 2004 through 2006, Mr. Thomson was chairman and CEO of Citigroup Global Wealth Management, comprised of The Citigroup Private Bank, Citigroup Investment Research and Smith Barney. Citigroup Global Wealth Management ranks as one of the largest wealth management businesses in the world with $1.4 trillion in client assets. Citigroup Investment Research is one of the leading research firms on Wall Street with more than 300 research analysts and strategists covering nearly 3,000 stocks globally. During Mr. Thomson's leadership, he turned around a business that had flat income performance for 5 years to one that in 2006 increased revenues 17% to $10.2B and increased net income 34% to $1.67B, while investing to expand in India, Brazil, UK, China and building out advisory, trust and lending capabilities. Mr. Thomson also led the re-branding effort for Smith Barney, launching the Working Wealth campaign. Mr. Thomson led the successful acquisition and integration of Legg Mason's retail brokerage business, achieving net income accretion during the first year, and the acquisition of Quilter in the UK. Mr. Thomson was a member of the Citigroup Business Heads and Management Committee and a vice-chairman and a Director of Citibank, N.A. From 2000 through 2004, Mr. Thomson was Chief Financial Officer and Head of Operations, Technology and Strategy for Citigroup. In this position, he built one of the leading global finance organizations while overseeing Financial Reporting, Treasury, Tax, Investor Relations, O&T, M&A and Strategy. While CFO, Mr. Thomson also established and oversaw Citigroup Alternative Investments, with approximately $15Billion in proprietary and client capital invested in Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Credit Structures and Real Estate. From 1998 to early 2000, Mr. Thomson served as Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup's Global Private Bank and, previously, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development for Citigroup. Prior to joining Citigroup in 1998, Mr. Thomson held senior positions at GE Capital, Barents Group and Bain & Co. He is a member of the Board of the World Resources Institute, the Board of Trustees of Davidson College and the Wharton Graduate Executive Board, as well as a member of the Economic Club of New York. He is Chairman of the Wharton Leadership Advisory Board and of the Board of Directors of the NYC Academy of Finance. Mr. Thomson received his MBA, with distinction, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his BA in economics from Davidson College. |
