Jordan Bookey, WG'07
“Professor Michael Useem brought in people like Peter Pace from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Nancy Barry, the head of Women's World Banking. You have exposure to people who are doing innovative and exciting things. It's very inspiring, and you start to see the broad ways you can make an impact.”
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Elisabeth Leiderman, WG'07
“The health care program brings in great speakers for us. All of Wharton does, actually. In Health Care, the director has such excellent contacts. I worked in pharmaceuticals and am interested in finance, but going to these lectures and learning about different areas makes me much more well-rounded.”
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Wharton’s strong connections with businesses, governments, and public policy organizations give you frequent opportunities to hear directly from the world’s business leaders. In addition to presentations on campus, faculty also bring executives into the classroom, providing real-time context and discussion around the management issues facing business leaders and key figures in organizations in all parts of the world.
Throughout the year, national and international business leaders offer perspectives on their careers and the challenges of their industries.
Wharton Leadership Lectures
Planned by a student committee, the Wharton Leadership Lectures series invites top-level executives from business and government to address MBA students on a variety of business issues. The speakers' remarks and an informal follow-up Q&A provide insight into the personality, goals, and career decisions that helped shape the executives' paths. After each lecture, the speaker usually has dinner with a small group of MBA students.
Recent speakers include:
former chairman and CEO of IBM
head of the Bosnian peace-keeping forces
president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation
CEO of Amazon.com
CEO of the Kimmel Center
president and CFO of Pepsi
CEO of Kraft
CEO of Medtronic
vice chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
Conferences
You can meet industry-specific leaders at conferences organized by students and Wharton’s Career Management team. Throughout the year, faculty-organized Impact Conferences bring students cutting-edge research from around the world on a wide range of topics.
Alumni Engagement
Wharton alumni leaders participate in a wide range of campus events, from our unique Entrepreneur-in-Residence program – which allows students to consult one-on-one with successful businesspeople about their own business plans – to conferences on such topics as private equity and aerospace.