Wharton School Announces New Senior Board Leadership

Sept. 28, 2005 — The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced the appointment of six new members to the Board of Overseers and new chairs for the Graduate and Undergraduate Executive Boards. These positions were approved by the Board of Trustees at the University of Pennsylvania and represent distinguished leaders in the business world.

Wharton School Dean Patrick Harker stated, “These individuals will prove paramount to the collective knowledge of their boards as they remain an invaluable resource for Wharton’s continued achievement of new levels of educational excellence.”

New members to the Board of Overseers include Richard B. Cohen, Craig K. Harding, Beth J. Kaplan, Ira A. Lipman, Alan B. Miller and Kenneth D. Moelis.

Cohen is a 1974 Wharton undergraduate alumnus and a University of Pennsylvania parent, who currently serves as chairman and CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. He has been a long-time supporter of Wharton’s undergraduate and MBA students.

Harding received his MBA from Wharton in 1975. He is the chairman and CEO of The Harding Group, a private equity firm which he founded in 1984 after his tenure as chief operating officer of the Leveraged Buyout business of General Electric Capital Corporation. Harding chaired the Wharton Fund from 1993 through 1995, served on the Graduate Executive Board starting in 1988 and became the chair in 1994, and received the Distinguished Service Award from Wharton in 1995.

Kaplan, who earned her undergraduate degree from Wharton in 1980 and MBA in 1981, is the managing director of Axcel Partners, LLC. Her corporate background includes leadership positions with retail powerhouses like Procter & Gamble, Rite Aid, and Bath and Body Works. Kaplan joined the Undergraduate Board in 1995 and assumed the role of chair in 1998.

Lipman, whose sons earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994 and 1995, previously served on the Board of Overseers from 1991 to 2004. He is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Guardsmark, LLC. He also is a long-standing supporter of Wharton's faculty and executive education programs. In 2004, Lipman was honored by being awarded the Wharton School Dean’s Medal.

Miller received his MBA from Wharton in 1960, and is the chairman, president, and CEO of Universal Health Services, Inc. His previous Wharton senior leadership experience includes serving on the Graduate Executive Board from 1996 until 2004.

Moelis is the president of UBS Investment Bank and earned both an undergraduate degree and MBA from Wharton in 1981. He comes from a distinguished and well recognized University of Pennsylvania family, with several of his family members having personal ties to the university. Moelis had been a member of the Undergraduate Executive Board since 1997.

The Wharton School also announced the appointment of new chairs for the Undergraduate and Graduate Executive Boards. Brian D. Finn, who received his undergraduate degree from Wharton in 1982, will serve as the new chairman for the Undergraduate Board. He replaces Kaplan, who formerly held the position. Finn is the president of Credit Suisse First Boston. He has been a member of the Undergraduate Executive Board since 1999.

Dolf R. DiBiasio, a 1969 Wharton MBA alumnus, assumes the position of chairman of the Graduate Board. DiBiasio replaces Harding, and has been a member of the Board since 1995. DiBiasio served as executive vice president for AOL/Time Warner, Inc., overseeing the global strategy and investment of the company with the specific objective of adding to the growth and strength of the enterprise. Prior to his time with AOL/Time Warner, Inc., he had an illustrious career at McKinsey and Co. as a senior partner.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across every major discipline and at every level of business education. Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school in the nation, Wharton has approximately 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral students, more than 8,000 participants in its executive education programs annually, and an alumni network of more than 80,000 worldwide.