Wharton School to Hold Global Alumni Forum in Lima, Perú: March 12-14
Speakers to Include Mario Vargas Llosa, Noted Author, Former Perúvian Presidential Candidate, and Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski, Partner, The Rohatyn Group, Former Prime Minister of Perú

Lima and Philadelphia, Pa., March 6, 2008 -- The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the world’s leading business schools, will hold a Global Alumni Forum in Lima, Perú March 12-14, 2008, at the JW Marriott Hotel Lima.

The Wharton School holds Global Alumni Forums in centers of economic importance and business growth around the world, giving alumni the chance to learn about business opportunities and meet regional business and government leaders. Previous alumni forums have been held in such cities as Shanghai, Mumbai, London, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and Paris.

The theme of the Forum is “New Directions for Latin America.” The Forum is further subdivided into two tracks. The first track is “Globalization” and the second track is “The Economics of Inclusion and the Alleviation of Poverty.” Speakers will include author and scholar Mario Vargas Llosa, as well as business and government leaders such as: Mercedes Araoz, minister of commerce and tourism, Republic of Perú; Cristóbal Irarrázabal Philippi, country manager and CEO of Falabella Perú, who received his Wharton MBA in 1998; Rosanna Ramos-Velita, member of the board of directors of Grameen Foundation, who received her Wharton MBA in 1992; and Luis Andrade, director of McKinsey & Company, who received his Wharton MBA in 1998.

“I am pleased to join our alumni in Lima to participate in my first Global Alumni Forum as the Dean of the Wharton School,” says Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson. “Wharton alumni, students and faculty are making a positive difference in every part of the world including in places with great opportunity such as Peru. This Forum is yet another chance for us to further a dialogue that Joseph Wharton himself began on how to use business as a force for change and an improved way of life around the world.”

Panel discussions will include such topics as “Inclusion and the Global Economy,” and “Regional Experiences of Successful International Companies.” Master Classes taught by senior Wharton faculty will focus on issues such as “Creating Solutions to Corruption Through Business Associations” and “Managing Global Policy Risks.” Raimundo Morales, general manager of Banco de Credito BCP, who received his MBA from Wharton in 1970, is chairman of the event’s organizing committee.

Speakers include high level business leaders and senior Wharton faculty, led by Dean Thomas Robertson, Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise; Professor of Marketing. They include, in alphabetical order:

• Raphael (Raffi) Amit, The Robert B. Goergen Professor of Entrepreneurship; Professor of Management; Academic Director, The Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program; Academic Director, The Wharton Global Family Alliance;
• Julio A. De Quesada, Wharton MBA 1976, CEO, Corporate & Investment Bank and Treasury, Banamex Financial Group, a Citigroup Company;
• Adrián G. Sada González, Wharton MBA 1970, chairman of the board, Vitro;
• Witold (Vit) Jerzy Henisz, Associate Professor of Management;
• Octavio Pereira Lopes, Wharton MBA 1996, partner, GP Investments
• Olivia S. Mitchell, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor; Professor of Insurance and Risk Management and Business and Public Policy;
• Philip M. Nichols, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics;
• Daniel M.G. Raff, Associate Professor of Management;
• Alfredo E. Thorne, managing director, director of economic & policy research, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Mexico City

Wharton currently has more than 1,100 alumni who live in Latin America and the Caribbean. This past year, MBA Admissions Receptions and Forums were held throughout Latin America in locations such as Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. In addition Wharton’s Global Consulting Practicum is active in Peru, partnering with Lima based Universidad del Pacifico, whose students team with Wharton MBA students to execute marketing and strategy consulting plans for Peruvian businesses.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania -- founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school -- is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The school has more than 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 8,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 82,000 graduates.

For further information visit the Wharton Global Alumni Forums website.

Philadelphia media contact:
Peter Winicov, Sr. Assoc. Dir, Communications
+1-215.746.6471 or winicov@wharton.upenn.edu