Wharton in Focus Series Launches at Full Speed

This fall, the Wharton School launched Wharton in Focus, an event series bringing the best minds in business together in cities all over the globe. Designed to illuminate up-to-the-minute discourse and foster cutting-edge conversations, the events gathered faculty, staff, alumni, and friends on two continents over the course of a month, showcasing recent developments in AI, entrepreneurship, innovation, and more.

The series began on October 8, when Wharton alumni and friends came together at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, to explore AI and the future of Hollywood. Following welcoming remarks from executive director of alumni relations Shannon Connelly, Kartik Hosanagar, co-director of AI at Wharton and John C. Hower Professor, shared his perspective on AI in Hollywood and where the entertainment industry is headed.

“AI will dramatically shift the quality and types of stories that are developed,” Hosanagar said. “And it’s really important to focus on how human-AI collaboration is designed. What our research studies show is that if you take the human out of the most creative tasks — such as creative ideation — the quality of the stories as well as creator satisfaction is lower with AI than without AI.”

The School’s next event, in Shanghai, featured marketing professor and vice dean of AI and analytics Eric Bradlow W88 and focused on decision-making in the era of artificial intelligence. Wharton’s chief advancement officer, Bill Bole, began the evening by welcoming attendees to the Pudong Shangri-La. Next, Dean Erika James highlighted Wharton’s strategic priorities and its vision for a brighter business future.

The evening’s centerpiece was an insightful talk by Bradlow, who is also a University of Pennsylvania parent. He lit up with pride as he shared his enthusiasm for Wharton’s advancements in AI. “Not only are we going to do cutting-edge research on artificial intelligence and data science,” Bradlow said, “but we’re going to educate the world on AI and analytics and — here’s the important part — on its impact on business and society.”

Three days later, alumni spent an afternoon together at the China World Hotel Beijing for an event centered on entrepreneurship. Karl Ulrich, CIBC Endowed Professor and co-founder of Venture Lab, delivered a thoughtful, empowering presentation about innovation and disruption.

“An attribute that confers advantage, which I call an alpha asset, is an asset that is performance-enhancing and hard to acquire,” Ulrich said. “Most companies have to earn or develop or build their alpha assets. They start from nothing, and that’s super-cool, because what it says is that unlike being a basketball player and just being born tall, there’s maybe something we can do to build those alpha assets.”

Afterward, Dean James took the stage for a conversation with Lori Rosenkopf, vice dean of entrepreneurship and Simon and Midge Palley Professor. Together, Dean James and Rosenkopf discussed the latest developments in entrepreneurship at Wharton and how the School is empowering students to launch their companies.

Finally, Bole and Ulrich reunited at Manila’s Makati Shangri-La on October 28. Bole rounded out the final Asian leg of the series with remarks on the state of the School and photos of a selection of impressive, newly renovated spaces on campus. Ulrich then took the stage to lead a talk on fostering a culture of innovation, illustrating how doing so can be a competitive advantage for entrepreneurs.

Wharton in Focus events will continue in the spring with a stop in Mexico City. In the meantime, the School’s representatives have encouraged attendees to remain engaged with the latest research from Wharton faculty through avenues like Knowledge at Wharton and Executive Education. They have also underscored the importance of the Wharton Fund in keeping the School at the forefront of business — and in supporting Wharton students and alumni through access to singular resources.