New Fellows in e-Business Program Offered
Wharton will offer an innovative new program this fall to prepare senior business executives to lead effectively and comfortably in the global e-business environment.
The Fellows in e-Business Program is an interdisciplinary program for leaders focused on creating and operating an e-business or transforming established businesses to an e-business environment. The program combines electronically delivered education with face-to- face interaction over two phases: the first, which takes place over four months, involves three-and-a-half weeks of classroom instruction augmented with a distance learning component between sessions. Each week-long session is held in a different location around the globe – Philadelphia, Silicon Valley, Israel and Europe.
The program is built on “action learning” principles, allowing participants to apply material covered to group projects with class-mates, as well as practice new approaches via simulations. Participants can also immediately apply course materials through “shadow projects,” which they conduct with employees from their own companies.
Reverse mentoring – in which participants have the opportunity to work with current Wharton MBA and undergraduate students who are often closer to new technological developments – is another significant element of the program.
The e-Business Program is the first offering within the new Wharton Fellows Program, a post-MBA experience designed for business leaders seeking ongoing business education in critical business topics. The e-Business Program was created and will be delivered by more than 75 Wharton faculty members and other experts.
We recognize that the traditional confines of educational degree programs and executive education don’t fulfill the needs of all executives as they move through their careers. Nonetheless, many of these executives are seeking ways to maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to lead organizations in this new economy,” says Dean Patrick T. Harker. “By implementing this Fellows Program, we are providing a level of depth and focus necessary to allow for an individual’s transformation but within a flexible framework that meets the demands of a busy executive.”
Jerry Wind, Lauder Professor of Marketing at Wharton, will serve as academic director of the program. Each session is limited to 50 senior executives who are on top leadership tracks. Fellows will be chosen on the basis of their leadership ability and potential, management recommendations and references, among other criteria.
Wharton Senior Wins Wrestling Championship
It was two weeks after his last wrestling season before Brett Matter walked into the weight room again. “That was the toughest thing: the first time I walked in there without a goal,” says Matter, who in March was a Wharton senior and had just become Penn’s first NCAA wrestling champ in 58 years.
Matter, the all-time winningest wrestler in Penn history with a 128-14 record, beat Larry Quisel of Boise State University 4-2 to win the 157-pound weight class championship at the NCAA tournament in St. Louis. As a team, Penn finished ninth, its highest since it finished eighth in the country in 1942. That was the last time that Penn had a national champ, Richard DiBatista.
“It’s pretty incredible when you think about how we’ve done, placing ahead of all those Big Ten, those big Midwestern teams,” says Matter. “Penn is the best cross between wrestling and academics that there is.”
Matter has a legacy both in wrestling and at Wharton. His father, Andrew, was a national champion at Penn State in 1971 and 1972. His brother, Clinton, graduated from Wharton in 1997 after being the captain of the wrestling team in both his junior and senior years.
“Clinton had an incredible influence on me,” says Brett Matter. “He was one of the best leaders I have ever known. When I was a freshman, he was a great presence around here. He is just a solid, strong person.”
Clinton continues to be a presence for his younger brother. When the Wharton Alumni Magazine talked to Brett last spring, he planned to begin an equity research job with Salomon Smith Barney in New York, where he is rooming with Clinton, a fixed-income researcher at competitor Morgan Stanley. They won’t, however, be wrestling.
“At this point, I’m retired,” says Brett Matter. “You could go to the Olympics, but not given my time commitment on the job. If I come back and get an MBA, maybe I can think about the 2004 Olympics, but not now.”
Though he started wrestling in the third grade, he says his father never pressured him to pursue the sport. “A lot of people assume that, but it’s not true. He just wanted me to enjoy wrestling,” says Matter, who was a two-time New Jersey state champion at Delran High School. “My parents made a lot of sacrifices to send me to Wharton. I could have easily gotten a full ride to another school, but my father was one of the first people to tell me to come to Penn.”
Santomero to Lead Philadelphia Fed
Anthony M. Santomero, the Richard K. Mellon Professor of Finance, has been named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Santomero began his duties in July, succeeding Edward G. Boehne, who retired May 31.
Since 1995, Santomero had served as director of Wharton’s Financial Institutions Center. He has also been a consultant and advisor for leading financial institutions and regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Since 1995, Santomero had served as director of Wharton’s Financial Institutions Center. He has also been a consultant and advisor for leading financial institutions and regulatory agencies in the U.S. and abroad on issues including risk management, financial restructuring, credit risk evaluation and management, and regulation. Internationally, he has served as consultant to the European Economic Community and institutions in Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, India, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.
Santomero, who has requested a leave of absence from the school, will retain his professorship while serving in his new role.
Since joining the Wharton faculty in 1972, Santomero has held numerous academic and administrative positions, including deputy dean (1990- 1994); vice dean and director, Wharton Graduate Division (1984-1987); co-chairperson, Finance Department, (1982- 1984); and associate director, Doctoral Programs (1975- 1977). In addition, he was instrumental in developing and implementing numerous school initiatives including landmark curricular changes in the MBA and undergraduate programs.
Wharton Picked Number One (Again)!
For the fourth consecutive time, Wharton’s MBA program was named the best in the nation by Business Week magazine, which released it biennial rankings just as the Wharton Alumni Magazine went to press. Northwestern’s Kellogg School ranked second, followed by Harvard, MIT and Duke. Recruiters cited Wharton as number one in finance and global scope, second in marketing, third in technology and fourth in general management.
On the undergraduate level, U.S. News & World Report magazine ranked Wharton’s undergraduate program first in the nation. The school ranked no lower than 6th in all academic categories and was named first in finance, general management, marketing, real estate, human resources and consulting.
Heads of Financial Institutions Center Named
Professors Franklin Allen and Richard Herring have been named co-directors of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center, replacing former director Anthony M. Santomero, who has been named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
Franklin Allen, Nippon Life Professor of Finance and Economics, formerly vice dean and director of Wharton Doctoral Programs, has served in various editorial capacities at several of the world’s top academic journals for finance and economics. A frequent winner of Wharton teaching awards, Allen’s research has focused on corporate finance, asset pricing and the economics of information. He is president of the American Finance Association. Allen received his doctorate from the University of Oxford.
Richard Herring, Jacob Safra Professor of International Banking and professor of finance, previously served as vice dean and director of the Wharton Undergraduate Division. He was a founding director of the Financial Institutions Center and is currently director of Wharton’s Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies. Herring is a leading expert on international banking and finance and has been a member of the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee since 1990. In addition, he is co-chairman of the biennial multinational banking seminar. He received his PhD from Princeton University.
Asian Forum Draws Nearly 300
At Wharton’s seventh Asian Regional Alumni Meeting, held in Manila on June 10, guest speaker Manuel V. Pangilinan, WG’68, began his remarks with a reference to the “I Love You” virus. In keeping with the meeting’s theme, “The Asian Century Begins,” Pangilinan – who is president and CEO of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and also executive chairman of Hong Kong-based conglomerate First Pacific Co. – pointed out that news coverage of the virus drew international attention to the fact that the Philippines produces 150,000 computer engineers each year and is the world’s second-largest exporter of engineers to the U.S. He also shared an intriguing quote from Philippines trade secretary Manuel Roxas: “We’re not proud of what the virus authors did, but we must harness their creativity.” Pangilinan’s speech was one of several during the two-day conference, which brought together nearly 300 alums and other friends of the school for a host of seminars, panel discussions and networking opportunities. Next year’s meetings will take place in Phuket, Thailand on June 1-2.
M&T Freshman is Top National Scholar
Freshman Beeneet Kothari applied early admission to three schools – Wharton/Penn, MIT and CalTech – and got into all three. But he says his decision to enter Wharton and the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology (M&T) was easy.
“I came to Penn in April on Spring Fling day,” recalls Kothari, who was aggressively courted by a host of other Ivy League schools. “And when I saw all of those students on the Quad, I knew. The people were actually smiling at Penn. I knew it was a great place to be.”
Kothari, who won first place in this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and was a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, earned a perfect 800 on his mathematics and writing SATs as well as a perfect score on all 11 of his Advanced Placement (AP) exams. For this, he was named an AP Scholar of Distinction by the College Board. Kothari’s six-page resume details dozens of similar honors, but during a recent telephone interview, the 18-year-old from Long Island sounded like any energetic, enthusiastic freshman anticipating an active social and academic college experience and wondering what career path he ultimately will choose.
“As an undergraduate, I really don’t want to restrict myself,” he says, explaining his reasons for choosing the M&T program over a more science-focused program at MIT or CalTech. “I’m a science person, but I still want to take a good English literature course.” The M&T program is a unique and internationally regarded multidisciplinary program that offers select students the chance to earn concurrent degrees from Wharton and from Penn’s engineering school.
Kothari, a native of Rajasthan, India, was 10 when he and his family packed up and moved to the U.S. Beeneet was not fluent in English at that time, but after studying English for a few years, was accepted into an Advanced Placement (AP) English class. His awards and honors include winning the prestigious CalTech Signature Award for science and mathematics, the Rensselaer Medal for math and science, and serving as president of the National Honor Society, among others. He credits his parents – Naveet, a radiologist, and Beena, who works in technical support at Chase Manhattan Bank – for his strong science orientation.
But like most college freshman, Kothari isn’t sure what he’ll do once he graduates. “I’m interested in research as well as business, and I hope to do research in biology during my spare time during the next four years,” he says “I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t earn my MBA from Wharton.”
