It happened to Anne-Marie Corner one day in 1988. It was the day the former biochemist realized she wanted to be an entrepreneur.
“There was a professor, Ed Moldt, in the Entrepreneurial Department, who sat and talked with me,” Corner, WG’89, remembers. “I said, ‘I know nothing about business. I’ve never worked in a company in my life.’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry. You have what it takes. You have the drive and the passion.’ I switched majors, and that was the key change that put me on the path to what I do now. It was Ed Moldt who made me believe in myself.” Today, Corner is Chief Executive Officer of Biosyn, a Philadelphia-based biotechnology firm.
For John-Paul Duffey, WG’88, the transformation came via a Wharton student volunteer project called Very Special Arts. “Our mission was to create income-generating opportunities for mentally and physically challenged people in several developing countries,” explains the producer/partner in Lockton Companies, the nation’s largest independent commercial insurance brokerage. “This experience profoundly impacted my perspective on life and the world. It made me realize that true success as a human being is not about material wealth, but rather about responsibility – to one’s family, one’s friends, society, and the planet we briefly occupy.”
Was it a class, a classmate, a club, or a professor that made your Wharton years so powerful? Perhaps it was the development of something less tangible – a philosophy, values, or self esteem. Whatever your memories of Wharton and whatever you took away, one thing is certain: Wharton changes lives.
We asked alumni of different ages, fields, and backgrounds to talk about the transforming power of the Wharton experience. Here are their thoughts.
The Alumni Perspective
ARTHUR YELSEY, GEE’78, WG’78 President, Mediaspot, Inc.
Wharton’s influence on my life has been huge. I met my wife, changed my career, and moved 3000 miles away…all because of Wharton, and all for the better. Wharton was the vehicle that empowered me to change from an engineer to a business person. Three intro courses gave me tools I still refer to today: marketing, accounting, and statistics.
ANNE-MARIE CORNER, WG’89 Chief Executive Officer, Biosyn
My two years at Wharton transformed me. They changed me from a person who spent her time looking into a microscope and looking down, trying to understand smaller and smaller things, into a person who now steps back and tries to understand the big things. Now I’m doing what I love, and I couldn’t have done it without the Wharton experience
ROB CONEYBEER, WG’96 General Partner, New Enterprise Associates
At Wharton I learned, better than at any time in my life, how to listen to people, how to interact with people, and how to motivate and inspire people
PUNITA KUMAR-SINHA, G’92, GRW’93 Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, CIBC World Markets
Wharton was the pivotal experience in my professional career. While I had always been interested in financial markets, it was my Wharton education that helped me develop a truly sophisticated understanding of how markets work around the world. Moreover, Wharton’s reputation and alumni network have opened doors for me that would ordinarily be closed for an Indian woman.
ART COLLINS, WG’73 Chief Executive Officer, Medtronic
Wharton was a launching pad. It wasn’t the end of the story, but the beginning. What I left with was an appreciation that most problems are solvable as long as you work hard, apply what you’ve learned, and are willing to ask a lot of questions.
JOE LONGOSZ, WG’88 Golub Associates Incorporated
My values were reinforced at Wharton. Specifically, I remember a trading simulation game. The stakes were high, as the winners got their names published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. I was a team leader, and was approached by another team leader, to corner the market in bonds and squash the competition. I did not hesitate to forcefully say no. I did not turn in the other leader and made it known that I strongly disagreed with his strategy. It was a good lesson, especially since my team won!
ROBERT FRIEDMAN, WG’87 Former portfolio manager
Before Wharton, I was undisciplined and haphazard about planning my future. I think the exposure to so many people who were ambitious and focused, but also pleasant, was the eye-opener. Later, as a portfolio manager, I looked at dozens of stocks every month. Without Wharton, that might have seemed daunting; instead it was an enjoyable side of my profession.
JOHN-PAUL DUFFEY, WG’88 Producer/Partner, Lockton Companies
Wharton exposed me to people from every corner of the Earth. I learned through my friendship with Wharton’s international students that, while our differences are many, people are fundamentally the same regardless of religion, ethnicity, or cultural influences.
ARNETT FRISBY, WG’42
All I can say is this: When I graduated, I had a special feeling of self worth. I had a special feeling as a graduate of the Wharton School that I’ve carried with me to this day.
TONY STEIN, WG’90 President, Horizon Group
I remember marveling at how much bigger my world had become, by virtue of the people I met at Wharton. Being there raised my standards. When you have to push a little harder because the person next to you is a little smarter, or more experienced, it makes you better. Being around the best and brightest brings out your best. Having an MBA from Wharton always reminds me to keep the bar high. Regardless of what I set as my own personal targets in business or life, the fact that I went to Wharton reminds me daily of the level at which I am capable of operating and should always operate.
WENDY FINERMAN, W’82 President, Wendy Finerman Productions, Feature Film Producer
Wharton taught me to look at the whole picture, all 360 degrees. Also, that it’s not just the numbers that are important, it’s who the people are. One of the greatest things I took with me was the skill of understanding people and what they have to offer.
BRAD OBERWAGER, WG’97 CEO, Open Webs, Inc.
The thing I’m most grateful to Wharton for is teaching me that passion and people and experience are what it’s all about. The people here have such a variety of backgrounds, and they can have so much impact on you if you trust them. And that’s what happened – I ended up trusting my fellow classmates with the business I was starting. I couldn’t have done it without them.
BETH NELSON, WG’82 Former Principal, Neuberger & Berman, LLC.
How did Wharton make a difference? Because of my experiences there, I took a risky job that was rewarding beyond my wildest dreams.
DIANE TY, WG’87, G’87 President and Co-Founder, YouthNoise
Wharton gave me the opportunity to try a number of different things and taught me not to be afraid to do that. I made a big career move, from the corporate world to the nonprofit sector. I took with me the toolbox that I assembled at Wharton, and I pull tools out of that every day.
DAVID POTTRUCK, C’70, WG’72 President and Co-CEO, Charles Schwab Corporation
At the end of the day, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and analytical skills are the things that have been most important to me in my career. I learned those things sitting in business classes at the Wharton School, and they formed an incredible foundation for my life.
MAURICIO BORGONOVO, WG’97 Managing Director, Laurus Partners, LLC.
My Wharton diploma gave me trust in my ability to perform, and the confidence that I can go out there and tackle any challenges posed to me.
ELLEN (EDELMAN) WEBER, W’82 Executive Director, Robin Hood Ventures
One of the most valuable aspects of Wharton is instant credibility. People know that if you’ve been through Wharton, that you have a certain body of knowledge, a certain skill set. I’m in human resources, which doesn’t always get the credibility it deserves. But I find that I’m instantly given automatic credit by having gone through Wharton. People speak to me differently
SAFIA HALIL RIZVI, WG’03 Second-Year MBA Student
Wharton has given me a great sense of affirmation about my choices in work. I was a very successful scientist, and I left my career to do development work. Everyone at Wharton has been very supportive of my choice. They have always given me the confidence, not only to do it, but to do it well. They all stand by me – Wharton, as a school, stands by me.
ROB WEBER, WG’82 Managing Director, Antiphony
You meet someone. You say you’re from Wharton. That automatically puts you in a certain light, a certain category. It sets an expectation level, and it’s up to you to live up to that level. It actually raises the bar on your performance.
JOHN ROLFE, WG’95 Managing Partner, Argand Capital
I can’t even begin to count the number of times since leaving school that I’ve pulled out Dr. Abel’s Macroeconomics text to check out the supply and demand curves.
BRIAN FINN, W’82 Co-President, Institutional Section, Credit Suisse First Boston
At Wharton I learned how to learn. In the business world, there’s fact and information flying around all the time. To discern what’s important, to be able to grab it out of the air and understand how to apply it, is key, and my college experience was a big contributor to learning how to do that.
KATHRYN ENGEBRETSON, WG’83, GR’96 President, William Penn Foundation
Wharton has transformed my life. There’s really no other way to put it. I came here with no knowledge of business whatsoever, no network of people in the field I wanted to work in. My career is at the intersection of the nonprofit world and the corporate world, and it was at Wharton that I began to understand that those two places really did intersect. And the knowledge that I gained, the people that I met, and the confidence I built have opened doors to a whole new world I didn’t know existed.
How Did Wharton Change Your Life?
Like the alumni quoted above, you left Wharton a changed person. How did Wharton impact your life? Did it shape your way of thinking, your career path, your reputation…even your family and friends? No doubt Wharton left a unique mark on you, as it has for thousands of alumni.
Now, think about what you can do to leave a mark on the future of Wharton. As it draws to a close, the Campaign for Sustained Leadership owes its success to the generosity and vision of Wharton alumni like you – men and women for whom Wharton provided countless advantages, and who are now paving the way for generations of business leaders to come.
To find out more about how your pledge can make a difference to Wharton, please contact:
Steven Oliveira
Associate Dean, External Affairs
344 Vance Hall
3733 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.898.5047
oliveirs@wharton.upenn.edu
