Soon after taking over as Editor of the Wharton Alumni Magazine, I interviewed the president of UBS Investment Bank.

A couple days later, I chatted with a former Wall Street executive who, after a radical career shift, has built one of the most celebrated vineyards on the West Coast. Not long after, I had a face-to-face interview with one of the most influential executives in the history of the auto industry. I also spoke with a former media executive now working to save the lives of thousands of women and children in Africa. And finally, I spent an hour interviewing a member of the United States Senate.

That was just my first several weeks.

If I’ve learned anything in my initial months at the Wharton School, it is something the rest of you already know: Wharton is a truly remarkable place, and Wharton alumni are capable of truly remarkable things. In business. In politics. In anything they do.

My goal as Editor is to build a magazine every bit as remarkable as the school it represents. And I believe we’re well on our way to doing just that.

In this edition of the magazine, we are offering a glimpse of some of the many changes to come as we overhaul your magazine — both in print and on the web.

For this edition, we’ve welcomed new photographers and new writers. We’ve also introduced a few new features, including our up-front commentary that will help kick off each issue. This space is open to everyone in the Wharton community—alumni, faculty, students — so please send in your submissions. In his piece this month, our first contributor, author Andy Raskin, WG’94, recounts the lessons he’s learned from Japanese business great Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant ramen noodles.

The big changes, however, are yet to come. The launch of our redesigned web site will offer a number of extras, including podcasts, video segments, and a number of interactive “bonus” features. In the fall, we’ll debut the new look of the print magazine, and among the new features we’ll be introducing is a long-awaited Letters section. We invite you to share your thoughts about our stories, our plans for the future, or the magazine in general by sending your emails to magazine@wharton.upenn.edu.

We want you to be as enthusiastic about the magazine as you are about your Wharton School connection.

Sincerely,

Tim Hyland / Editor