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New Single Mother of Four on Balancing Work, Family, and MBA

When Holly O’Dell, WG’18, applied to Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives in San Francisco, she was the head of the Appellate Division for SAIF (State Accident Insurance Fund) Corp. in Salem, Oregon and mom to a 9-year-old daughter. However, around the start of the EMBA program, she was promoted to vice president of legal and strategic services and she became guardian of her friend’s three kids.

Holly explained, “My friend Becky and I had worked together at a public health clinic almost 20 years ago, and have been close ever since. We spent so much time together that we practically raised our daughters together. When she was dying of cancer last fall, we decided that I would take care of them following her death.”

Now, she’s a single mother to Ryah (10), Sonia (15), Raquel (18), and Marissa (21).

“The key to juggling it all is to decide where I need to be and then be comfortable with that decision,” said Holly. “I know I won’t be amazing in all three worlds all the time. There are weeks when I’ll do well at school and home and weeks where I’ll do well at work and home. I try to remember my objective in each area and weigh how I’m feeling about the results against those objectives – that tells me where I need to spend more time.”

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6 Words That Changed This MBA Student’s Assumptions About Wharton

Alex Hendricks, WG’17, tells how she chose Wharton for marketing and why she’s glad she did. 

“I’m not applying – it’s a finance school.”

This was what, at the time, I believed to be a totally legitimate response to the question of why I had not included Wharton in my list of business school targets. Up until that point, I was under the assumption – which I know now to be categorically false – that Wharton placed its students into investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, and little else. I thought success out of Wharton meant Wall Street or bust.

“Actually, it’s just a smart school.”

And with that single response, a colleague threw my entire belief system into question. This random interaction opened my eyes and compelled me to do a bit more research; after perusing the website, I found a list of Fortune 500 companies with opportunities in operations, strategy and most importantly for me, marketing, as I wanted to transition post-MBA to become a brand manager. In an instant, I threw my initial assumptions out the window and put Wharton at the top of my list.

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Watch highlights from the Dean’s Tarnopol Lecture on the new administration’s future impact on the American economy, financial markets, economic policy and global affairs.  

Panelists Mauro Guillén, Jeremy Siegel, and Kent Smetters joined moderator Dean Geoffrey Garrett for the discussion. 

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Wharton Dean and Faculty Predict How the New Administration’s Policies Will Affect the Economy

On Tuesday, January 31, an audience of students, faculty, and community members crowded into Annenberg Center’s Zellerbach Theater to hear a panel of distinguished Wharton professors discuss the potential impact of President Trump’s financial policies on the domestic and global economy. It was the first time Wharton faculty have commented on the new administration's policies.

Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the Wharton School and the talk’s moderator, opened with a nod to the potential for polarization inherent in the current political climate. “I think it’s important to note that there’s tremendous noise having to do with the incoming administration right now,” he began. “Our goal here today is to cut through that noise and get to the signal. What is the administration likely to do and what are the consequences of those acts?”

“In a world of fake news, alternative facts, ‘truthiness,’ where the currency seems to be ever more outrage, what we all want to do is to be Wharton. That means to be authoritative, to be analytical, and to back up opinions with facts and analysis,” he said.

Dean Garrett was joined by Professor of Management and Director of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute, Mauro Guillen, an expert on globalization and multinational management; Jeremy Siegel, the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance, an expert on macroeconomics and market analysis; and Boettner Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Kent Smetters, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

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EMBA Students Share 4 Takeaways on Innovation in China

Global Business Week offers students an opportunity to apply classroom learning in a different part of the world. For second-year students Victoria Zhang (East Coast) and Johnie Lee (West Coast), this focus on global learning was one of the reasons they came to Wharton.

They both chose to spend their Global Business Week in China, one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the world. The trip allowed Victoria, associate director of clinical pathology at URMC, and Johnie, principal engineer at Kash Payment, to experience China’s unique business culture and entrepreneurial economy.

Here are four key takeaways on innovation in China they shared from their trip:

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Like a Woman, Like a Leader, Like a Boss: 5 Highlights From the Wharton Women’s Summit

More than 400 Wharton women (and men!) gathered at The Union League of Philadelphia for the Wharton Women’s Summit in September 2016 to hear from female business leaders across industries from global firms to fledgling startups.Alana Zola, WG’18, gives five takeaways from an amazing day of stimulating conversations, startup presentations, and inspiring keynotes from Wharton Women in Business.

1. Think ahead

CEO of the World Bank Group, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, Keiko Honda, opened the summit by sharing her experiences navigating the male-dominated world of consulting and finance in Asia. She encouraged us to think about where we see ourselves in 10 to 20 years, how we plan to measure our success, and make that our driver.

2. Seek diverse advisors

There are no rules in cultivating your board of mentors and advisors, according to the “Building Your Personal Board of Directors” panel moderated by Maryellen Reilly, Deputy Vice Dean at The Wharton School. Your board of directors can be junior or senior, female or male, expert or generalist, permanent or guest star. Through seeking diverse perspectives, we build stronger resources for tackling a much wider range of problems and are better able to complement our own skills.

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How a San Francisco EMBA Alumnus Launched and Sold a Mobile Marketplace App

Vijay Ramani, WG'13, started Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives in San Francisco with a goal to further his career in the semiconductor industry. Little did he know that five years later, he would have successfully built and sold a mobile commerce marketplace startup, TotSpot, Inc.

The pivotal moment in his career happened just a month into Wharton’s EMBA program. “I’m a technologist and have always liked building things and creating value. When an idea popped into my head, my first instinct was to build and test it out, but I never thought I would have the opportunity to do that full time,” he said. “The remarkable thing about Wharton is that it encourages you to look at the world in a different way. It encourages you to think of new ways to create value.”

He explained, “Students come from a diverse set of industries and that enables you to look at intersections of industries. The program helps bring together ideas and promotes creativity. Being in this environment gives you immense confidence and curiosity.”

Inspired, he started thinking of ways to combine his experience in image processing to create value for consumers using mobile technology. His first idea was to take location sensors from mobile phones to create a social currency score to help people understand their influence in the world. He explained, “That was when companies like Foursquare, Facebook, and Klout used algorithms to measure your network clout and I was interested in furthering those into measuring an individual’s credit worthiness for micro-transactions.”

That early work helped him become familiar with mobile products and sensors, and it provided an opportunity for Vijay to connect with entrepreneurs and investors in the Wharton community. “I’d tell them about my prototype and that I’m a Wharton student. There was not much immediate interest in what we were building at the time, but they were happy to provide feedback.”

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Landing on ‘the Right Side of Maybe’: Wharton Professors on Why Election Forecasters Weren’t Wrong

Although political forecasters predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump’s win doesn’t make their predictions wrong.

Two Wharton professors recently discussed the decision-making process on Wharton Business Radio on Sirius XM. Prof. Barbara Mellers, who holds appointments in the School of Arts & Sciences and Wharton, and Prof. Michael Platt, who holds appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine, the School of Arts & Sciences, and Wharton, are both Penn Integrates Knowledge professors. Platt will be participating in Wharton Global Forum in Miami on March 9 - 11.

“There are only two ways to get a forecast wrong,” said Mellers, “if you say an event has a zero probability and it happens or if you say an event is certain to happen and it doesn’t.”

Read the full story and listen to the podcast on Penn’s site.

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Wharton San Francisco EMBA Student and Producer Promotes Social Activism Through Advertising

An MBA may not be common for producers, but it was the “next logical step” for Whitney Ferris, WG’18. Having produced TV commercials since graduating from college, she came to Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives in San Francisco to learn how to make a larger impact with film.

“I wanted to challenge myself to think bigger and to look for opportunities to become a decision-maker as to what messages are created, how they are shared, and who sees them,” said Whitney, a senior producer at BBDO San Francisco.

Her main area of focus – an area she is exploring at Wharton – is social impact. “Every company has an opportunity to ask how they can have a more positive influence in the world. I’m passionate about creating impactful messages in producing commercials and shaping relationships with brands,” she said.

Her recent work on the “Dads Who Play Barbie” commercial for Mattel is a perfect example. Whitney produced the ad, which first aired during the AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It highlights how time spent by dads playing with their daughters in their imaginary world is an investment in their real world.

“My main inspiration lies in creating movements,” Whitney said. “I want to use the power and influence of film to make a meaningful difference, and change the way people think and interact.”

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4 Things You May Not Have Known about Islam from the AMA Panel

Last Tuesday evening, more than 60 students filled the seats of a second-floor classroom in Huntsman Hall for “Ask Me Anything: I’m a Muslim.” Co-sponsored by Wharton’s Muslim Student Association, the 90-minute panel discussion on Feb. 14 rounded out the second day of Return on Equality Week at Wharton.

This is the second year that the ROE Coalition has sponsored the weeklong series of events to nurture and advocate for equality and inclusion across lines of difference on campus.

“Working with ROE was important in terms of marketing and getting the word out to a wider audience because getting a bigger audience, especially one that is willing to engage on a serious topic that people may feel does not impact them is always a struggle,” said Ash, a second-year MBA student at Wharton and co-president of the Muslim Student Association.

Hosted and moderated by Huda, a second-year MBA student at Wharton, the candid Q&A featured six Muslim panelists from a wide variety of experiences, backgrounds, and cultures. Hailing from Austin, Texas to Lahore, Pakistan, some were raised in the Islamic faith, some grew up in multi-faith households, and some converted as adults.

Sharing their personal views and experiences, they fielded a wide range of questions from the audience and some that had been submitted anonymously online. During the conversation, they cleared up several common misconceptions about Muslims and highlighted four key points you may not have known about Islam:

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7 Ways You Can Be a Better Ally at Wharton and Beyond

On Tuesday afternoon, Prof. Marybeth Gasman spoke to a full classroom of Wharton students and administrators about the ways white straight allies can — and should — break down barriers and oppression for people of color, women, and LGBT people.

The discussion kicked off the second day of Return on Equality’s weeklong series of discussions and events on race, class, gender, sexuality, and social justice issues.

Throughout the candid conversation, facilitated by Vice Dean Howard Kaufold, Gasman drew on her personal experiences as a child in low-income Michigan and now as a professor of higher education at the Graduate School of Education, the director of the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, and the author or editor of 22 books on the subject.

Kaufold asked how those in the room could take some meaningful and thoughtful steps to becoming an ally. Gasman followed up with several actionable ways that can be useful to anyone seeking to be a better support system for their peers.

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Faculty Work Informs MBAs in Examining Unconscious Biases During Return on Equality Week

“Traditional thought is that discrimination is a conscious act,” said Prof. Sigal Barsade during a Return on Equality seminar on unconscious bias in organizations. “That still exists, but the modern conceptions of discrimination at work is that unconscious biases drive discrimination.”

Barsade, Wharton professor of management, presented as part of the first day of Return on Equality (ROE) Week, February 13 to 16. ROE is a student-led initiative with a mission to “equip MBA students with the skills and knowledge to become advocates and allies of diversity and inclusion in their professional and personal lives.” Co-sponsored by the Wharton Graduation Association and MBA Program Office, ROE Week involves 16-plus hours of robust programming and dialogue among students, faculty, and guests.

Barsade’s lecture traced the psychology of implicit biases, how they damage hiring and organizations, and how they can be addressed in workplaces and communities. She became interested in the subject through her study of emotions in organizational behavior, much of which is unconscious. This pursuit led to research into unconscious biases.

Unconscious biases may exist in direct opposition to positions an individual would consciously endorse. Before the session, registered participants tested their biases through Project Implicit, an organization that creates a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet and evaluates hidden biases.

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How This Executive Search Leader Went from Restructuring Boards to Serving on Them

Kerry Moynihan, WG’91, managing director of ZRG Partners, came to Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives in Philadelphia with thoughts of transitioning from the executive search field to the music business. An English literature major in college, he wanted to round out his knowledge with a formal business education. However, in the middle of his first year at Wharton, his career in the executive search field started taking off.

“I worked on a high-level search for a private equity fund with offices around the world. I ended up working on 11 projects for that fund. I gained a lot of credibility, which led to more work for private equity funds and portfolio companies,” said Kerry, who has worked in a wide range of industries, ranging from sneakers to semiconductors.

Soon after graduation, he and his wife moved to Washington, DC and he joined Korn/Ferry to open a new office outside of the city in the Tysons Corner technology hub. “At that time, the economy was fueled by venture capital. My professional experiences and Wharton education gave me an understanding of how investors thought, which added a lot of value in executive searches. Our revenues tripled and the firm went public,” he said.

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Prof. Benjamin Keys on the Intersection of Real Estate and Policy

Prof. Benjamin Keys is teaching his first course at the Wharton School this semester, but the assistant professor of real estate always had Wharton in mind as a destination for his academic career. He joined Wharton in the fall from University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

“I was very unique in a public policy school doing work that was at the intersection of finance and policy,” Keys said. “A lot of my work is on mortgage finance and household finance, and obviously there are huge policy implications in both of those areas. If you think about the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the mortgage space and the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau on the household finance side, there’s a natural fit between finance, policy, and my interests.”

Coming to Wharton won’t change his focus on research, but it will put more resources at his disposal.

“The questions at the intersection of research and policy are extremely interesting,” he said. “I’m interested in a having a new set of collaborators, but the focus of my work is going to continue to be policy-relevant questions related to real estate and mortgage finance. One of the great draws of this department is the Zell Lurie Real Estate Center, which has tremendous resources and access to people in the industry. If you have a question on the ground and you want to make a connection between academics and how something happens in the real world, it’s easy to facilitate those connections. That kind of timely research is a strength of the Real Estate Department here at Wharton.”

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Wharton Graduation 2017 Speakers Announced

We are pleased to announce our 2017 Graduation speakers, who offer their expertise in social impact investing, business education and research, venture capitalism, and entrepreneurship:

• Wharton undergraduate alumnus K. Robert “Bobby” Turner, W’84, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Turner Impact Capital LLC

• Bestselling author Adam Grant, Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management at the Wharton School and Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania

• Wharton undergraduate alumnus Nathaniel “Nat” Snead Turner V, W’08, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flatiron Health

• Wharton MBA alumnus Yuri Milner, founder of DST Global

Read the announcement

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6 Things You Don’t Want to Miss from Our Most Recent Facebook Live Q&A

The Round 2 deadline for Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives is less than a week away, but there’s still time to get your application in.

“If you’re applying for Round 2, the deadline is Tuesday, the 7th of February at midnight, and we want people to know we don’t shut the system off. If you’re submitting and something goes astray, please don’t stress out. We’ll talk to you on the 8th,” said Director of Admissions Diane Sharp.

She says the key to getting your application together in time is to set up an interview on campus and talk to your employer about sponsorship as soon as possible.

“I’ve been doing this a long time and it can be done if you take those steps,” Diane said. “You should reach out to either the Philadelphia or the San Francisco campus to chat with Barb (Craft) or myself to discuss the viability of you getting through this round. If not we can answer your questions about applying next year.”

Diane recently hosted a Facebook Live Q&A with Admissions and Event Coordinator Alicia Rogers, fielding questions from viewers about the application process and the Wharton EMBA experience.

In case you haven’t had the chance to watch the entire Q&A, we’ve highlighted six topics they covered that you don’t want to miss:

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Nuclear Engineer Shares Steps for Writing Admissions Essays

When Jay Disser, a nuclear engineer, sat down to start the application for Wharton’s MBA for Executives Program, he realized that the essay portion was not going to be as easy as he thought. Accustomed to drafting work reports based on scientific or mathematical analysis, the open-ended, reflective nature of the questions was going to require a completely different type of writing.

“I saw that the essays were going to be challenging because I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my weaknesses or reflecting on how I approached a specific situation — that’s not my personality. And how should I choose what to write about? How would I pick which events are the most applicable to the questions?” he says.

Jay’s Steps for Writing Admissions Essays

1. DECIDE WHAT INFORMATION YOU WANT TO CONVEY

The first thing he did was write down the information he wanted to convey in his essays. Fortunately, he had already done this to some extent when he prepared for the interview. Not wanting to be caught off guard during that conversation, he had come up with a list of likely questions and written down answers.

“That provided a good outline of the information and major events I could incorporate into the essays,” he says.

2. MATCH UP INFORMATION TO THE ESSAY QUESTIONS

Then he converted that outline into a plan of attack, deciding which pieces of information best fit with each essay question. “By matching the information to each essay question, I was able to see if a certain event would take too long to explain and should be substituted with a simpler concept to convey the same information.”

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