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Alumni Club Update

 

Club Spotlights:

THE WHARTON CLUB OF BOSTON

While Boston is the home territory for another business school, the Wharton Club of Boston keeps the Wharton flag flying for more than 4,000 Wharton alumni in New England. Recently Richard D. Lane, W’76, WG’81, assumed the club presidency from Jennifer Nichols, WG’91, who concluded a five-year run. During Nichol’s tenure, the Club developed partnerships with local business school clubs (e.g., Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago) to cross-promote events and expand networking opportunities with free and discounted admission to other clubs’ events listed on the Wharton Club website, <www.whartonboston.com>.

On October 14, the Club held a kickoff to welcome Lane in his new role. He spoke to the group about his vision, which includes improving the Club’s website with its online partner AlumniMagnet. Another important goal for Lane is to expand the roster of future events to engage Wharton alumni who have been out of school for many years.

Wharton Club of Boston events are include:

• National and local speakers, including William Winkenwerder, Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs; Eric Kriss, Governor Romney’s administration and finance secretary; and Wharton professors Jeremy Siegel and Peter Fader

• Business and career events such as Entrepreneurship & Fundraising and Choosing a Career with Passion

• Community service events including the Boston Food Bank and renovating homes for Rebuilding Together

• Sporting and social events like happy hours and (the World Series-winning!) Red Sox and Celtics games

THE WHARTON CLUB OF WASHINGTON, DC

 

Club has increased membership more than 100% since last year!

In November 2005, the Club held three programs that demonstrate its wide range: a reception hosted by the Ambassador of Lithuania at that country’s historic embassy; a breakfast with Dr. Cynthia Glassman, SEC Commissioner (who holds an MA and PhD from Penn); and a luncheon with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Other successful initiatives include the Leads Council, which helps members get strategic input from other members, while generating added revenues for their businesses. The Professional Development series has dealt with topics critical to career success — from how to make a career transition and using a career coach, to overcoming obstacles

Since 1968, the Wharton Club of Washington, DC, has provided members with access to the unique people and resources of the U.S. capital. Now under the leadership of Alan N. Schlaifer, W’65, the

 

in your career and secrets of working with recruiters. One of the more recent career-oriented initiatives is a Transitions Group for those considering a new career path, a return to the workplace after a hiatus, or part-time paid or volunteer work during retirement.

For 37 years, the Club has held Joseph Wharton Award Dinners — the longest continuous event among the entire Wharton network. Honorees include leading alumni such as Former Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, W’28, top executives, entrepreneurs, former government officials, and Wharton deans and professors. The funds raised by the dinners provide financial aid for Wharton students from the DC area.

To view the roster of events for 2006, visit <www.whartondc.com>.

 

THE WHARTON CLUB OF NEW JERSEY

 

Members of the WCNJ recently celebrated the first three years of the club and the transition to the next generation leadership team during festivities at The Maplewood Club.

Founding President Jonathan "JP" Perelman, W’79, offered welcoming remarks and entertained attendees with a creative and hilarious video commemorating the history of the Club. (The ability of incoming President Ken Wolf, W’87, to smoke a pipe and drink wine simultaneously may well be the signature moment of his administration.)

Incoming Club officers Jess Germansky, W’80, EMTM’02, (vice president, events and programming) and Eddie Monteiro, W’01, E’01, (executive vice president) recognized the contributions of the founding board, including Ray Cohen, W’67, WG’68; Sharon Kornstein, W’80; Raj Kumar, WG’83; Bob Stein, W’71; Gregg Stover; WG’90, and founding Officers Frank Arcoleo, WG’93; Perelman; Andy Shaiman, WG’83; Stan Weilgus, W’66; and Wolf. JP was specially recognized with a coffee mug inscribed, "I founded the Wharton Club of New Jersey and all I got was this lousy mug!" More seriously, JP was presented a plaque symbolizing the appreciation in his role in the Club’s creation and growth to over 250 members with more than 2,000 event participants in just three years.

In his first public appearance as new president, Wolf introduced newly elected board members Peter Benton, WG’98, Mark Hurwich, WG’78, and Dushyant Pandit, WG’79. Germansky gave special thanks to Greg Botvinik, who organized the evening. Wolf closed the evening with brief (at least that’s what he promised) remarks on the Club’s new strategic plan, the creation of a new Marketing Committee, and news on upcoming events. The evening concluded with a rousing chorus of "Drink a Highball."

 

Club News

 

MBA EXEC ALL-CLASS REUNION EVENTS HELD IN NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON
While alumni of the Wharton MBA Program for Executives are active members of the full Wharton network, two recent events allowed graduates of the program to network with those who shared the intensive MBA Exec experience. All-class reunions for MBA Exec grads were held November 1, 2005, in New York at the Citigroup Executive Center and November 7, 2005 at the Washington, DC, Four Seasons.

"The kick-off events held in New York and Washington, DC, have enabled this passionate constituency to become more involved in the life of the School," said Scott A. Wieler, WG’87, president and CEO, Signal Hill Capital Group, LLC, as well as a co-head of the MBA Exec Leadership Committee. "Virtually all 30 classes and each reunion class have engaged at some level."

The two locations were chosen because of their high concentrations of MBA Exec graduates, while far-flung alumni will converge May 13, 2006, at Wharton’s Philadelphia campus for an All-MBA Exec reunion.

Nicole I. Meyer, WG’97, a managing director at Citigroup who hosted New York reunion, looked forward to more events. "The strength of this community is just now coming into focus," she said. "From that night alone, I collected a dozen cards and am already in conversation with three people on a professional basis. There’s an immediate connection among MBA Execs. I think this is the start of something big for us professionally, personally, and for the School."

Affinity Club Spotlight

WHARTON AEROSPACE CONFERENCE
Space has no geographical limits — and neither does Wharton Aerospace, an affinity club started by Michael Langman, WG’98, of Rockwell Collins, and Ellen Chang, C’88, WG’98, of Northrop Grumman, and drawing membership from many locations. Langman and Chang, with the support of Alumni Affairs, have created an annual conference that has attracted attention in executive suites across the aerospace industry.

The Wharton Aerospace Conference brings together industry leaders and alumni within the aerospace and defense industries. "In 2004 Ellen and I decided we would form an industry-based alumni group that would become the envy of alumni associations at other schools,"said Langman. They contacted Alumni Affairs Director Monty Harris about the idea, and Harris provided a contact list of aerospace alumni and made Huntsman Hall available for annual events. Chang said they were pleasantly surprised at the high turnout rate among invited alumni, and especially that all four aerospace CEOs who were invited agreed to speak.

 

Wharton Aerospace 2006 will be held on the Wharton campus on February 10, 2006, with an anticipated audience of 150 alumni. The event will include keynote speeches by the CEOs of three leading aerospace/defense companies; career development sessions with the aerospace practice leadership of search firms; and a panel on Network Centric Warfare that will be conducted by some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in what is the hottest emerging topic in the defense industry.

Wharton Aerospace is open to alumni in the aerospace and defense industries. To learn more about the 2006 event, contact Chang at Ellen.Chang.WG98@wharton.upenn.edu or Langman at Michael.Langman.WG98@wharton.upenn.edu. Wharton Aerospace thanks its event sponsors Russell Reynolds, Heidrick & Struggles, L-3 Communications and EDO Corporation.

Interested in starting a new affinity group for your industry? It’s easier than you think — contact Monty Harris at MontgomH@wharton.upenn.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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