New York Club Holds Speaker Event With Professor Friedman

On June 9, Wharton alumni had the privilege to once again reminisce and absorb the teachings of Wharton’s Stewart D. Friedman, practice professor of management and founding director of Wharton’s Leadership Program and of Wharton’s Work/Life Integration Project. The event was a ‘sell-out,’ filling Room 24C at the law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb Tyler, LLP, to capacity. With no room inside, the independent bookseller stationed himself outside with copies of Friedman’s latest book, Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life, for purchase. Tapping into common desires for more integration of work, self, community, and home, Friedman emphasized that leadership should exist in all realms of life and that achievement does not require a trade-off but finding mutual value amongst the four domains of life. Finding this mutual value is what Friedman refers to as a “four-way win.” Participants were guided through exercises to identify their core values and divided into small groups to place percentage values of importance and focus on the various domains in their lives. Results were then discussed, analyzed, and exchanged to promote four-way wins. The message boiled down to three key principles for action: • Be real and act with authenticity, • Be whole and act with integrity and • Be innovative and act with creativity. The results will create sustainable change not only for you but also for the important people around you as you position yourself to be a more productive leader and a more fulfilled human being. –By Jennifer Gregoriou, W’78, Chair, Wharton Club of NY Speaker Series

Club News in Brief

To honor the 20th anniversary of the Wharton Club of Spain, the board and other alumni of the club led by Pelayo Primo de Rivera, WG’94 the club’s chairman, on July 2 were received by His Royal Highness Prince Felipe.

The event took place in the Palace of the Zarzuela, residence of the Royal Family in Madrid, where Wharton alumni were officially introduced to Prince Felipe, followed by an official session of journalist photographs. Afterwards the board and the alumni were invited to hold an informal chat with Prince Felipe, during which the Wharton School and the Wharton Club of Spain were presented in detail to His Royal Highness. Several Wharton gifts, including a cap, T-shirt, and a laser pen drive, were given to the Prince and Princess as mementos of the event.

After the audience with His Royal Highness, the Wharton Club of Spain organized a lunch in a nearby restaurant for the alumni present at the event as part of the continuing anniversary celebration. The Wharton Club of Spain currently has about 200 members.

The Wharton Club of Monterrey is now an official Wharton Alumni Club! On July 7 members of the alumni club of Monterrey, Mexico, gathered for the official kickoff of the club with a workshop from Stuart Diamond, Wharton practice professor of legal studies and adjunct professor of law. Professor Diamond traveled exclusively for this gathering from Philadelphia. “We have a new administration very committed to this club, and we had a great event with one of Wharton’s best negotiations professors, Stuart Diamond,” commented Club President Rodrigo Fernandez, WG’04. “We had a great response from the alumni living in Monterrey, the business newspaper interviewed Professor Diamond, and the social newspaper covered the event; alumni were extremely happy, our event was a success,” wrote Diego Cortes, WG’04, event coordinator.

The club is already planning its second gathering with another great Wharton professor at the end of this year. It plans to have two annual gatherings with Wharton faculty, plus other gatherings with politicians or important alumni/businessmen.

The Wharton Club of the United Kingdom has begun a series of events around careers and career change. Even during tough economic times, there are events within one’s company which affect one’s job prospects — one statistic cited was that the average CEO’s term is only 2.7 years, so change at the top can affect changes lower down the chain. The club started off with an event hosted by the London office of PIMCO, the asset management firm, to set the macroeconomic background. Michael Amey, EVP and UK fixed interest portfolio manager, set the stage.

The next event included Chris Higgins, senior associate director, MBA Career Management at Wharton, who described the team and tools available through Wharton’s Alumni Career Services. The most recent event was addressed by Deidre Spencer, a career consultant who specializes in MBAs. Further events are planned for the fall, including How to Win at Office Politics and Career Switching from For-Profit to Non-Profit Organizations. So far, the meetings have been very well attended by those who a) are out of work, b) feel they are at risk, or c) want to “manage their careers before someone else does it for them.”

On July 22 the Wharton and Penn Clubs of Boston had the exclusive privilege of having a preview of the new Mandarin Oriental Boston. The event was hosted by Robin Brown, the hotel developer of CW Boylston. Both clubs were treated to a unique round table discussion and a hard-hat tour of this five-star facility. Adjacent to Prudential Center, this project includes 150 hotel rooms, 25 rental apartments, and 50 condominiums, all of which have already sold for $2 million to $12 million.

Keeping with the theme of the evening, Robin Brown spoke of his career and offered insight to what it takes to develop a first-class facility. Event chair Wendy Dalwin, WG’96, attributed the great success of the evening to the superb effort and considerable presence of Robin Brown. Those who attended were motivated and learned about the value of perseverance.

The Penn-Wharton Alumni Club of Malaysia has so far organized a pair of receptions this year, leading off with an event in March that was hosted by venture capitalist-turned food and beverage entrepreneur Jiro Suzuki, WG’95, at his stylish boutique bakery and cafe, The Loaf, located in Kuala Lumpur’s fancy new Pavilion shopping mall. Our invited guests at this reception included alumni from Chicago GSB.

Then in May, the Club played host to the visiting Southeast Asia Global Immersion Program students. The reception and dinner was hosted by N.K. Tong, WG’94, CEO of Bukit Kiara Properties. Apart from a great meal that was catered at the site of the company’s latest property showroom, the students got a briefing on the the real estate market by one of Kuala Lumpur’s leading developers of upmarket condominiums.

The Wharton Club of Shanghai welcomed Global Immersion Program (GIP) students and new admits from the region to its monthly Wharton-INSEAD alumni happy hour on May 27. More than 30 alumni and students enjoyed the event at French-style restaurant and bar Le Equilles. To contribute to the relief operation for China’s May 12 Wenchuan Earthquake, the club collected on-site donations at this gathering. All the amounts collected have been donated to the local Civil Affairs Bureau after the event.

The Wharton Club of Japan held a January 15 reception for Penn President Amy Gutmann and Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson, who were visiting Japan for the first time. 180 Penn and Wharton alumni, young and senior, gathered and shared good time with President Gutmann and Dean Robertson. The club held its annual general meeting on May 16 when 120 alumni welcomed and celebrated newly admitted students.