Wharton EMBA Blog

If you are interested in applying this year to Wharton’s Executive MBA Program, it may not be too late. While the Feb. 1 deadline for both the Philadelphia and Wharton | San Francisco programs has passed, we may be able to offer an extension. Please contact our offices to discuss your specific situation and see what accommodations can be made for you.

If you’ve already submitted your application, then stay tuned because you’ll be hearing from us soon. We’re currently busy processing each application to ensure that we’ve received all of the required documents. The sorting and filing of credentials is a manual process so it may take a few weeks to complete. We ask for your patience to allow us to get through the piles of transcripts, sponsorship letters and hard copy recommendations before you contact us about the status of your application. You can also logon to your application to confirm when it’s complete.

If you are still planning to take - or retake - the GMAT, note that we will accept GMAT scores until March 1. A copy of your GMAT scores may be scanned and emailed or faxed to the East or West Coast office, but you also must have an official copy sent directly to Wharton.  The GMAT codes for the Wharton MBA Program for Executives are G56-97-36 for Philadelphia and G56-97-14 for San Francisco.

While interviews are required for Fellows applicants, they are strongly recommended for everyone. If you haven’t already interviewed, please contact the office immediately, as the slots are quickly filling up. West Coast applicants have until March 10 to complete interviews and East Coast applicants have until March 17.

Once the applications are complete, they go to the Admissions Committee where they will be evaluated by Committee members from both the West and East Coast programs. There is no need to update us during this time unless something significant happens that may affect our evaluation such as a promotion or a new GMAT score.

San Francisco program admissions decisions will be made by March 26, 2010 and Philadelphia decisions no later than April 9, 2010.

In her first year in Wharton’s EMBA Program, Sarah Sullivan, a program analyst at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC, heard about the social impact projects in Wharton’s Global Consulting Practicum (GCP). They sounded like a good fit with her growing interest in social enterprises in developing countries, but she wanted to finish her core courses before signing up.

So after completing her first year courses as well as an independent study over the summer for a small beeswax producing company in Cameroon, she and five EMBA classmates signed up for the GCP. The course typically pairs teams of Wharton full-time and executive MBA students and faculty with teams from partner universities in countries such as China, India, Peru, and Israel to consult with a client company interested in entering or expanding its position in the U.S. market. However, their social impact project was a bit unique in that it involved working with a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania, government of Botswana, and the University of Botswana to build capacity in Botswana in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Having recently returned from a visit to Botswana for the GCP project, we asked Sullivan and her teammate William “Willy” McColgan to share some of the highlights of their trip with us. Here’s what Sullivan had to say:

“Since we left at the end of December, everything was still closed for the holidays in Botswana so we spent the first four days in South Africa and went on safari. It was a great opportunity to get to know my classmates even better and build a stronger foundation for our group.

When we went to Gaborone, Botswana, we first met the University of Botswana business students who were working with us on the project to hammer out our goals and what we would be doing for our client. We then met with a lot of people in Gaborone – doctors, people from the Center for Disease Control, the Ministry of Health, and a few business leaders and citizens. We even got a tour of the capital and a neighboring village, which was a chance to see more of the country and get a better feel for the culture.

We were blown away by how developed Botswana is compared to many other African countries. Yet despite their development and healthcare infrastructure, it has the highest prevalence of HIV with 25% of the population infected. There is not enough capacity in terms of beds, space, medicine, and number of hours with doctors and staff. Seeing that was really hard. And it made coordinating the work really challenging because you could spend hours on this fascinating project.

While there, we did identify a lot of issues that the partnership is facing. We’ll now conduct more research on the partnership and what needs to be done to sustain its funding with a long-term strategy. Our goal is to have specific recommendations in place by May.

This experience has confirmed my interest in doing business development and strategic planning for social enterprises in developing countries in the future. It also made me realize what an incredible opportunity I’ve had at Wharton that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I’ve travelled to new places, met a lot of great people, seen other organizations in different environments, and gotten a world view of society. This was a capstone experience for me!”

McColgan agrees that the GCP trip was a wonderful experience. Here’s what he said about the project:
“When I first heard about the GCP’s social impact projects, I thought that no matter what else I do in the EMBA program, this is something I would look back on years from now and say it was really worthwhile and made an impact.

Once we arrived in Botswana, we headed straight over the border into South Africa for a safari to get adjusted to the time difference and prepare for the week ahead. What I remember the most from those days was getting stuck in the mud as it started to get dark and imagining all the things moving around you as well as a toga party on the game reserve on New Year’s Eve.

When we got to Botswana, we spent a lot of time planning and discussing our project and meeting with hospital staff, government representatives, and our University of Botswana counterparts. Later in the week, we went on the medical wards and met with residents from Penn’s Medical School as well as a Penn School of Nursing faculty member doing research on sabbatical. The University of Pennsylvania has certainly made an impact in Botswana. Hopefully our Wharton EMBA GCP team can help this continue.

This will definitely be a highlight of my time at Wharton. And I certainly strengthened my relationships with my classmates during that time, which is lasting. We’ll always have Africa!”

Many thanks to Sarah and Willy for sharing their GCP experiences. Learn more about the GCP.

Related blog: Wharton's Global Consulting Practicum EMBA Students Build International Teams While Working and Having Fun

Whether you are applying for admission to Wharton’s MBA for Executives Program this year or thinking about applying down the road, you might want to consider registering for an upcoming online chat. In these discussions, we cover everything from industry backgrounds and career planning to specific admissions questions.

The next online chat is Wed., January 20th, from 12:00-1:00 PM EST / 9:00-10:00 AM PST and will feature the Director of Admissions, Catherine Molony.  Cathy will discuss the admissions process and answer any questions you may have as the deadline approaches. To register for this chat, go to: Admissions Chat, 1/20/10

Rescheduled from this week, on Tues, January 26th from 12:00-1:00 PM EST / 9:00-10:00 AM PST, we’ll be hosting an online chat about career management featuring Mary Gross, director of Wharton’s Career Management Services for EMBA students. She’ll be discussing the resources available to Executive MBA students and fielding questions about how students have successfully used these services. To register for this chat, go to: Career Management Chat, 1/26/10

For the full listing of the remaining chats or to listen to past chats, go to our Events Page.

If you have additional questions about any of these topics or our program, please feel free to contact us at either our Philadelphia or San Francisco office.

We hope you can join us!

For attorney Thomas Kaufman, there were many benefits from attending Wharton’s MBA for Executives Program, but on his list he includes something a bit unusual – cheese steaks. He explains that when he began the Wharton program in 1999, his middle child was a sophomore in Wharton’s undergraduate program so his weekend trips to Philadelphia gave them opportunities to hang out and enjoy that local specialty.

Among the other benefits, he lists a “mature” class and a strong program in finance. A partner at Hunton & Williams in Washington, D.C. practicing in the area of finance, Kaufman says that the program not only boosted his credibility with clients, but also helped him understand his clients’ businesses better. “Sometimes clients hold lawyers askance and think we don’t understand their businesses, but if you are a lawyer who went to Wharton, clients believe you understand the numbers,” he says. “That was a huge benefit because I can now talk to them as a business person.”

Kaufman recalls that when he began the Executive MBA program, his fellow partners were very supportive, but questioned if he’d have the energy for such a rigorous program. Not only did he keep up his billable hours, but he also maintained a part-time teaching position at Georgetown Law School. “Of course there were times -- like the last month of exams -- when I didn’t get a lot of sleep,” he laughs.

But it was worth it because the curriculum was “immediately useful” in his practice and complemented his JD degree. “In fact, when people found out I was in the Wharton program, they would send me their corporate spreadsheets and business plans and ask for comments, which was very cool. I’ve been through a lot of academic programs and this was without a doubt the most rewarding educational experience I’ve had,” he says, noting that his favorite course was Mathematical Modeling of Securities.

Highlights of the program included a project on Cisco Systems related to post merger integration and a study with Booz Allen. “We got to talk to key people at Cisco at a time when they were acquiring a company a month and they really took time to talk to us. The other project allowed us to spend an hour with the CEO of Booz Allen, which was an outstanding opportunity.”

An unexpected bonus, says Kaufman, was how much he learned from his fellow students. He explains, “As a teacher, I always thought you get the most knowledge from the instructor, but because you have so many team projects in the EMBA program, you learn as much from your fellow students. The classes were excellent, but when you work with your fellow students you learn even more.”

His commute on the train from Washington, D.C. allowed him time to get to know those fellow classmates even better.  “There were 21 of us commuting in my class and we studied on the way up for class and on the way back we partied to celebrate the end of the week,” recalls Kaufman.

“For attorneys interested in the world of corporate finance or understanding business, I couldn’t recommend the Wharton EMBA program more. I got more practical applications out of that program than anything I’ve done in my career,” he says.

Keith Shea thought about getting an MBA for several years, but the timing just wasn’t right. First, he didn’t want to leave his career at Intel to take two years off for an MBA program. Then he was offered an exciting assignment in Europe, which took him abroad for three years.

However, while he was in Europe, he started to think about his academic options and decided that an executive MBA program would be a great fit. “I looked at a number of programs in the U.S. and Europe – travel wasn’t a concern because I would have commuted to the right program – and Wharton was head and shoulders above the others based on academic rigor and the opportunity to be part of a tight-knit class,” says Shea, who graduated from Wharton’s MBA for Executives Program in San Francisco in 2009 with full sponsorship from Intel.

As for the level of academic rigor, he says, “I wanted the challenge and I got the challenge. At the time, you question why they push you so hard, but after you graduate you are really glad they did. To compare it to other programs I considered, if you explain to others the level of detail you go into -- like the math on some of the game theory equations – they look at you in amazement because they’ve never gone to that level of comprehension.”

Shea, an alliance manager, notes that an unexpected highlight of the program was when he and his fellow classmates from Intel got a chance to sit down with senior executives such as cofounder Gordon Moore, retired CEO and chairman Craig Barrett, and board member David Pottruck for discussions about leadership management.

One of those fellow classmates from Intel was Aneet Chopra, who also sought out the Wharton|San Francisco EMBA program for its rigorous curriculum. “Let’s not mince words. It was extremely challenging both in terms of the classes and the need to balance everything,” he says, noting that his daughter was born during the program. “It took a month or two, but after getting over that initial hump you manage the demands on your time better and can really apply what you are learning in your job.”

For example, during the program he needed to help drive a hotly debated new product feature through its product lifecycle and ultimately deliver the feature. “To help me do that, I relied on marketing concepts I was learning in class. It was an ‘Aha’ moment for me about the value of the program and why I went to Wharton,” he recalls.

Chopra, who has since been promoted to technical assistant to the general manager of the Client Components Group at Intel, says that he also learned a great deal from his classmates. “The soft skills we learned serve as powerful ammunition to prepare you for your day to day job and even your personal life. Every day, I think of a situation in the classroom or a comment someone made in class that is applicable to a current situation.”

He adds, “Being part of the Wharton community will serve me a long way. We are grounded in good business knowledge learned from the best professors, but I will carry with me all through my life the bond with our fellow students and the approachability of the alumni network. Any time I need to tap into that, I can, and that is an invaluable asset.”

Shea agrees that the faculty and students in the program are a great resource. “I made friends for life and the ability to connect with such intelligent individuals and be able to ping them on certain issues I’m curious about is such an incredible option that I now have,” he says.

The University will be closing on Thurs., December 24th, 2009 at 12:00noon EST.  If you have any immediate questions, please contact our offices before that time. We will reopen on Mon., January 4th, 2010 at 9:00am EST.  For the Wharton | SF office, those times are 12:00noon PST on the 24th and 9:00am PST on the 4th.

The winter holidays are a great time to work on your application!  Here are a few items to keep in mind:

The deadline for both the West and East Coast programs is Feb. 1, 2010.

If you haven’t already scheduled an admissions interview, contact us soon. By this time of year, appointments on class days are limited.  If you live locally to the San Francisco or Philadelphia campus, you may want to come during the week for your interview and then return on a class day to have lunch with Executive MBA students and observe a class.

If you still need to take the GMAT, the last date to take the test for admissible scores is March 1, 2010. A copy of your GMAT scores may be scanned and emailed or faxed to the East or West Coast office, but you also must have an official copy sent directly to Wharton.  The GMAT codes for the Wharton MBA Program for Executives are G56-97-36 for Philadelphia and G56-97-14 for San Francisco. Scores are valid for five years.

We require an original copy of your transcripts before we can complete the evaluation of your application.  If you haven’t already done so, you should request that they be sent directly to the San Francisco or Philadlphia as soon as possible.

We look forward to hearing from you and wish everyone happy holidays!

Related Links:

Program Faces & Dates

Don't Wait! Schedule your Wharton EMBA Interview and Visit Soon

Preparing for the GMAT: Practice, Practice, Practice

Insider Tips: Preparing the Best EMBA Application

Chris Dickey had a Doctorate in Public Health, but his job as general manager of a health services company in Manhattan wasn’t fulfilling his goal of making a real impact on a large number of people’s lives. To change that, he enrolled in Wharton’s MBA for Executives Program in 2006 where he seized the opportunity to brainstorm with classmates whenever he could about possible business plans. Soon after he graduated, he and a partner had a plan in place to create Healthpoint Services, a market-based approach to meeting the health needs of consumers at the base of the economic pyramid. In addition to providing clean water, the business also provides medical clinics in remote villages that connect patients to doctors via videoconferencing technology and remote diagnostics.

It’s been about 18 months since he graduated so we asked Chris to share some of the highlights of his unique entrepreneurial experiences with us. In addition to sending us a video video from a recent trip to India, here’s what he had to say:

“Poor people in the developing world typically don’t have access to clean water and affordable, high-quality health care. We set out to change that through a village-based unit called a Healthpoint that combines a Reverse Osmosis plant attached to a raw water source with the latest in telemedicine technology, approved drugs, and 65 diagnostic tests (and counting) that cover a range of common illnesses.

My partner, Allen Hammond, and I are convinced that we are among the pioneers of this new market-based approach to meeting the health needs of this vast group of consumers making and spending less than about $3 per day. We believe that a commercial venture focused on delivering high-quality care at an affordable price will create efficiencies, economies of scale, and a profitable, scalable company that will transform health outcomes for millions of people.

We officially launched the first three Healthpoints in India last October to some fanfare – both the Punjab Governor and Finance Minister were there as well as the national media. The politicians were so impressed with the operation that they asked us to build 600 more units in the next three years!

I recently returned from a visit to the Healthpoints, which are in Mallan, Doda, and Kotbhai, and also to our new call center based in Bathinda. I’m delighted to say that the units are all thriving, even after such a short time. The waiting rooms are full, people are lining up with 20 liter jugs to purchase clean water, and the staff is thrilled to be part of a revolutionary effort to provide access to health care for rural villagers.

During that trip, I watched a follow-up visit to the Healthpoint in Mallan by a woman who had been treated by us for joint pain a week before. She came to review her progress on the prescribed medicines and to get further instructions. She appeared to be very content with her treatment, which cost her 30 rupees (about $0.65) plus the cost of the medicines. Her doctor, too, was happy with the outcome. The fact that the doctor and patient were looking at one another through video screens seemed not to register to either of them.

The next morning, we drove to Doda, a village of about 1,500 families, nearly all of whom make a living from the vast farmland that surrounds it. When we arrived at the Healthpoint, several men were packing their 20 liter jugs full of water (which cost them 2 rupees) on the backs of their bicycles. One of the amazing aspects of this company is that getting the water has become a man’s job in these towns, replacing a traditional woman’s chore. We think it’s because the Healthpoints are also high tech gathering places and getting the water is now a cool thing to do for the men!

Inside the Healthpoint, I joined a consultation in progress. A farm worker was suffering from pains in his shoulder and side. He had been to the local government clinic where he was given vitamins and a pain killer without any real discussion. Our clinical assistant took the man’s blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and weight, carefully entering it into his electronic medical record. During the examination, our doctor was present via a large screen monitor and was asking lots of questions. It turns out that the patient had experienced several episodes during his life that appeared to be epileptic seizures. The doctor ruled out an immediate threat to the man’s health and then asked whether the patient could afford 500 rupees to get an EEG in Bathinda to check for epilepsy. The patient said yes, he had saved enough over the past year to cover the expense.

Absent a referral by our doctor, who is known in Bathinda, that EEG might have cost the worker several thousand rupees, a sum that he would have to borrow from a local loan shark, thereby ensuring that neither he nor his young family would ever escape the economic and health consequences of his illness.

I saw several other patient visits that day, not only in Doda, but also in Mallan and Kotbhai, and I was impressed by the warmth and care provided by our staff and also by patients’ ease in being seen by a doctor on TV. It’s incredible that most of these individuals have never seen a real doctor before and now they interact with one as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. The video and sound quality is so high, the lighting is so good, and the care with which the employees treat these poor patients is so genuine that the exchange of information is excellent. I’d gladly trade some of my experiences with the medical system in New York for ones like this.

When I think back on all those hours spent at Wharton discussing business ideas that would  make a difference, we owe a significant debt of gratitude to my Wharton EMBA colleagues, including Sarabjit Singh, Vikas Khurana, Mike Parker, and Rittik Chakrabarti.  I really believe that there is a tremendous demand for services like ours, not just in Punjab but in many other Indian states and other developing countries.”

Thanks to Chris for sharing those highlights and good luck to Healthpoint Services in its future growth!

To learn more about Healthpoint Services, contact Chris Dickey at: chris.dickey@e-healthpoint.net

In case you missed it, Wharton EMBA alumnus Anthony Noto was interviewed on CNBC a few weeks ago to talk about the business of football. A 1999 Wharton graduate, Noto formerly was a media and entertainment analyst at Goldman Sachs before becoming the CFO of the NFL in 2008.

In his first television appearance since joining the NFL, Noto talked with Darren Rovell about the state of the NFL as the season was opening in Pittsburgh. When asked about the growth of the game, Noto said, “We’re continuing to see strong year over year growth in all key fan engagement methods building on the strong success of the Super Bowl in 2008, which had a record audience of 152 million viewers. We’re continuing to see that growth strongly in audience ratings as it relates to preseason games that are up over 20%. The NFL Network’s ratings on a year-to-date basis are also up in the double-digit range.”

As for revenues, Noto explained that the economic environment has clearly hurt discretionary spending, having a negative impact on ticket sales, sponsorship, and advertising. As a result, the revenue forecast is lower than expected a year ago.

When asked about the difference between working at the NFL and on Wall Street, he replied “that would be comparing apples to oranges.”

Read the full interview with Noto.

After working as a pediatric surgical nurse and then at a small medical company, Shelley Boyce wanted to formalize her business education in Wharton’s EMBA Program. However, going back to school after working “in the trenches” for 10 years was a bit daunting.

During the weeklong orientation known as “boot camp”, a professor announced that if the students could survive his microeconomics class for the next six weeks then they would be fine. As challenging as that sounded at the time, she quickly realized that she would indeed be fine. “Wharton does a great job at selecting students who will succeed and giving them the skills they need to be successful – of course that doesn’t make it any easier that first week,” laughs Boyce.

That same week, another professor made an equally impactful announcement. She recalls, “He stood in front of our class and said, ‘There are three types of people: bean counters, gear heads, and poets. Figure out who you are and connect yourself to each of the other two groups and that will help you be successful.’”

Not only did that advice prove useful at Wharton, but it also rang true as she launched her start-up, MedRisk, the following year with fellow Wharton Executive MBA student Jerry Poole. The two, she explains, were very different. “Jerry is very bright, detailed, and structured and really knows how to build and sustain a well oiled operating machine where I am much more loose and creative. I work with a crayon and he works with a mechanical pencil,” says Boyce.

While working with others with diverse management styles can be challenging, Boyce maintains that it also is critical. “You need the thinking of people unlike yourself to make the business grow,” she says. “When hiring, we look for skills and talent, but also that type of diversity. When our professor said there are three types of people and each has his or her own skill set and contributions to make, that applies in business as well.”

During her second year at Wharton, Boyce says she was more relaxed and confident as she found her groove. However, that calm didn’t last long because not only did she deliver her first child that year, but she also started MedRisk. She credits the support from her classmates with helping her stay in the program despite the many demands on her time. “Wharton was where I needed to be. If I had taken a leave of absence, I would have lost out on a lot of opportunities and learnings that helped me in real time as I launched the business,” she says.

 “I’d be sitting in accounting class learning about financial statements and then go home and build a P&L for the new business. I’d sit in negotiations class learning how to buy a car and then go home and figure out how to negotiate getting money from an investor. Or in an operations class, I’d read these great case studies about the successes and failures of companies. And I still have Prof. Richard Shell's book about entrepreneurship which sits on my shelf and still gets pulled down twice a year – and this is 15 years later!”

Today, the company that she launched in 1994 with just six employees and a bank loan has grown national in scope, employing over 250 people and generating $120 million in sales. In addition to running her business, she and her husband, Dan, are busy raising their three daughters.  Boyce also spends time mentoring young entrepreneurs. “I feel extremely passionate about entrepreneurship. It’s one thing to start your own company and live through the successes of that, but equally rewarding is to pass it on and share some of that wisdom with others,” she says.

Boyce credits Wharton with many of those successes. “I didn’t have plans to become an entrepreneur when I undertook my Wharton MBA, but while here I gained the skill set, toolkit, and confidence to become an entrepreneur so when the opportunity came, I felt well prepared to take a risk.”

Read more about Shelley Boyce.

While needing to fly every other weekend to get to school may sound like a significant challenge, second-year Wharton | San Francisco Executive MBA student Dan Paik says that his commute from Redondo Beach, California to San Francisco hasn’t been that bad.

In fact, he says most EMBA students who live in southern California don’t have all that different of a schedule from students who live in the Bay Area. The biggest difference, he says, is that the southern California students probably wake up a few hours earlier to catch a 7:00am flight on Friday mornings in order to arrive at Wharton | San Francisco by 9:30am and get home a few hours later on Saturday evenings.

For Paik, his schedule is a little bit different from most commuters in his area because instead of catching Friday morning flights, he usually flies from LAX on Thursday evenings into Oakland where he spends the night at his brother’s home and then takes a train on Friday mornings into San Francisco.

But regardless of when they arrive, “the majority of people I talk to who are based near Los Angeles don’t mind the travel because they spend their flights to school catching up on reading,” he says. “And in this day and age, we are constantly connected to the office so those brief couple of hours in transit is a welcome respite because we can turn off our phones – we actually like the travel time.”

Paik notes that the flight home provides time to bond with classmates. When classes end at 4:00pm on Saturday, the commuters share taxis to the airport. Those going to Los Angeles usually catch a 5:00pm flight out of SFO airport and those headed to San Diego usually catch a 4:50pm flight out of Oakland. “It’s pretty much a given that it’s not study time because we are done with classes and can hang out and listen to music or watch part of a movie together on the flight. It’s our time to kick back and relax after a weekend of classes.”

He adds that because Wharton students need flights at nonpeak times, getting tickets hasn’t been an issue.  “We are flying in on Thursday nights or Friday mornings when flights are never full and then we leave on Saturday afternoons which is also a good time to find flights. Southwest tickets usually cost about $50 each way from LAX, but we earn a lot of frequent flier miles and free flights,” he says.

As for the impact on his job, Paik explains that for the first year of the program he was running his own business, Juice Wireless, so setting a schedule amenable to commuting wasn’t an issue. Now, as VP of Technology at ThisNext.com, he says it’s still not a big deal. “I leave the office on Thursdays at the usual time I would leave work for the day anyway. In two years, I’ve never had an instance where I had an important meeting that had to happen that night,” he says.

Paik says that most people in southern California probably do consider more local schools – at least at first -- when thinking about EMBA programs. However, one of Wharton’s advantages is its national and international reputation.  He explains, “If you were to move to another part of the country or expand internationally at some point in your career, which a lot of us might do at some point, it’s good to have those networks open. That is a big reason why I'm getting a Wharton MBA as opposed to one from a local school.”

Paik adds, “To get to go to a school like Wharton is definitely worth the commute!”

Read more about other students’ commutes.