Wharton MBA Exec Alumni Learn about Leadership and WWII History during Trip to Normandy

For alumni of Wharton’s MBA for Executives program who also happen to be students of history, the recent Leadership Experience in Normandy organized by Wharton’s Leadership Ventures and Academy Leadership was the perfect way to combine experiential learning about leadership and World War II. The Leadership Experience - led by retired U.S Army Lt. Colonel Todd Henshaw, director of Wharton’s Executive Leadership Program, Dennis Haley, founder and CEO of Academy Leadership, and author Ed Ruggero – took alumni on a very unique tour of Normandy, focusing on critical leadership lessons for today’s executives.

We asked three of our alumni who went on the trip, Roger Crandall, a 2002 graduate of our East Coast program who is now president and CEO of MassMutual (he will become chairman of the board in December) in Springfield, Mass., Dr. Leslie Shaff, a 2006 graduate of our East Coast Program who is now chief surgical services officer at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., and Celine Wei, a 2009 graduate of Wharton | San Francisco who is vice president of business development at Florens Container Services Ltd., to share some of the highlights of what they saw and learned.

Here’s what Roger had to say: “I had just joined the School’s Leadership Advisory Board when I heard about this trip. Not only am I a history buff, but I’m a World War II history buff and had never been to Normandy so this trip was a good fit.

“Starting at Pegasus Bridge, we worked our way from one end of the region to the other, talking about war strategy and tactics and looking at each piece of a battle in bite-size chunks.  And then we turned it around and looked at the German side and compared their leadership to the American command.

“I’m a huge fan of experiential learning so I got a lot out of this trip. It not only reinforced my belief that leadership is an integral part of the business school curriculum, but that the same leadership issues have been around for thousands of years. Leaders have always had to think about whether there is good communication, whether their troops understand their intent, and whether their troops are empowered to make decisions. Those things transcend time.

“While the history lessons were amazing, what really made this a great trip were the people. Other than my mother and sisters who joined me on the trip – we left spouses and kids at home - and a director of Wharton’s EMBA program, I didn’t previously know any of the other members of our group. It turned out that there were about 15 alumni and guests from very diverse age groups and backgrounds.  Todd, Dennis and Ed did a great job of actively involving everyone in robust discussions and there were takeaways for everyone. One of my sisters even found leadership lessons for parenting her teenage girls.

“After you graduate from Wharton, you sometimes lose sight of how powerful it can be to get a group of people together to learn and discuss a common topic of interest. To be able to recapture that on this type of trip was great.”

Leslie Shaff says, “I was interested in this trip because my husband loves history and has always wanted to visit the Normandy beaches so this was a great opportunity for both of us. And based on my experience coming to Philadelphia every other weekend during school, I knew that every detail would be well organized and our time and effort would be spent learning and experiencing rather than worrying about how to get to the next place.

“The five-day trip was wonderful! Starting with dinner at our superb hotel on the first night in Paris to our talks on the beaches, the trip was everything I hoped it would be. In Normandy, one could really imagine what it was like to have landed during D-Day, what people were feeling, and what the generals were thinking. We talked about what they did right, what didn’t work, and why D-Day turned out to be such a crucial event in the war. The experience was educational as well as fun.

“In addition, we spent our evenings at a beautiful chateau in Normandy and had lovely dinners where we talked with everyone in our group. It was a great way to experience the countryside and what happened there with a diverse group of people who have a similar interest in history.

“I would absolutely recommend this type of trip to other alumni. I want to know when and where Wharton will organize the next trip for MBA Exec alumni!”

Celine adds, “When I heard about this trip, I knew I wanted to go. Not only is Wharton known for its Leadership Program, but it was an opportunity to go to France and reconnect with other alumni. And coming from China, I wanted to learn about WWII history from the U.S. and European perspectives so this trip was particularly interesting to me.

“One of the highlights of the trip was the chateau. It was in the countryside in a quiet setting so our group had dinners together more like a family and could really talk about the day’s events. Each evening, we’d have a discussion about what we learned and how that linked to our own organizational experiences.

“Once you graduate, there aren’t that many chances to get back together with a group like this to discuss common topics. Being on this trip reminded you that you belong to the Wharton community, which is a special group. Plus, not too many people have the chance to visit Normandy with experts like Todd, Dennis, and Ed telling you about the history, leading discussions, and teaching leadership lessons – you’d never get all that on another tour.”

We’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on upcoming trips! Thanks to Roger, Leslie, and Celine for sharing their experiences.