10 years in San Francisco

More than 300 alumni and friends of Wharton | San Francisco helped celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the West Coast campus on Oct. 29. Guests listened to Professor David Bell discuss “Why the New Internet Retail Works,” which was followed by a reception at Palomino Restaurant and hard-hat tours of the campus’ new facility at Hills Plaza. During the past decade, more than 700 Wharton alumni have successfully earned their degrees from the Wharton | San Francisco program, which continues to reaffirm its role as the center for campus life for the 9,000 Wharton alumni on the West Coast.

Deputy Dean of The Wharton School Michael R. Gibbons presents at the Wharton | San Francisco 10th anniversary party.

Community News

Construction continues at Hills Plaza

Guests at the 10th anniversary party on Oct. 29th were treated to hard hat tours of the new facility at Hills Plaza.

The architects and construction crew on the 6th floor at the 2 Harrison Building are continuing their hard work at Wharton | San Francisco’s new location, set to open Jan. 2. Furniture is arriving and classrooms are taking shape as the anticipation grows. Staff plan to relocate in just a few short weeks and the doors will officially open immediately following New Year's Day.

Professor Ulrich's modular course returns to San Francisco for its 4th year

For the fourth consecutive January, CIBC Professor of Entrepreneurship and eCommerce Karl Ulrich will teach his ground-breaking modular course, OPIM 654: Development of Web-based Products and Services, at Wharton | San Francisco. The intensive workshop format of the class creates not only a unique method of learning; it also presents an opportunity to bring together MBA Program for Executives students from both San Francisco and Philadelphia, as well as full-time MBA students and undergraduates. The course is scheduled on the academic calendar between MBA Exec weekends and during the university’s winter break so as to accommodate all students. Additional Global Modular Classes will also be taught in the same timeframe, sending students to India, the UAE, Rwanda, and Philadelphia.

CFOs share diverse views at CFO Roundtable 

Wharton Entrepreneurs Workshop back in full swing 

Since the recommencement of the Workshop after a summer hiatus, Wharton | San Francisco and the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati have jointly produced five new tutorials: “The Valuation Game: How to Make Points (or Not) in Negotiating to Reach a Fair Term Sheet,” featuring Carl Showalter, co-founder and general partner at Opus Capital; “Doing It: Insights from an Entrepreneur,” with speaker Jack Abraham, W’08, founder & CEO of Milo.com and director, eBay Marketplaces; “Stand For Something: Keys to Success in Building a Strong Brand Through Design,” with Smart Design’s Tom Dair, president and co-founder, and Anna Shaw, director of brand communication; “M&A: Key Tips and Perspectives in Buying and Selling a Venture-Backed Company," with Rob Ishii, partner, M&A group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Jim Timmins, managing director at Teknos Associates; and  "From the Trenches: Lessons from an Entrepreneur," featuring speaker Sam Allen, WG’06, Executive Chairman of ScanCafe. A sixth tutorial is planned for Dec. 16, titled "Breakaway Positioning – Connecting Marketing Strategy to the Point of Revenue" with speaker Chris Roon, Principal, Firebrick Consulting, Inc. Advance registration is required by Dec. 12. Click here to reserve your spot.  

Women's event features talk by Connie Duckworth

Wharton | San Francisco recently hosted a special women's event with Connie Duckworth for Wharton students, alumnae, prospective students and professional women. Connie, WG'79, founder of the non-profit ARZU, Inc., and retired partner and managing director of Goldman Sachs, shared her story about success in business, managing career goals in a man’s world, giving back to others and mentoring women around the world. "Hearing Connie's talk was thought-provoking and inspired me to think how I can be more engaged in giving back to the community at home and abroad," said event attendee Kristal Dehnad. "She is an amazing role model, especially for women."

Admissions adds early decision deadline

Admissions season is well under way and the team at Wharton | San Francisco is in full swing, traveling for recruiting purposes throughout the Western U.S. Prospective students for the Class of 2014 have been busy as well, attending information receptions and breakfast sessions, sitting in on classes and conducting their admissions interviews. New to the MBA Program for Executives in San Francisco this year is the addition of an early application deadline (Dec. 1), which will provide incoming students more time between receiving their decision (Jan. 16, 2012) and starting the program (May 20, 2012). For more information and to see where the team is headed next, visit our admissions site.

Campus News

Save the date for our open house On Feb. 9, 2012, we’ll host an open house at the new Wharton | San Francisco campus at Hills Plaza to showcase our new space. By then, the facility will have been fully functional for more than a month and we look forward to throwing open our doors to welcome the West Coast business community.

Class Updates

• Class 36. The students in Class 36 returned from their International Trip Seminar to Brazil at the beginning of October. The group split its time between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, conducting visits with companies that included Azul Airlines, Havaianas, HSBC Brazil and Embraer. With the trip behind them, the students are now looking to wrap up Term 5 and embark on Term 6 – followed soon thereafter by the class’ graduation in May 2012.
  
  *A special congratulations is due to Class 36 student Lan Luan, who was awarded a $10,000 scholarship earlier this year from the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco, which honors Bay Area women who show promise as future financial leaders. Lan was recognized for this accomplishment at a luncheon in October.
   
• Class 37. The student committees were formed and the votes were cast ... and BRAZIL emerged as the winner for the second year in a row. Class 37 students will head to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in September of 2012.

New Additions

Katherine Lilygren

Katherine Lilygren: Director of Admissions, Wharton | San Francisco Katherine joined the Wharton | San Francisco team earlier this year and in September was appointed as Director of Admissions for the San Francisco campus. With extensive experience in the Executive MBA community, Katherine most recently served as Executive Director of the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Program from 2009 to 2011. Prior to that, she worked as Director of Admissions of the UCLA Anderson Executive MBA Program in Los Angeles. She's held roles in admissions, student affairs, operations and academic planning. Before her career in higher education, Katherine was a finance executive and banker. She was the CFO and Treasurer of UniHealth, a diversified healthcare organization, and spent eight years in the corporate banking division of Bank of America and Security Pacific Bank in Los Angeles. Katherine has her BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, and she is an alumna of the EMBA Class of 1998 from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

From the Vice Dean

Wharton | San Francisco is on the move — literally. In mid-December, we are beginning the task of shutting down our occupancy of the Folger Coffee Building, our home for the last 10 years. For the more than 700 graduates of our MBA program in San Francisco, this will bring to conclusion the chapter on the first decade of our campus in San Francisco. It has been a remarkable chapter and one that all of us take great pride in — alumni, faculty and staff. Through our campus, we have expanded and reinforced the Wharton brand and renown for education excellence; we have succeeded in the creation of a strategic extension of the global mission of the Wharton School as the preeminent business school in the United States; and we have become the center of campus life for the 9,000 Wharton alumni on the West Coast. The Folger Coffee Building at 101 Howard St. in San Francisco has served us well.

Doug Collom, Vice Dean, Wharton | San Francisco