Philadelphia, PA –The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania will convene its 46th Wharton Global Forum today and tomorrow in Beijing, on the theme of “Growth Through Innovation.” At the Global Forum, University of Pennsylvania Provost Vincent Price, top Wharton Faculty, hundreds of Chinese business leaders and Wharton alumni from China and around the globe will examine how to encourage innovation across their organizations and industries, helping sustain global economic momentum.
The Wharton School holds the Global Forums each year to facilitate discussion on topics of interest to business leaders and to engage alumni through Lifelong Learning and meaningful networking. This year’s Forum, the second in five years in Beijing, demonstrates Wharton’s commitment to China.
“We are delighted to gather with top business leaders and Wharton alumni in Beijing and explore some of the most vital issues facing business,” said University of Pennsylvania Provost Vincent Price. “At the Beijing Forum, Wharton and Penn faculty will share their expertise to help leaders in China and across the globe create new wealth and economic opportunities for all people.”
“The forums represent Wharton’s unwavering commitment to global presence and international relationship-building,” said Robert Zou, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arrail Dental. “For several decades, China has experienced unprecedented economic expansion. At this inflection point in China’s development, we are excited to come together and discuss with Wharton’s leading faculty and high-level speakers how to sustain healthy economic development in China and other key markets through innovation.”
“By bringing the Wharton classroom to Beijing, Wharton’s alumni, friends, and the global business community will engage with Wharton faculty members on emerging trends and better business practices, critical for China and other global markets seeking to boost their upward trajectories in the coming years,” said Feng Deng, Founder and General Partner, Northern Light Venture Capital.
“The Forum’s agenda reflects the School’s deep focus on intellectual enrichment and the continuous, global sharing of knowledge that will improve organizations and advance society as a whole, including in China,” said Phillip Y. Wu, Founder & Chairman, Applied Strategy Group.
Topics for discussion at the Beijing Global Forum include:
• Technological Change and the Threats and Opportunities in Higher Education
• Innovations in Banking
• The Tao of China: How China’s Top Business Leaders are Revolutionizing Management
• Opportunities and Challenges of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China
Speakers include Zhang Ruimin, CEO, Haier Group;; Michael Yu, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, New Oriental Education and Technology Group; and David Wei, Chairman and Founding Partner, Vision Knight Capital.
Wharton faculty speakers include Lawton R. Burns, Professor of Health Care Management; Peter Cappelli, George W. Taylor Professor of Management and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources; Mauro Guillén, Director, Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies; Michael Useem, William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management, Editor of Wharton’s Leadership Digest, and Director of Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management; and Z. John Zhang, Murrel J. Ades Professor and Director of the Penn Wharton China Center.
The Global Forums are hosted in international centers of economic and political importance. Through the forums, Wharton provides an opportunity to learn from and interact with the best minds in industry. Since their founding in 1993, Wharton’s Global Forums have been held 18 times in Asia; 15 times in Europe, Africa and the Middle East; 11 times in Latin America; and once in North America.
About The Wharton School
Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and a powerful alumni network of 92,000 graduates.
For more information, please visit www.whartonbeijing14.com or contact
Malini Doddamani
Senior Director, Wharton Communications
+1-215-746-6334
malinid@wharton.upenn.edu