Hosted in Madrid on June 24th and 25th
Madrid: The Wharton Global Alumni Forum will bring together well-known business and institutional leaders to discuss the future of energy. The forum will be chaired by Stephen J. Kobrin, Wharton Professor of Multinational Management and speakers will include Carmen Becerril, President of Acciona Energía; Amparo Moraleda, COO of Iberdrola; Lady Barbara Judge, Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority; Miguel Ãngel Torres, President and CEO of Bodegas Torres; and Ôscar Fanjul, Vice President and CEO of Omega Capital.
Energy is a key topic in social and economic debate and speakers at the forum will address high-profile issues such as energy dependency, oil prices and environmental disasters, as exemplified by the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This is of particular interest in Spain at the moment as the debate is raging about whether to embrace renewable energy and the subsidies associated thereto or the advisability of betting on nuclear energy, with an imminent hike in electricity bills as the backdrop to this decision.
One of the main topics of discussion is likely to be nuclear energy, thanks to the presence of Lady Barbara Judge, Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and a firm supporter of the advantages delivered by nuclear energy and of the need to build more nuclear power plants because she believes that renewable energy is not an alternative due to its high costs and low reliability of supply. In fact, nuclear energy is an issue of great interest not only in Spain but also in other countries such as Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, where they have either already bet on this energy source or are seriously considering doing so in the near future.
In contrast, top executives from Spanish renewable energy companies, such as Carmen Becerril and Amparo Moraleda, will defend the importance of these energy sources in shaping our future, or the need to implement them in our daily lives through, for instance, transport choices. Another speaker, the distinguished winemaker Miguel Torres, from Bodegas Torres, will provide an example of sustainability applied to an agricultural sector, namely viticulture, and, in particular, the use of renewable and clean energy sources in such industries.
Wharton Global Alumni Forum in Madrid
Under the theme: “A whole new world: where do we go from here?” the Global Forum for alumni and friends set to be held in Madrid on June 24th and 25th, will also address issues ranging from finance to energy, telecommunications, innovation or tourism.
Besides, some of the most distinguished professors from the academic staff at Wharton School, experts on topics of great interest in today’s world, will impart Master Classes at the forum. For instance, Jeremy Siegel, one of the world’s leading financial experts; Mauro Guillén, a leading thinker on business globalization; Raffi Amit, an expert on entrepreneurship and Olivia Mitchell, one of the world’s authorities on risk management and pension/retirement research will be present at the forum.
Other leading figures who will be attending the forum include:
– Ana Patricia Botín, Executive Chairman – Banesto
– Antonio Vázquez, Chairman&CEO – Iberia
– Taleb Rifai, Secretary General -World Tourism Organization (OMT)
– Ãngel Cano, CEO – BBVA
– César Alierta, President -Telefónica
– Javier Monzón, Chairman- Indra
– Miguel Torres, President&CEO, Bodegas Torres
– María Garaña, President – Microsoft
– Amparo Moraleda, COO – Iberdrola División Internacional
– Lady Barbara Thomas Judge, Chairman – Autoridad Británica para la Energía Atómica
– John Mack, Chairman – Morgan Stanley
– Jean Claude Baumgarten, President&CEO -World Travel and Tourism Council
– Corrado Passera, Managing Director&CEO – Intesa Sanpaolo
– Luis Alberto Moreno, Chairman – Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
– Alberto Durán, Founder&CEO – Mundivox
– Oscar Fanjul, Vice Chairman&CEO – Omega Capital
– Saad Abdul Latif, CEO -Pepsico Asia, Middle East&Ãfrica
– Roberto Canessa, Survivor from aircrash in Los Andes-1972
– Ãngel Corcóstegui, Founder-Mágnum Industrial Partners
– Antonio Garrigues Walker, Chairman – Garrigues
– Carmen Becerril, President – Acciona Energía
– Felipe Oriol, Founder – Corpfin
– Isaac Devash, Managing Director – Israeli International Funds
– Antoine Drean- Founder, Triago
Wharton’s presence in Europe continues to grow through our fourteen alumni clubs across the continent. As a continued commitment to greater understanding in this region, Wharton publishes its thought leadership online newsletter, Knowledge@Wharton with its 1.4 million subscribers, in Spanish and Portuguese. Universia Knowledge@Wharton is a bi-weekly online resource that offers latest business insights, information and research from a variety of sources. Please visit http://www.wharton.universia.net
About the Wharton Global Alumni Forum
Since 1993, thirty nine Wharton School Global Alumni Forums have been held in thirty one of the world’s leading cities across five continents including Shanghai, Mumbai, London, Beijing, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Dubai and Paris. The forum in Madrid is one of two this year – the other held in Seoul in May. For a full listing of the speakers and topics of the Wharton Global Alumni Forum in Madrid, please visit: http://www.whartonmadrid10.com/Madrid10
About the Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania— founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school — is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The School has more than 4,700 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 12,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of 85,000 graduates.
