Executive Education Program at the Wharton School Prepares Top Business Leaders for Today’s Global Challenges

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New Global Strategic Leadership Program at The Aresty Institute for Executive Education at the Wharton School Brings Together Some of Its Top Management Faculty with Distinguished Experts

PHILADELPHIA — Throughout history, bold visionaries have led teams into uncharted territory, achieving groundbreaking results. Today, the need for that kind of visionary leadership is greater than ever.

To help top business leaders successfully navigate through this uncharted territory, the Aresty Institute for Executive Education at the Wharton School is bringing together some of its top management faculty with distinguished experts such as Ram Charan in a new executive education program, Global Strategic Leadership.

“Your organization’s best opportunities may lie in different parts of the world,” notes Wharton Management professor Harbir Singh. “Global interconnectedness has created a complex and rapidly changing environment—one you can’t avoid. Decision makers must be able to lead in this environment, positioning their firms to assess advantages and challenges that might develop in multiple geographies.”

Singh, who serves as the program’s Academic Director, continues, “Today’s senior executives must lead across boundaries, make complex decisions with ambiguous data, and understand the economic forces that are shaping the global market. Even leaders in single markets experience international influences on their operations—and the future promises even greater complexity, volatility, and sources of influence. To lead effectively, now and five or ten years from now, you need a new perspective and new tools.”

Among the experts leading the program is acclaimed business advisor Ram Charan. Charan has worked with top executives from some of the world’s most successful companies, including GE, KLM, and Verizon. He is the author of the best-selling Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done and over a dozen other books, and has been recognized by Fortune magazine as the leading expert on corporate governance. Charan is perhaps best known for his insightful solutions to complex business problems revealed in his signature down-to-earth style.

Global Strategic Leadership will build visionary capacity, strategic thinking and persuasion skills, and a deep understanding of today’s global challenges. Mario Moussa, co-author of The Art of Woo, stresses that the conventional leadership role is challenged when working across geographies and cultures. “To build credibility—the perquisite for getting anything done—you need to know who you’re working with, what’s on their mind, and how to communicate in a way that resonates with them.” Moussa, who leads a session in the new program, notes that that kind of awareness is difficult to achieve when you’re in uncharted territory. “But it’s absolutely necessary. Authority alone in a global setting doesn’t get the job done.”

Global Strategic Leadership is designed for senior level executives with a proven leadership track record. The program will be held December 7-9, 2011 at the Steinberg Conference Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. For more information and an application, please visit: http://executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu/open-enrollment/senior-management-programs/global-strategic-leadership.cfm

Executive Education at 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. Executive education at Wharton brings together over 10,000 executives each year from all corners of the globe in a partnership of learning. The best and the brightest business minds today tackle real-world issues in a highly collaborative environment.

Informed by in-depth, groundbreaking academic research and extensive industry experience, Wharton programs can span anywhere from a few days to a year or more. Each executive education program offers a supportive and challenging context where participants gain the skills necessary for their next level of executive development. Participants who come to Wharton from a diverse range of industries engage with faculty who are the most cited, most published faculty of all top-tier business schools. With a profound influence upon global business, Wharton faculty are the sought-after, trusted advisors of corporations and governments worldwide.

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 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of 88,000 graduates