Philadelphia, PA — The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has announced that Wharton MBA alumni, Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa (both WG’10), co-founders and co-CEOs of Warby Parker, will be the featured speakers at the School’s MBA graduation in Philadelphia. The May 17, 2015, ceremony will take place at the Palestra, 33rd and South Streets, Philadelphia, PA. In 2010, while students at Wharton, Messrs. Blumenthal and Gilboa co-founded Warby Parker, a designer eyewear brand with a social mission, along with fellow Wharton classmates Andy Hunt and Jeff Raider (both WG’10). Working with an established non-profit, Warby Parker has distributed more than one million pairs of glasses to people in need. This February, Warby Parker was also named the #1 Most Innovative Company for 2015 by Fast Company.
“Neil and Dave are exactly the kind of leaders that embody the spirit of Wharton – to do well and to do good – which was a fundamental part of Joseph Wharton’s vision for the School more than 135 years ago,” said Geoff Garrett, Dean of the Wharton School. “I am excited to have them share their thoughts with our MBA graduating class and to inspire the next generation of leaders who can do the same.”
Before the launch of Warby Parker, Mr. Blumenthal served as Director of VisionSpring, a non-profit social enterprise that trains low-income men and women to start their own businesses selling affordable eyeglasses to individuals living on less than $4 per day in developing countries. He has been named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum and one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. He serves on the board of RxArt and on the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council. Originally from New York City, Mr. Blumenthal received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University.
Prior to co-founding Warby Parker, Mr. Gilboa was an Associate at merchant bank Allen & Company and, earlier, worked at Bain & Company. He also served as Special Assistant to the Founder and CEO of the TriZetto Group, and has held strategy and business development roles at Genomic Health and Crescendo Bioscience. Mr. Gilboa has worked extensively with non-profit organizations, and serves as a founding member of the Entrepreneur Board of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to mobilizing graduates as entrepreneurs in low-cost cities. He is a member of the Aspen Institute’s 2014 Henry Crown Fellowship class and the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Born in Sweden and raised in San Diego, Mr. Gilboa graduated from UC Berkeley.
Previous Wharton MBA graduation speakers have included David Rubenstein, Andrea Mitchell (CW’67), Connie Duckworth (WG’79), Robert Kapito (W’79), Lakshmi N. Mittal (PAR’96) and Muhammad Yunus (HON’09).
Information about the Wharton School’s graduation ceremony is available at: http://graduation.wharton.upenn.edu/. Information about the University of Pennsylvania’s 259th commencement ceremony is available at www.upenn.edu/commencement.
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 participants in executive education programs annually and a powerful alumni network of 93,000 graduates.
