PHILADELPHIA, July 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Wharton School welcomed participants in the 50th class of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) to its Philadelphia campus from June 4 to July 7, 2006. Wharton Executive Education launched the program for executives in, or preparing for, the top leadership positions in their organizations.
Wharton created the pioneering design for its flagship executive education program based on multiple perspectives and teaching approaches. "The AMP's greatest strength comes from being so multifaceted," said academic director Thomas Gerrity, the former dean of Wharton. "We combine business and functional skills such as marketing, finance, strategy, and operations with a wide variety of perspectives on the business organization, including systems thinking and insights from arts and sciences. There is a focus on leadership development, setting personal goals, and teamwork. This combination works very powerfully -- and sets us apart from other programs."
In addition to sessions with top Wharton faculty, visiting speakers in this session of AMP include Art Collins, chairman and CEO of Medtronic; Jim Citrin, one of the world's leading executive search consultants at SpencerStuart, and author of three best-selling books on leadership; Eric Pillmore, senior vice president of Tyco International; and Jeremy Rifkin, author of 17 books on the impact of scientific and technological changes, including The Hydrogen Economy and The Biotech Century, which are the focus of his AMP sessions.
At five weeks, the Wharton AMP is more concentrated than some similar programs. "The five weeks is the sweet spot for a lot of people," Gerrity said. "It is just short enough to manage time away from office, yet enough time together as a group to build very deep relationships and cover a great deal of subject matter."
There are now close to 2,000 Wharton AMP alumni, including participants from companies such as AT&T, Bayer, Boeing, BUPA, BBC, Fluor Corp., Fujitsu, Heineken, Hewlett-Packard, Mitsui, Parsons Corp., Philips, Renault, Saudi Aramco, UBS, Unilever, and United Parcel Service.
Participants are internationally diverse. The 50th class, for example, includes representatives of 22 countries, with 9.6% from Latin America, 13.4% from the United States, 17.6% from Europe and 35.6% from Asia. Participants also come from a wide range of industries, including financial services, energy, manufacturing, petroleum and mining, engineering and construction, government, communications and media.
Wharton continues to refine the program design and content with each session. "Wharton's AMP represented a pioneering design when it was launched 18 years ago, and we intend to keep it out front," said Rita McGlone, AMP program director. "We continue to work with faculty, AMP alumni, and current participants to sharpen its impact and ensure that it remains relevant to the current challenges facing top leaders in a rapidly changing world."
About Wharton Executive Education
Each year, Wharton Executive Education works with more than 8,000 business leaders on its campus in Philadelphia, at Wharton West in San Francisco, and at sites around the world. The Wharton Learning Continuum is Wharton Executive Education's model for delivering Impact Through Education(tm) -- supporting companies and individuals in a 9- to 12-month learning process that is designed collaboratively with clients, delivered by Wharton faculty, and monitored to produce specific outcomes.
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 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 8,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 81,000 graduates.
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