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Emile Feldman

Emilie Feldman, PhD

Michael L. Tarnopol Professor; Professor of Management, The Wharton School

Research Interests:Corporate governance, corporate strategy, diversification, divestitures, firm scope, spinoffs, mergers and acquisitions

About Emilie

Emilie R. Feldman is the Michael L. Tarnopol Professor and professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, where she studied Economics and French Literature, and she received her MBA and DBA in Strategy from the Harvard Business School. Her dissertation won the Wyss Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research at the Harvard Business School and was a finalist for the Wiley-Blackwell Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Academy of Management. She received the Emerging Scholar Award from the Strategic Management Society in 2017 and was named one of the 40 Best Business School Professors Under the Age of 40 by Poets & Quants in 2019.

Professor Feldman’s research focuses on corporate strategy and governance, with particular interests in the role that divestitures, spinoffs, and mergers and acquisitions play in corporate reconfiguration; the internal functioning of multi-business firms; and the impact that large shareholders have on strategic decision making and outcomes. Her research has been published in top academic journals, such as the Strategic Management Journal, Strategy Science, Organization Science, the Academy of Management Journal, and the Academy of Management Review. Her scholarship has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the Best Conference Paper Award from the Strategic Management Society and two Distinguished Paper Awards from the Academy of Management. Her work has been featured extensively in popular press outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, and Fortune.

Emilie teaches courses on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate strategy, and corporate governance in the undergraduate, MBA, law, PhD, and executive programs at Wharton and Penn. She received the Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017 and the Wharton Teaching Excellence Award every year since 2018. She has served as an external consultant, expert witness, and collaborator to numerous corporations and professional services companies, including Google; Intuit; McKinsey; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Her first book, Divestitures: Creating Value Through Strategy, Structure, and Implementation, was published by McGraw-Hill in 2022.

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Executive Education Programs Taught

Advanced Management Program

Wharton’s flagship leadership program is a transformational and immersive program for senior executives who are at the peak of their careers. This intellectually rigorous and highly experiential program will define you as a leader and strengthen your strategic prowess. Upon completion, you will be granted highly sought-after Wharton alumni status.

Boards That Lead: Corporate Governance That Builds Value

Based on the book Boards That Lead, this executive education program provides the latest thinking from some of the world’s most knowledgeable and dynamic boardroom leaders on how directors can make a leadership difference.

Corporate Governance: Essentials for a New Business Era

Acquire critical management tools and gain new insight into the duties and nuances of board service. Learn how to forge partnerships with company officers to strengthen financial return, conduct better enterprise risk management, and achieve governance diversity during these complex times.

Executive Development Program

Ascend to greater levels of management by honing your business acumen in multiple core competencies and advance your strategic decision-making capabilities to think faster, smarter, and more creatively. Intensive executive coaching from Wharton’s world-renowned faculty prepares you to lead your organization through the massive disruption happening in industries everywhere.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Our interdisciplinary faculty and industry speakers help you select, assess, and evaluate potential opportunities. Examine acquisition strategy, valuation techniques, tax issues, due diligence, and post-acquisition integration.

The CFO: Becoming a Strategic Partner

This program helps you refine your leadership style, communicate your financial knowledge to other leaders, and extend your influence across the organization. You will enhance your ability to impact your organization's strategy and value creation.

Wharton ESG Executive Certificate for Financial Professionals

Gain a powerful, actionable toolkit for investment professionals to implement, measure, model, and optimize ESG asset integration in your portfolios for sustained value generation. This advanced certificate is designed to quickly catapult financial leaders to the forefront of ongoing ESG investment decision making, empowering them to act as informed, prepared catalysts for change.

Wharton ESG Executive Certificate for Senior Leaders

Navigate mounting ESG complexities for senior business leaders. This certificate program provides a practical mix of insights for c-suite and board members to lead the way in ESG innovation and transformation. This advanced certificate is designed to quickly catapult corporate leaders to the forefront of ongoing ESG decision making, empowering them to act as informed, prepared catalysts for change.

Women on Boards: Building Exceptional Leaders

Explore how to navigate the politics and culture of the boardroom and discover how to make your voice heard in this program that will give you a strong foundation for serving in your first director role.