This twice-weekly series of faculty interviews provides a showcase of Wharton's latest research and offers different viewpoints that can help business leaders make sense of the current economic crisis.

June 5, 2020

PHILADELPHIA: The global pandemic has reordered the rules of business in ways that will not be obvious until months or years from now. And while many business leaders know that a quick return to business as usual is not possible, they are searching for a way forward to re-calibrate and recover.

The Wharton School is responding to this need with the Wharton On Series, a powerful new offering that will give executives up-to-the minute insights on what’s happening in the economy with knowledge that business leaders can use during these challenging times. The Wharton On Series features a stellar roster of Wharton faculty engaged in thought-provoking conversations designed to help the viewing audience make more strategic business and investment decisions.

Wharton Executive Vice Dean Jagmohan S. Raju says the Wharton On Series came out of a desire to help and guide business leaders with information they can use right now. “Our mandate at Wharton is to provide knowledge that is not only comprehensive and relevant, but also has an immediate impact. I’m so proud of our faculty that they moved so quickly to develop and deliver this timely content under extremely challenging circumstances,” Raju says.

The Wharton On Series begins the week of June 15 with Wharton on the Markets and Wharton on Financial Management: Navigating the Current Crisis. Both programs will offer hour-long sessions twice a week for six weeks.

Wharton on the Markets, which will run Mondays and Wednesdays from June 15 to July 22, will be led by Finance Professors Joao Gomes, who is the chairperson of Wharton’s Finance Department, and Nikolai Roussanov. Meeting twice a week for six weeks, Gomes and Roussanov will be joined by other Wharton faculty, and this program will help participants understand what to pay attention to and plan for in today’s volatile market.

This live online series allows the audience to get insights from Wharton’s world-renowned finance experts, and to ask questions. Participants will learn about the ongoing evolution of different industries that have been most directly impacted by the current crisis, such as energy and real estate. Participants will come away better informed and develop a more confident approach to business decision making going forward.

“Wharton has one of the most famous groups of researchers in finance, macroeconomics, and macrofinance,” says Roussanov. “This is the time for us to share our knowledge with the broader public and with investors who seek an unbiased opinion and understanding of the macro economy from different viewpoints and theories, and to learn how we can position ourselves for the future.”

Wharton on Financial Management: Navigating the Current Crisis, which will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 16 to July 23, will address an immediate concern of business leaders everywhere — how to position their companies to survive the current situation.

Wharton Finance Professor Michael Roberts, an award-winning teacher and researcher, will lead a series of conversations with other Wharton professors, each of whom has spent a career studying and interpreting financial trends and data. This program will teach participants how to think about the challenges and opportunities businesses are facing and how to survive and thrive post-crisis.

“We cannot predict the future. What we can do is prepare for what could happen, which will enable us to react more quickly. The only way to do that is to assess the risks associated with a decision before making it,” says Roberts.

For more information about the Wharton On Series, please visit WhartonExecEdLive.com or email execed@wharton.upenn.edu.

About the Wharton School

Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With a faculty of more than 235 renowned professors, Wharton has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 100,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs, and thousands of pre-collegiate students explore business concepts through Wharton’s www.wharton.upenn.edu.

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