Leading an AI-Powered Future, Featuring Reid Hoffman

Sessions

Session 1: Superagency with Guest Lecturer Reid Hoffman and Professor Nicolaj Siggelkow
Monday, January 27, 2025, 10 a.m. EST
The program begins with guest lecturer, internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author Reid Hoffman. In this session facilitated by Wharton Professor Nicolaj Siggelkow, Reid Hoffman expands upon the core themes in his latest book, Superagency, and shares his unique perspective on the GenAI landscape. Learners will have a unique opportunity to engage directly with Reid Hoffman and challenge their own perspectives on artificial intelligence.

Session 2: The Promise and Pitfalls of AI in Business with Professor Ethan Mollick
Tuesday, January 28, 10 a.m. EST
This session features New York Times best-selling author and Wharton faculty member Ethan Mollick. Mollick will share his expert insights on generative AI, along with both the art and science of prompting large language models in this workshop.

Session 3: Human Flourishing vs. Human Replacement with Academic Director Stefano Puntoni
Tuesday, February 4, 10 a.m. EST
One of the most important challenges faced by organizations today is effectively integrating AI in their decision-making processes and workflows. This session explores ideas on how to do that and make the most of human and artificial intelligence. The session introduces a new framework for intelligence and highlights ways we can leverage the relative strengths of humans and machines to maximize the collective intelligence of organizations. The overarching goal of the session is to help switch the discourse around generative AI within organizations from human replacement to human flourishing.

Session 4: Connected Strategy through GenAI with Professors Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch
Tuesday, February 11, 10 a.m. EST
In this session, we describe our research probing into GenAI’s abilities in problem solving, innovation, and advice. Many firms are currently considering how to harness these capabilities. To address this question more systematically, we apply our Connected Strategy framework, which helps firms reshape the way they engage with their customers. Rather than relying on infrequent, episodic interactions, firms are aiming to establish close, continuous relationships, offering services and products as customer needs arise. To implement such a connected strategy, firms must improve their ability to recognize customer needs, translate that information into requests for solutions, and respond effectively. At the same time, this enhanced customer experience must be delivered in a cost-efficient manner. Given GenAI’s potential, firms will need to understand how to leverage it in creating future Connected Strategies.

Session 5: The AI Stack Explained with Professor Lynn Wu
Tuesday, February 18, 10 a.m. EST
Unlocking the full potential of generative AI requires a deep understanding of the entire AI stack — from the cutting-edge chips that fuel computation to the transformative applications reshaping industries. In this session, we’ll explore how each layer of the AI stack is interdependent, revealing how the economics of chips can limit cloud scalability, which in turn impacts the development of powerful foundation models driving GenAI applications. You'll gain a comprehensive view of the AI stack, diving into the chips, cloud infrastructure, foundation models, and latest trends shaping the GenAI landscape. Most critically, we'll equip you with actionable strategies to navigate and lead in the fast-evolving competitive landscape of AI, ensuring your firm stays ahead in the race to harness AI’s transformative power.

Session 6: GenAI and the Future of Work with Academic Director Stefano Puntoni
Tuesday, February 25, 10 a.m. EST
In this final session, we will take stock of what we have learned and consider GenAI’s impact on the future of work. We will discuss how AI affects productivity, opportunities for workers in different industries, performance of different workers in the same industry, and skill development/maintenance. To lead in an AI-powered future, business leaders need to go beyond the “easier/faster/cheaper” mindset that dominates most organizations’ GenAI strategy. Instead of focusing on current tasks, they must think more ambitiously about how GenAI can be used to complete new tasks.

Application and Enrollment Details

Application Process

All WAVE Classroom candidates are required to complete an application for admission consideration. A team of Wharton Executive Education admissions experts will review applications on a monthly basis or until all seats are filled. Applicants accepted after the program has reached capacity will be placed on a waitlist and notified of any new seat availability up until January 17, 2025.

Wharton Executive Education may request an interview with candidates at its discretion, though not all applicants will be interviewed as part of the selection process.

Candidates will be notified of their admission status on a rolling basis. We encourage all candidates to hold the program dates in their calendars until they receive a decision from Wharton regarding their application.

Group Enrollment

Wharton Executive Education recognizes that when leaders attend a strategic event or learning experience, it can often be challenging to fully retain and effectively communicate critical knowledge back to their teams. To support this knowledge transformation, Wharton is offering a Group Enrollment benefit for the Observer Participant track – a 25 percent tuition discount for groups of four or more. To take advantage of this offer, approved participants should email Wharton at execed@wharton.upenn.edu for further details.

Note: WAVE Classroom Participants receive one complimentary Observer Participant seat.

Alumni Benefits

A 25 percent tuition discount is available to Wharton and University of Pennsylvania alumni whose applications are admitted to the WAVE Classroom track.

Note: This program is not eligible for the Seven Year Promise. Alumni benefits are not available for the Observer Participant track.

Who Should Attend

WAVE Classroom Participant Profile

The ideal participants for the WAVE Classroom cohort of 96 business leaders are individuals who meet the following criteria and complete the application thoughtfully.

• Holds a C-suite title or a senior leadership role with responsibility for setting strategy and decision making
• Directly involved in leading or advising AI transformation initiatives within their organization
• Represents a company or nonprofit with $50M+ annual revenue and/or 100+ employees
• Leads business initiatives or has held leadership roles across different countries or regions
• Demonstrates a proven track record of driving significant innovation, growth, or transformative change

If you are a startup founder or executive who does not meet the listed criteria but brings valuable credentials or experiences that would enrich the discussion and enhance the quality of the WAVE Classroom cohort, we encourage you to apply. Wharton Executive Education is committed to ensuring diversity of thought, background, and industry perspective to foster a dynamic and inclusive learning environment.

Faculty

Stefano Puntoni, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Academic Director

Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing; Professor of Marketing; Co-Director, Wharton Human-Centered Technology Initiative, The Wharton School

Research Interests: New technologies in marketing, technology adoption, brand management, consumer decision making

Reid HoffmanSee Faculty Bio

Co-founder, LinkedIn

Ethan Mollick, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar; Associate Professor of Management; Academic Director, Wharton Interactive, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Innovation, entrepreneurship, crowdfunding, games, AI

Nicolaj Siggelkow, PhDSee Faculty Bio

David M. Knott Professor; Professor of Management; Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Competitive strategy, firms as systems of interconnected choices

Christian Terwiesch, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Andrew M. Heller Professor; Department Chairperson and Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions; Co-Director, Mack Institute of Innovation Management, The Wharton School; Professor of Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Research Interests: Analyzing operational performance, innovation management, R&D management

Lynn Wu, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Big data analytics, artificial intelligence, enterprise social media, innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity