February 18, 2026

PHILADELPHIA, February 18, 2026 – Wharton Executive Education today announced the launch of The Resilient Leader, a new four-day program designed for mid- to senior-level leaders who are responsible for guiding teams and organizations through sustained uncertainty, complexity, and change.

Today’s leaders are not encountering disruption as a temporary event; they are operating within it. Geopolitical instability, rapid technological change, and workforce pressures have made ambiguity and constraint part of everyday leadership. The Resilient Leader reframes resilience not as a fixed personality trait, but as a strategic capability that can be intentionally developed and embedded across individuals, teams, and systems.

“Uncertainty is no longer episodic. It is structural,” said Samir Nurmohamed, professor of management at the Wharton School and academic director of the program. “When leaders treat resilience as a personality trait rather than a capability, they leave performance to chance. Organizations need leaders who can anticipate strain, absorb setbacks, and keep people aligned when conditions are unstable.”

The Resilient Leader blends rigorous research with experiential learning, diagnostic assessments, simulations, and peer exchange. Participants actively test how they respond to uncertainty, trade-offs, and setbacks, and translate those insights into a personalized Resilience Action Plan they can apply immediately in their roles.

The program faculty includes distinguished Wharton professors Samir Nurmohamed, Amy Wrzesniewski, Henning Piezunka, and Quinn Bauriedel, as well as Wharton Deputy Dean Nancy Rothbard, whose research spans leadership, organizational behavior, meaning at work, and team dynamics.

In addition to faculty-led sessions, the program features a conversation with Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, and a mural tour that connects leadership concepts to community-based impact. A fireside chat with psychologist and best-selling author Angela Duckworth explores the role of grit in sustained performance and how perseverance complements recovery and adaptability in resilient leadership.

Over four days on Wharton’s Philadelphia campus, participants develop both a Resilience Action Plan and a resilient-leadership narrative, translating research and reflection into clear leadership commitments they can take back to their organizations.

Enrollment for the program’s inaugural running, June 8–11, 2026, is now open.

About Wharton Executive Education

Wharton Executive Education has served as the global leader in executive development for 35 years. Steeped in the heritage and analytical insights of the Wharton School, with an eye toward shaping the future of business, Wharton Executive Education’s individual, online, and custom programs prepare more than 100,000 professionals a year to transform their careers and organizations. For more information on Wharton Executive Education’s practical business solutions, visit executiveeducation.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 Global Youth Program. More than 105,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. For more information, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

Media Contact

Sarah SchwabDirector of Communications Aresty Institute of Executive Education
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania execed-pr@wharton.upenn.edu