Wharton School of Business

LEAD owes its existence and character to the Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania. It was there that Wharton faculty and executives at McNeil Pharmaceutical launched LEAD in 1980. Their commitment grew out of recognition that high achieving students from underserved communities were discouraged from pursuing careers in business.

The LEAD program now has over 7,500 alumni, many of which have gone on to successful careers in the field of business. Sixty percent of LEAD’s alumni are currently pursuing careers in business, and 50% of alumni between the ages of 25 – 35 have received an M.B.A. or are currently enrolled in an M.B.A. program. Approximately 360 LEAD alumni from 10 LEAD affiliate programs matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania in the first 19 years (1980-1999), with nearly 200 at the Wharton School of Business. Of the 155 students who participated in LEAD at the University of Pennsylvania over the last five years, approximately 35% have matriculated into the university.

The four-week LEAD Program at the Wharton School of Business includes a demanding schedule of faculty and corporate executive classroom presentations, corporate site visits, team projects, and an entrepreneurship program. Throughout the program, participants visit major corporations in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York City, establishing lasting relationships essential to a successful business career. Over the past five years, corporate site visits and on campus presentations were facilitated by the following companies: Alcoa, American Express, Black Entertainment Television, Centocor, Credit Suisse, Exxon Mobil, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman, Sachs & Co., KPMG, McNeil Consumer and Specialty Pharmaceuticals, Sean John, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rohm and Haas Company, The World Bank, UBS and Young & Rubicam.

The 2009 LEAD Program at Wharton included a demanding schedule of faculty and executive classroom presentations, corporate site visits, challenging team projects, and an intensive five-day program designed to sharpen entrepreneurial interests. Student assignments throughout the program included an essay contest, industry-specific team case studies, team business plan presentations to a panel of venture capitalists, and a team stock competition. Corporate site visits, included business simulations or case competitions, and were hosted by McNeil Consumer and Specialty Pharmaceuticals, Centocor Ortho Biotec, Inc, FDIC, The World Bank, BET, Rohm and Haas Company, DRAFTFCB, Credit Suisse, UBS and Goldman, Sachs & Co. The LEADers also completed a community service project during their stay in Philadelphia.