pecvclubSTUDENT News for Alumni: Spring 2023, Wharton PE/VC Student Club Update


Our PE & VC Alumni Association is committed to supporting student relations and the engagement of our future members and leaders. To that end, we'd like to share the student-led Wharton PE/VC Club newsletter created to keep the alumni community apprised of campus news. See what's happening and get involved where you can! In the back-to-school Fall issue, the students will announce their full leadership team.

For your convenience, download the PDF file.


 

WELCOME We are delighted to share this student update to the alumni (click here for prior newsletters)! Each newsletter will provide you with the latest news from Huntsman Hall and across the Wharton alumni community.

In this edition you will find:

  • Club Update
  • Recent Events


Stay connected to the Club via its website (whartonpevc.com) and Instagram (@WhartonPEVC)

Visit our shop for a wide selection of vests, jackets, hats and more! (whartonpevc.shop)

 

STUDENT CLUB UPDATE 
The PE/VC Club’s Spring 2023 semester is coming to an end! We are grateful for our 1,090+ members, who have made our club the largest professional club at Wharton. As we reflect on an amazing year, we also want to thank all our alumni who have given back to the Wharton community by participating in various events and providing invaluable advice and mentorship to our members as they embark on the next stage of their careers.

 

Current Co-Presidents Ashley Knight, Iynna Halilou and Dan Xiang are excited for the Club’s new Co-Presidents Faye Teng, Rainbow Yeung and Darrell Hanks to lead this incredible organization. In the Fall they will continue to build upon the community’s events and impact with a mission of supporting members expand career and education-related opportunities within private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC).


RECENT STUDENT EVENTS 

The last few months have been an exciting time for the Club. Below are just a few of the events that occurred!  

2023 WHARTON PE/VC CONFERENCE

On March 31st, the annual Wharton PE/VC Conference was held at the New York Athletic Club with the theme “Year of Transition: Evolving with a Transforming Market”. Keynote speakers included Dr. Henry Kressel (Senior Partner and Managing Director, Warburg Pincus), Yup S. Kim (Head of Investments for Private Equity, CalPERS) and Nikhil Bhat (Co-Head Investments, Vestar Capital). Attendees listened to panels focused across VC, Growth Equity, Real Assets, Private Credit, International Investing, Healthcare PE, Middle Market Buyout Funds and several other topics and strategies.  

WHARTON PE/VC CLUB’S 22ND ANNUAL MBA BUYOUT CASE COMPETITION

The 22nd Annual Wharton Buyout Case Competitionspring23-1 took place on March 22nd. We are delighted that 72 MBA students across 22 teams with 15 MBA programs participated in the competition. Students pitched to 13 judges across 10 top tier firms with Wharton students Edi Rumano, Wendy Ni and Adam Ferrari taking 1st prize. The 2nd and 3rd place winners were from Said Business School (Oxford University). This year’s competition was sponsored by Kirkland & Ellis and hosted at their office in New York City.  

DE&Ispring23-2

Our headline sponsor of the DE&I Fellowship, Great Hill Partners, hosted a communications training and panel discussion with investment professionals to help prepare the fellows for their summer internships and beyond.


PE & VC EDUCATION

The PE/VC Club continued its partnership with Kirkland & Ellis this spring with the return of the Private Equity Lunch & Learn Series. Over the course of seven in-person and virtual sessions in February and March, Partners from the law firm led interactive discussion on a variety of legal topics relevant to private equity. These session topics ranged from broad ("Best Practices for New VPs") to highly specific ("Reps and Warranty Insurance").

Wharton alumni, Jack Taylor (WG '17) and Principal at Touchdown Ventures led a “VC Career Path Growth: Path to Principal” session in which he provided Club members with an overview of the firm and career opportunities. He also shared his career journey and how he progressed from Senior Associate to Principal at Touchdown Ventures.

     

PE & VC EDUCATION (continued)

Kaushik Ravi, CEO of Elevate, led a VC Dealmaking session for Club members. Participants learned about VC recruiting, the day-to-day life of a VC investor and how to get early-stage deals done. Additional speakers included Olivier Babin (Former Investor, Softbank) and Shruti Gandhi (General Partner, Array VC).

spring23-3Katie Wu (Penn '09), Director, KKR Global Impact, joined 30 members of the Club for an intimate lunch where students learned about her journey as an investor focused on using capital as a force for good. Katie shared insights from her extensive direct investing experience at Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and HRS Management, and how she uses her financial toolkit to align profit with intentionality around measurable sustainability focused practices.

Dr. Meghan Sharp (Global Head, Decarbonization Partners) led a virtual fireside chat in which she shared her career journey as well as decarbonization-related investment opportunities. Given the large number of Club members interested in environmental sustainability roles, this was a well-attended session with 60 members present.


SPEAKER SERIES

In February, Alan Patricof (Founder of Apax Partners and Greycroft) participated in a fireside chat in which he shared his experience pioneering venture capital on the east coast and his insights about the current state of the technology market. He also spoke about his new book "No Red Lights: Reflections on Life, 50 Years in Venture Capital, and Never Driving Alone".


TREKSspring23-4

During February, a group of 10+ Wharton students travelled to London to engage with and visit several leading firms in the region including Advent, Accel, Warburg Pincus, and Carlyle. It was a fantastic learning experience with students gaining several insights from industry leaders and Wharton alumni working in investing across Europe. In addition to firm visits, students also had an opportunity to bond with Wharton alumni at happy hour. This is the first time since the pandemic that this trip has been organized, with many more to follow hopefully!

SOCIAL

The PE/VC Club collaborated with the Wharton Social Impact Club and the Sustainable Business Coalition to host our inaugural Club mixer! First and second year students got together at Other Half Brewing, a local Philly brewery, for an afternoon of debriefing Planet Week at Wharton over drinks and snacks.

This semester the PE/VC Club organized a team of students to participate in the annual Rebuilding Together Philadelphia Block Build. Every spring Wharton’s Rebuilding Together Philadelphia club organizes a two-day event during which students from across the University of Pennsylvania provide repairs to up to ten homes in West Philadelphia.
 

Interested in being featured in the Club’s regional treks where students have the opportunity to visit your offices and speak to investment professionals? Interested in sponsoring Wharton’s PE/VC Club? Please reach out our new Co-Presidents Faye TengRainbow Yeung and Darrell Hanks. Interested in hiring Wharton students for an internship or full-time position? Please reach out to Courtney Johnson for access to the PE/VC Resume book.