Wharton School Notable Alumni | 19 Famous MBAs

Since its doors opened in 1881, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has had its share of notable MBA alumni. 

Considering that 22% of the world’s CEOs have an MBA degree, networking and therefore access to MBA alumni means the impressive network is one of the biggest benefits that a top MBA degree has to offer.

When it comes to networking, Wharton alumni are members of a prestigious club. The Wharton MBAs listed below demonstrate the diversity and caliber of professionals that the school produces.

Of the bonds you form during an MBA, those made with classmates are usually the strongest. For this reason, the greatest strength of a top MBA is the opportunity it offers to meet and work closely with talented people from various backgrounds, places, and careers.

Here are 19 impressive alumni from Wharton’s MBA program:

Check out our other lists of notable alums:

Notable Alumni From Harvard Business School

Stanford University Notable Alumni

The Wharton School has an enviable track record: Wharton notable alumni with MBAs have led, and sometimes completely revolutionized, some of the world’s most prominent corporations, including Pepsi, Google, and Phillips

Here are 19 impressive alumni from Wharton’s MBA program:

Wharton School Notable Alumni

1. Sundar Pichai

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MBA Class of 2002

CEO of Alphabet Inc.

Sundar Pichai joined Google management in 2004, beginning his long relationship with one of the world’s most influential companies. In 2015, he became CEO. 

Nowadays, Sundar is also CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.

2. Peter Lynch

MBA Class of 1968

Investor, mutual fund manager and philanthropist 

The American investor made his name as the manager of Fidelity investments’ Magellan Fund.  Worth $18 million when he took the reins in 1977, the fund had $14 billion under assets when he left in 1990. 

His books and papers on investing have helped cement his reputation as a legend on the markets.

3. Mortimer Zuckerman

Class of 1961

Co-founder of Boston Properties and media publisher 

Billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman has made his mark in both media and real estate. 

He is the co-founder of Boston Properties, one of the USA’s largest real estate investment trusts. 

As a media owner, publisher and editor, his properties have included the US News & World Report, New York Daily News, and The Atlantic.

4. John Sculley 

MBA Class of 1963

Tech investor and former CEO of Pepsi 

As a marketing powerhouse, John Sculley has piloted not one but two of the world’s leading companies on the international stage. 

He led Pepsi into battle against Coke during the ‘Cola Wars’ of the 1980s, and he was at the helm of Apple during its growth into a multi-billion-dollar entity, even having the unique experience of firing Steve Jobs. While Sculley was at Apple, Apple's sales increased tenfold from $800 million to $8 billion.

Today he is a prominent tech investor and is co-founder of Zeta Global. 

5. Ronald Perelman 

MBA Class of 1966

Banker, investor, and philanthropist

Forbes magazine has named Ronald Perelman “one of the greatest living business minds”. 

As whole owner of MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, whose main product was licorice extract, his holdings range from makeup to military gear, and he’s one of the world’s largest philanthropic donors.

He is worth 1.9 billion.

6. Fred Wilson 

MBA Class of 1987

Venture capitalist

Venture capitalist Fred Wilson is the co-founder of Union Square Ventures, which is heavily invested in prominent social media companies such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Kickstarter. 

He shares his thoughts on venture capitalism on his blog “AVC: musings of a VC in NYC”.

7. Alfred C. Liggins III 

MBA Class of 1995 

Owner of Radio One

Under Alfred Liggins’ leadership as CEO, Radio One became the largest African American-owned broadcasting company in the USA. 

Millions of listeners tune in to Radio One, across the broadcaster’s 70 stations.

8. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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MBA Class of 1983

Author

A statistician, analyst, and former trader, Nassim Taleb is an expert on unpredictability. 

He has published a five-book series on the subject, including The Black Swan, which The Sunday Times has named one of the 12 most influential books since World War I. 

9. Rakesh Gangwal

MBA Class of 1979

Owner of IndiGo

As chairman and CEO of US Airways for just three years, Rakesh Gangwal grew the company’s $800 million to $8 billion. 

Today he is co-founder and owner of the airline IndiGo.

10. Laura Lang 

MBA Class of 1980

Businesswoman and former CEO of Time Inc.

Having served as CEO of Time Inc. and global branding agency Digitas, Laura Lang was named one of Forbes’ 20 most powerful businesswomen worldwide in 2012. 

Today, she sits on the advisory board of the Tufts University Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, and on the board of directors for Benchmark Electronics and Nutrisystem.

11. Ruth Porat 

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MBA Class of 1987

CFO for Alphabet Inc.

As CFO and executive vice president of Morgan Stanley until May 2015, Ruth Porat was widely considered the most powerful woman on Wall Street. 

She served as CFO for Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary, Google, until 2023 when she became president and CIO. Through these impressive achievements she earned ninth place on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list in 2018.  

12. Gerard Kleisterlee 

MBA class of 1991

Chairman of Vodafone 

Dutch businessman Gerard Kleisterlee, who trained as an electronics engineer, is best known for his leadership of Phillips from 2001 to 2010.

His far-reaching reforms and optimizations succeeded where others had failed, rebooting Phillips as a hi-tech and fast-growing modern company. Today, he is chairman of Vodafone.

13. Robert Crandall 

MBA Class of 1960

Former chairman of American Airlines

Airline industry legend Robert Crandall was Chairman of American Airlines from 1985 to 1998. 

He is credited with the invention of the Frequent Flyer loyalty program.

14. Alfred R. Berkeley III

MBA Class of 1968

Former NASDAQ president

A prominent figure in the investment world, Alfred R. Berkeley was appointed vice-chair of the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc. in July 2000, serving through July 2003, and served as president of NASDAQ from 1996 until 2000. 

Before NASDAQ, Berkeley was a General Partner and then a managing director of the investment bank Alex. Brown & Sons.

15. Harold McGaw III

MBA Class of 1976

CEO of McGraw Hill (now S&P Global)

American businessman, Harold “Terry” McGaw III used his MBA to further his family business, previously McGraw Hill, now S&P Global.

He served as CEO from 1998-2013. 

16. Bill DeLaney

MBA Class of 1982

Former CEO of Sysco

After graduation Bill DeLaney worked his way up through the wholesale food distribution company Sysco and became its CEO in 2009.

While he stepped down in 2017, in his final year at the helm his compensation totaled $14.1 billion. 

17. Anil Ambani

MBA Class of 1983

Chairman of Reliance Group

Anil Ambani is an Indian businessman chairman and managing director of Reliance Group, one of the most valuable companies in India.

18. William Wrigley Jr. II

MBA Class of 1994

Former CEO of Wrigley Company

Heir and former CEO and Chairman of the bubble gum company Wrigley Company, William Wrigley Jr. II sold the family company to Mars Candy for $23 billion in 2008. 

He now serves as CEO for a medical marijuana company, and he has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion. 

19. Alex Gorsky

 MBA Class of 1996

Former CEO of Johnson & Johnson

Having recently stepped down as chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, in 2022, Gorsky is no on the board of Apple and JP Morgan Chase.