The Harris Family Alternative Investments Program’s corporate partnership delivers access to thought leadership, research, talented students, and a network of peers. In addition to the benefits of the larger Wharton Partnership, the Initiative provides the following benefits:

• Partner Meeting: Involvement with the Initiative begins with meeting our faculty leadership, who will spend time evaluating and discussing your organization’s current issues and challenges, and presenting the latest work of the Initiative. These meetings help both AII faculty and our partners incorporate the partner’s concerns and interests into our research activities and conferences.
• Conferences and Workshops: Partners gain complementary access to our industry conferences and events; we feature experts from a wide range of disciplines, companies, and industries to engage in thoughtful discussion of cutting-edge topics around alternative investments. These events may include periods of intensive small group discussion on critical business issues.
• Speaking Opportunities: From speaking at an industry conference, to interacting with students at a club event, to starring as a guest speaker in the classroom, the partnership provides a number of highly desirable chances to take the stage in front of a Wharton audience.
• AltInvest Talks: Easily-digestible summaries of our research and industry presentations will soon be accessible to partners through our new video series, AltInvest Talks. AltInvest Talks are a valuable tool to disseminate business knowledge throughout partner organizations. We will promote our corporate partners through the AltInvest Talks.
• Cross-Industry Networking: Our corporate partners can expand their collaboration with their peers through the Initiative. Our conferences serve as great starting points to meet peers working in with this asset class. The Harris Program has a goal to facilitate these partner interactions, to encourage companies to partner with one another.
• Partner Roundtables: Our invitation-only partner dinners take place the evening prior to our industry conferences. These dinners are reserved for top executives at each partner firm, who have the opportunity to bring their crucial questions surrounding innovation management to the table. Faculty moderate these roundtable events and provide insight on industry trends, challenges, and current research.
• Student Access through AltInvest Leaders Program: The AltInvest Leaders Program connects our three main stakeholders: faculty, students, and industry leaders. Corporate partners propose a current business challenge they’d like to address; the Initiative selects students to work on the project under faculty guidance. Partners indicate deliverables they wish to receive and meet with the student team to review project outcomes.
• Customized Access to Wharton/Penn: After identifying each partner’s unique areas of interest, the Initiative helps identify opportunities for engagement, both at Wharton and in the wider Penn community. We facilitate connections to scholars, corporate partners, students, and various schools and centers across the university, allowing partners to participate in research and explore topics of mutual interest.