Knowledge at Wharton

As use of the Internet grows and changes so has the ability of users to search for specific content or stories photos and videos that relate to certain topics of interest. One of the companies trying to harness and expand the power of search is Cuil which is developing Cpedia -- an engine that promises less repetition an encyclopedia-style summary for each search and results that integrate related topics and input and recommendations from users’ social networks. Cuil vice president of business development and finance Seval Oz Ozveren talked with Knowledge at Wharton during the recent Future of Publishing conference in New York.

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The Great Recession has given a black eye to the tools of financial innovation. Collateralized debt obligations synthetic derivatives and other once-arcane investment vehicles are now the poster boys of what went wrong -- toxic players in the boom-and-doom scenario of the housing implosion and market rout. But these highly opaque and complex instruments are not representative of real financial innovation which stresses transparency and responsible management of risk argues Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen in his new book Financing the Future: Market-Based Innovations for Growth co-written with Glenn Yago executive director of financial research at the Milken Institute. Financial innovation properly used has been the engine of growth through the centuries Allen says and is especially needed now to get the world economy on track again.

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At the Wharton-sponsored Future of Publishing conference held on April 30 in New York one of the panels looked at the changing nature of content specifically the increasing popularity of user-generated content spilling forth from an ever-growing variety of sources. The panel included Katharine Zaleski executive producer and head of digital news products for The Washington Post and before that senior editor in charge of special projects at The Huffington Post. Following her participation in the panel discussion Zaleski spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about her role at The Washington Post the importance of packaging stories why news sites need to offer other people’s content and what the future holds for investigative journalists among other topics.

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Once dubbed the ”Celtic Tiger” for its transformation from an economic laggard to a growth powerhouse Ireland is now suffering from a stunning reversal of fortune. What once helped drive its economic surge -- a booming real estate market -- has now become the country’s bane. Wharton faculty and other experts weigh in on whether it’s fair to lump Ireland with Europe’s other sick economies such as Greece and what needs to happen for the country to regain its former glory as a magnet for international investment.

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The recession and pullback by American consumers have dealt serious blows to the retailing landscape. Yet while some big names have gone under Polo Ralph Lauren has emerged relatively unscathed from the wreckage according to company president and chief operating officer Roger Farah who recently spoke on campus during the University of Pennsylvania’s Fashion Week an event co-sponsored by Wharton. He attributes the company’s revival and continued growth -- which includes a major push into the Asia-Pacific region -- to a combination of ”left brain” discipline and ”right brain” creativity.

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In recent years GE has faced severe business challenges -- the company’s $200 billion market cap is half of what it used to be. Still an area of enormous strength is the way the company identifies and builds leaders. Much of the credit goes to GE’s corporate learning programs executed through a learning facility in Crotonville N.Y. As business becomes more global how is leadership development at GE changing? How does GE use technology to teach leadership? What impact will the influx of the Facebook generation have on the way leadership is taught? Susan Peters -- GE’s chief learning officer and vice president for executive development and a speaker at the upcoming Wharton Leadership Conference on June 16 -- discussed these questions and more with Knowledge at Wharton.

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In the run-up to this week’s announcement of the European Union’s $960 billion stabilization plan Wharton management professors Mauro Guillén and Saikat Chaudhuri and Jean Salmona founder and chairman of the editorial board of ParisTech Review participated in an interview with Knowledge at Wharton on likely outcomes from the financial crisis facing Greece some of its sister countries and the European Monetary Union more generally. How did events spin so out of control? How will the politics of the crisis affect the Eurozone’s economic performance? Guillén Chaudhuri and Salmona addressed these and other questions on May 7 just before the huge financial support package was announced.

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After losing $60 billion in the last decade -- and billions more recently when a cloud of volcanic ash grounded flights across Europe -- airlines are looking to consolidate as a way to return to profitability amid continued struggles with high fuel prices competition from low-cost carriers and a limited customer pool that shriveled even more during the recession. But experts are skeptical about the ”bigger is better” strategy. Many observers say the carriers have proved downright flighty at following through on making changes that improve operations and put the customer first.

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What if you could print a perfect-bound volume for as little time as it takes to brew a cup of coffee? That is the premise behind the Espresso book machine which turns digital PDF files into paperbacks in minutes. Jason Epstein and Dane Neller chairman and CEO respectively of On Demand Books in New York the company behind the Espresso book machine believe their technology has the potential to transform book publishing. Epstein who was editorial director of Random House for 40 years recently wrote a widely read essay in The New York Review of Books about the impact of digital technology on publishing. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton and Stephen J. Kobrin editor of Wharton School Publishing Epstein and Neller discuss their views on where the publishing business is headed.

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Goldman Sachs is the Wall Street mega-firm whose money-making prowess leaves many impressed envious or suspicious. Now the firm’s reputation is on the line as it fights a fraud suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a single deal in 2007 the sale of a complex ”synthetic collateralized debt obligation” called Abacus 2007-AC1. The deal lost investors $1 billion but produced $1 billion in profits for Goldman’s collaborator Paulson & Company a hedge fund betting the housing bubble would collapse. Experts at Wharton and elsewhere analyze the financial legal and ethical issues raised by a case that has riveted both Wall Street and Main Street.

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