2026 Speakers

Patrick T. Harker is a distinguished scholar, academic leader, and public policy expert with a career spanning the highest levels of academia, government, and finance. He currently serves as the Rowan Distinguished Professor, Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and as Director of Academic Engagement for Penn Washington, where he helps connect the University’s thought leadership with national policy discussions in the nation’s capital.

From 2015 to 2025, Dr. Harker was the 11th President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where he played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. monetary policy as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee. During his tenure, he helped to guide the economy through significant challenges, including the post-Great Recession recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent inflationary pressures. He also spearheaded initiatives to advance economic mobility, workforce development, and financial inclusion across the Federal Reserve’s Third District and nationally.

Prior to his tenure at the Federal Reserve, Dr. Harker served for nearly a decade as President of the University of Delaware, where he led a successful campus-wide strategic transformation, significantly expanded interdisciplinary research, and forged new partnerships with industry and government. Earlier, as Dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he transformed one of the world’s top business schools by enhancing global engagement, launching innovative research centers, expanding executive education, and investing in technology to support cutting-edge teaching and learning. His leadership helped elevate Wharton’s reputation as a hub of applied knowledge, entrepreneurship, and global economic insight.

A recognized authority in management science, financial services, and economic policy, Dr. Harker has authored or co-authored more than 100 scholarly articles. His research has advanced the understanding of how financial institutions can use data and modeling to improve efficiency, manage risk, and serve customers more effectively.

Dr. Harker has also served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including those in the healthcare, energy, technology, and education sectors. His governance experience spans audit, risk, and strategy committees, reflecting his deep expertise in enterprise operations and financial oversight.

Early in his career, Dr. Harker served as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, gaining insight into the intersection of public policy, national security, and institutional leadership.

Dr. Harker holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Engineering and a Master of Arts in Economics, all from the University of Pennsylvania.

Vik Malhotra is McKinsey’s Former Chairman of the Americas. He has held key internal leadership roles over the years, including serving on McKinsey’s Shareholders Council (Board) for 12 years, serving as the Managing Partner of the Americas, leading our Senior Partner Committee, and leading parts of our banking and life insurance groups

Vik joined the firm in 1986 and has spent his career in the New York office. During his time at McKinsey, his consulting experience has covered a broad range of assignments on performance transformation, corporate strategy, business unit strategy, growth strategies, organizational effectiveness, and operational improvement. Much of Vik’s current focus is on counseling CEOs and boards on a range of issues.

He is a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest, and has recently co-authored the book, A CEO For All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership.

Vik is also active with major non-profits outside McKinsey. He currently serves as chair of the board at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a trustee of The New York City Partnership and a Trustee Emeriti of the Asia Society.

George R. Oliver is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Controls. Prior to becoming CEO on September 1, 2017, he served as president and chief operating officer with responsibility for the company’s operating businesses. He also led the integration of Johnson Controls and Tyco following their September 2016 merger.

George previously served as CEO of Tyco and as a member of its Board of Directors from September 2012 through the September 2016 merger with Johnson Controls. He joined Tyco in July 2006 as president of Tyco Safety Products and assumed additional responsibility as president of Tyco Electrical & Metal Products from 2007 through 2010. He was appointed president of Tyco Fire Protection in 2011.

Prior to Tyco, George had a more than 20-year career with General Electric (GE), where he served in operational roles of increasing responsibility in several divisions including as president and CEO of GE Water & Process Technologies and president and CEO of GE Engine Services, as well as previous leadership roles in GE’s Aircraft Engines and Appliances divisions.

George holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees.

As President of Marsh US and Canada, Michelle leads our business and operational leaders in driving Marsh’s strategy. She is a member of the Marsh Global Executive Committee and oversees Marsh’s US and Canada insurance brokerage and risk advisory businesses.

Prior to her appointment, Michelle was the Regional Specialty Leader for the US and Canada Division, where she was responsible for delivering specialisation to our clients in the Aviation & Space, Construction, Energy & Power, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions (PEMA), Transactional Risk, Credit Specialties, Marine, Cargo & Logistics, and Financial & Professional Lines (FINPRO) businesses. Prior to her Specialty appointment, Michelle also served as the FINPRO Practice Leader for the US and Canada Division.

Michelle has almost 27 years of insurance broking and risk consulting experience with Marsh in a variety of client-facing and leadership roles. Her leadership responsibilities include recruiting and leading teams, setting and executing evolving strategies, delivering financial results, leading diverse teams in multiple geographies, and delivering differentiated value to Marsh clients.

Michelle’s previous roles at Marsh include serving as the US Sales Leader. In this role, she led the business’ sales strategy and propelled the growth of the US business. Prior to this, she was the New York Metro Sales Leader. In this role, she successfully grew the region’s business by 100% and led the country in growth year-over-year for her final two years in the role. Her prior experiences include leading Marsh’s US Financial and Professional Private Equity team, and the Financial and Professional Tech/Media/Telecom Center of Excellence.

Across all of her roles, she has been responsible for streamlining and delivering best practices and overseeing the delivery of exceptional client service. Michelle currently resides in Marsh’s New York office, where she began her career. In 2000, Michelle worked in Marsh’s London office. She holds a BA in political science from the University of San Diego, California.

Pat Tomlinson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercer, a $5 billion global leader in redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being. He also serves as Vice Chair of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), Mercer’s parent and the leading global professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people.

Additionally, Pat is CEO of Marsh McLennan US and Canada, with responsibility for leading across businesses to address clients’ increasingly interconnected risk, strategy and people challenges.

Pat joined Mercer in 2014 as US and Canada Career business leader and, from 2018 to 2020, led the US East Market, where he guided Mercer’s Health, Wealth, and Career businesses to meet ever-changing client needs. Prior to joining Mercer, he spent 17 years with Aon and served as an officer in the US Army.

Pat is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a bachelor of science in sociology.

Peter Cappelli is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, MA, served as Senior Advisor to the Kingdom of Bahrain for Employment Policy from 2003-2005, was a Distinguished Scholar of the Ministry of Manpower for Singapore, and was Co-Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce from 1990-1998. He was recently named by HR Magazine as one of the top 5 most influential management thinkers, by NPR as one of the 50 influencers in the field of aging, and was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources.

He received the 2009 PRO award from the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruiters for contributions to human resources and an honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Liege in Belgium. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and writes a monthly column for HR Executive magazine. His recent work on performance management, agile systems, and hiring practices, and other workplace topics appears in the Harvard Business Review

Michael Useem is Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and McNulty Leadership Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His university teaching includes MBA and executive-MBA courses on management and leadership, and he offers programs on leadership and governance for managers in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He works on leadership development with many companies and organizations in the private, public and non-profit sectors.

He is the author of The Leader’s Checklist, The Leadership Moment, Executive Defense, Investor Capitalism, Leading Up, and The Go Point. He is also co-author and co-editor of Learning from Catastrophes; co-author of The India Way, Leadership Dispatches, Boards That Lead, and The Strategic Leader’s Roadmap; and co-author of Fortune Makers: The Leaders Creating China’s Great Global Companies (2017), Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy (2018), and Mastering Catastrophic Risk: How Companies Are Coping with Disruption (2018). Mike is co-anchor for a weekly program “Leadership in Action” on SiriusXM Radio Channel 132, Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School,