2026 Annual Alumni Conference

REGISTER FOR OUR CONFERENCE HERE

APPLY FOR OUR PITCH COMPETITION HERE

Lodging:
A Room Reservation Block is available at The Inn at Penn


Conference Theme: Bold Bets at Healthcare's Tipping Point

The Wharton Healthcare Alumni Association Annual Conference returns to The Inn at Penn and Huntsman Hall on October 29–30. This year's theme — Bold Bets at Healthcare's Tipping Point — reflects a defining moment of reckoning for the industry. U.S. healthcare spending has reached $5.3 trillion, now consuming 18% of GDP — a trajectory no one credibly defends as sustainable. At the same time, the healthcare consumer has fundamentally changed: more informed, more activated, and less willing to accept the friction and opacity that legacy systems were built around. An aging population is compressing the timeline, demanding that care delivery, population health, and access models evolve faster than the institutions designed to serve them. And AI is not waiting — it is already accelerating how we think about diagnostics, care delivery, population management, and drug development, while raising urgent and unresolved questions about ethics, bias, and responsible adoption. Political headwinds and intensifying government scrutiny are simultaneously redrawing the rules of engagement across payers, providers, and life sciences. 

This is not a moment to optimize incrementally or wait for clarity that may never come. The responsibility falls on us — as Wharton & Penn-trained healthcare leaders — to place deliberate, informed bets that shape what comes next, not scramble to catch up after AI, policy, and consumer expectations have already moved on. If you have a bold perspective on where healthcare must go, we want you in the room.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Thursday - Inn at Penn

3:00 - 3:10 PM

Conference kick-off, agenda preview

3:15 - 4:00 PM

Alumni Panel/Professional Development Session

4:00 - 5:30 PM

Pitch Competition

5:30 - 7:00 PM

Networking Reception at The Inn at Penn | Alumni Award Presentations

7:00 - 9:00 PM

Dinner at The Inn at Penn

Friday - Huntsman Hall

7:30 - 8:00 AM

Coffee & Breakfast

8:00 - 8:05 AM

Welcome & Opening Remarks

8:05 - 8:30 AM

Alumni Achievement Award Recipient Presentation

8:40 - 9:30 AM

Opening Fireside Chat: Industry Leaders on Conference Theme

9:30 - 9:45 AM

Break

9:45 - 10:45 AM

AM Panel Breakouts:
1. Care Delivery Transformation | AI-Enabled Care Solutions: From Clinical Workflow to Care Management 
2. Healthcare Financing and Coverage | Evolving Payment Models: Affordability and Benefit Design
3. Life Sciences, Medicine, and Therapeutics | Leading the AI Transformation from Pipeline to Patient

11:00 - 11:30 AM

Pitch Competition | Mini Pitch & Awards

11:30 AM - 12:10 PM

General Session: Evaluating and Deploying AI in US Health Systems

12:10 - 1:30 PM

Lunch & Networking | Industry Breakout Rooms

1:30 - 2:15 PM

General Session: Global Health and International Models

2:15 - 2:30 PM

Break

2:30 - 3:15 PM

PM Panel Breakouts:
1. Care Delivery Transformation | Population Health and Value-Based Care Transformation
2. Navigating Uncertainty | Policy, Ethics, and Trust in Healthcare 
3. Life Sciences, Medicine, and Therapeutics | Women's Health and Underfunded Therapeutic Areas

3:30 - 4:15 PM

Closing Fireside Chat: Evolving the Healthcare System: Rethinking Incentives, Innovation, & the Path to Better Outcomes

4:30 PM

Conference Wrap


Confirmed Speakers:

Opening Fireside Chat: Industry Leaders on Conference Theme

  • Craig E. Samitt, MD, MBA, WG'95, Founder and CEO of ITO Advisors, Former President & CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (BCBSMN) and Former President, Carelon
  • Jean-Bernard Simeon, Senior Vice President, ViiV Healthcare (part of GSK) 

A.M. Panel Breakouts:
#1 - Care Delivery Transformation  | AI-Enabled Care Solutions: From Clinical Workflow to Care Management

#2 - Healthcare Financing and Coverage | Evolving Payment Models: Affordability and Benefit Design

#3 - Life Sciences, Medicine, and Therapeutics | Leading the AI Transformation from Pipeline to Patient

  • Christina Liu, WG'13, Founder, Castellis Health and Health AI Board Advisor, BioLiterate (Moderator)
  • Nadine Besson, Founder & President, BioLiterate
  • Jin Ge, MD, MBA, WG'15, Director of Clinical AI, UCSF Gastroenterology
  • Thomas Osborne, WG'13, Founder & CEO, Switchback Therapeutics

General Session: Evaluating and Deploying AI in US Health Systems

Global Health and International Models:

  • Eric Cioe-Pena, MD, MPH, Founding Director of the Center for Global Health of Northwell Health and the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
  • Wharton Global Health Volunteers Spotlight

P.M. Panel Breakouts:
#1 - Care Delivery Transformation | Population Health and Value-Based Care Transformation

#2 - Navigating Uncertainty | Policy, Ethics, & Trust in Healthcare

  • Katie Ellias, WG'06, Venture Partner Zubi Capital, Board Director SAB Bio, Founder KE Advisory LLC (Moderator)
  • Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, Drs. William and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; Founder, Center for Bioethics and the Department of Medical Ethics (Est. 1994)

#3 -  Life Sciences, Medicine, and Therapeutics | Women's Health and Underfunded Therapeutic Areas

Closing Fireside Chat: Evolving the Healthcare System: Rethinking Incentives, Innovation, & the Path to Better Outcomes

  • Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, Professor, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine and Professor, Healthcare Management, Wharton School
  • Aaron Martin, WG'97, President, Insurance at Humana

 

Pitch Competition Judges:

Contact Information:

For more information, contact the 2026 WHCMAA Alumni Conference Co-Chairs:

Ryan Berger, WG’06: [email protected]
Hailey Ji, WG’24: [email protected]

Conference Planning Committee: Christina Liu, WG'13, John Winkelman, WG'80, Michael Puchon, C'09, Amanda Hopkins Tirrell, WG'86, Katherine Cheng, W'14, Michael Rovinsky, WG'86, Cristina Gutierrez, WG'05, Harris Contos, WG'80, Bryan Bushick, MD, WG'89, Kathryn Tong, WG'07, Katie Ellias, WG'06, Pete Hanna, WEMBA 44, WG'20, Ron Kero, WG'86


With special thanks to our sponsors:

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