2025 Wharton DC Innovation Summit:

Inventing a Better Future for the World

• To help you adjust and LEVERAGE the resources of this region and beyond. Keynotes & other sessions to help you make progress in your career, business and life.

  • We'll have these features again:

    • Opening, midday and closing keynotes (tentative schedule)

      • Opening Fireside Chat with a Unicorn Innovator CEO, David Blair, CEO, LucyRx, a healthcare leader after a $4.8 billion exit from his prior company; lessons learned. Plus Q&A

      • Keynote Panel: The Energy Transition: Challenges & Opporunities

      • Midday Keynote: Pitch Session

      • Closing keynote: Another top, perhaps even Unicorn CEO and entrepreneur, or thought leader on benefits and challenges of AI

    • The same tracks relevant to all innovators as we had last year:

      • Healthcare - top developments and trends

      • Funding, may include:

        • Is Your Company Investment-Ready?

        • What are the Best Options to Consider in Joining a Company and Potential Exit Strategies?

      • Disruptive technologies (including AI and quantum) - such as:

        • The Future of the Workplace and Workforce

        • The Future of Food and Agritech

        • Key Issues with AI

    • Closing Reception at Refraction, a curated hub of creativity, collaboration, and innovation that helps businesses build more dynamic teams and grow their company, on the 8th Floor of Valo Park North Tower

  • Celebration of the Summit on Friday evening at Embassy TBD - To Be Determine Reception (extra fee except for early Summit registrants; best rates for Members and Summit attendees)

• Click HERE to register at Special Rates (through February 11, 2025)! 

• And CLICK HERE soon to visit the Summit's special website

• Learn the latest about Summit schedule, soon.

• To view all speakers (more being added!), CLICK HERE.-  Soon!

About the 2025 Summit

• Join us at the forefront of innovation as the Wharton Club of DC proudly presents the 11th Annual Wharton DC Innovation Summit. With the support of our Sponsors and Strategic Partners, this landmark annual event is set to unfold at the state-of-the-art Valo Park Conference Center in Tysons Corner, VA, on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
• All are welcome. Whether you attended Wharton or Penn, or elsewhere, everyone who wants to leverage the power of innovation should join us! Our Strategic Partners – top Ivy and other alumni clubs and business groups – are supporting the Summit to help their members move forward.
• Our theme, Inventing a Better Future for the World, is based on the premise that “a rising tide raises all boats.” Amidst challenges like global economic upheaval, rising interest rates, and geopolitical strains, our summit stands as a beacon for collective advancement. 
  • ​​​​​​​Innovations, from our region and beyond, have the potential to do good - and help businesses and entrepreneurs do well - in our region, nation and world.

Click HERE to REGISTER NOW before rates rise

Key Elements of an Inventing a Better Future: To Maximize YOUR Results

• At the heart of the Washington D.C. area, the Wharton Innovation Summit is more than just a conference – it’s a dynamic ecosystem designed to empower participants to take command of their futures and make a broader impact both locally and globally.
• Our ecosystem provides critical elements for innovative organizations to attract, retain, and grow such as:
  • Engage with Key Leaders & Stakeholders from established businesses, startups, universities, research institutions, government agencies, investor groups, and community organizations.
  • Access Funding and support from sources such as venture capital, angel investors, and other public and private sources for startups and innovators.
  • Provide Critical Infrastructure and essential resources to accelerate your growth.
  • Government Policy Benefits that offer supportive government policies and incentives that stimulate innovation.
  • Expand Knowledge and Skills through educational initiatives with top universities and organizations to cultivate the skills needed for today's competitive market.
  • Cultivate Culture within a community that values authenticity and supportiveness, enhancing the diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility of innovation ecosystems.

• CLICK HERE SOON to visit the Summit's special website - showing our programs and speakers for the last several year, and learn the latest about Summit keynotes, other speakers and more news. This year we will have four general sessions/keynotes, and 3 tracks: Healthcare, Funding and Disruptive Innovation.
• Last's year's schedule to give you an idea for planning purposes:

•    The 2025 Wharton DC Innovation Summit will explore the impact of key shifts and challenges, including:

• How innovators and entrepreneurs are positioning to take advantage of them
• The actions entrepreneurs are taking to meet capital, HR, market, and other needs in the face of global economic headwinds and sustainability/energy issues
• How innovators are getting private and public funding
• What new attributes and tactics are required for successful innovation leadership and enterprise transformation to ride above the tidal wave of local and global challenges, instead of being swept under  
•  Click HERE to register.

Who should attend:

In brief, everyone whose career, business or life could benefit from an infusion of inspiration, innovation and connections, such as:

• Entrepreneurs in businesses from startups to emerging growth companies.
• Executives in larger businesses looking for new ideas and contacts.
• Everyone who feels their career needs to move forward.
• Leaders in the public and private sectors who want to enhance their organization and legacy.
• Each person, regardless of age, gender, or background, who wants to create a better future for themselves and others.
• You, if you can dedicate a day to learning from engaged thought leaders and achievers in vital aspects of the economy, business opportunities and more - and to connecting with them and other ambitious people
  • With the steadfast support of our Sponsors and Strategic Partners, the 2024 Wharton DC Innovation Summit promises to be a catalyst for transformation, delivering unparalleled opportunities for networking, learning, and growth.
  • Secure your place and be part of a movement that elevates every participant. We invite everyone who is eager to learn, network, and help shape the future to attend the upcoming Summit. Together, we rise.

Click HERE to register.

• Sponsors - returning for their fourth year as a Summit Sponsor - this time a
• Gold Sponsor - is FCEDA: 
•  
• 

Silver Sponsor

• Strategic Partners expected to again include a wide array of elite alumni and business groups. We already have these new Strategic Partners, plus one major returning one for their fourth year - FCEDA (and we would welcome discussing having your nonprofit as a Strategic Partner, too):
  • Oxford University Society of DC
  • Harvard Club
  • Yale Club

• Record of Success: The 2024 Innovation Summit builds upon nine successful past summits, each of which received rave reviews from speakers, attendees and sponsors. Prior Summits cumulatively had thousands of attendees representing 400+ companies (from startups to Fortune 500 companies) and other organizations and featured 400+ diverse speakers in over 200 sessions. Click HERE to view the URLs and themes for the past 9 Innovation Summits. 

• Typical reviews:

  • “The Summit is fantastic.  I’ve had a lot of great conversations with individuals here. There are many new perspectives, innovative ideas, and great opportunities to collaborate.  We’ve had numerous informal sessions with much dialogue.” – Ruth Ann Hudson, IBM
  • “What’s exciting about the Summit is that we have entrepreneurs and innovators coming together in the Nation’s Capital, finding ways entrepreneurs and innovators can help the big problems over the next decade.  I’m excited about being here because the talent gathered here can together be part of the solution for our Nation’s ills.”  – Aneesh Chopra, first White House Chief Technology Officer

Click HERE to register. Advance rates now in effect, through June 12 for in-person attendees.

The earlier you register, the lower your rate.

All rates are for FULL ACCESS pass the day or the Summit and include: Your choice of sessions, all meals, networking breaks, the Closing Reception on the evening of the Summit and for those who register by February 11 - the Embassy reception, too. PLUS, an unprecedented 90-day money back guarantee

• Members: Wharton Club & Strategic Partner Members: Special rates - Just 195/person for the whole Summit (must name Partner in "Special Instructions" when you register)
• Public: Just 395 person for all session in-person access, including reception
  • EVERYONE: Consider, please, if you will, making a contribution, to the Wharton Club of DC, to help support this Summit and other programs. You can choose a tax-deductible contribution of $100 to $2,500 and select which of several innovators you'd like on an Innovator certificate customized for you - and suitable for framing: Franklin, Edison, Curie, Carver, Lamarr (Hedy), Einstein, or Tesla. (NOTE: This is in addition to admission fee for amounts below 250/person)
  • Your choice! Like most alumni groups, we get no financial support from any university. Thank you.
  •  
  • ADDED EVENT OPTION: The Embassy reception celebrating the Innovation Summit at an Embassy to be determined a will be on Friday evening, November 7, 2025, in DC -- and iwill be available for an added fee. We will update this once the embassy is set.
    • REGISTER when you sign up for the Summit to get special rates:
    • President's Club and Lifetime Members are comped.
    • Fee for others.
      • Wharton DC Members and Summit Attendees: Early Bird through will be 60/person, then 75/person.
      • Public: 95/person Early Bird through June 14, then 125/person)