Welcome Note from the Co-Chairs

On behalf of The Wharton School and the Wharton MBA Finance Club, we are delighted to welcome you to the 9th Annual Wharton Finance Conference. In considering this year's theme, we recognize the need to address current financial turbulence yet hesitate to limit the scope of today's discussions to the credit crisis alone. Relying on the old addage, "in the light of the past, everything is illuminated", we aim to use the light of past events to reflect on current market conditions and analyze what form Wall Street will take in the future.

Although it has been a difficult year for everyone in the finance world, we feel honored to organize an educational conference at such an opportune time and wish to address the crisis by analyzing emerging opportunities. It is often said that investors are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but it is less recognized that industry players are becoming more sophisticated as well. We hope to shed some light on the changing role that CFOs play in corporate strategy, and how these clients are changing the way senior bankers manage their relationships. The world is watching the prices of oil and gold with renewed vigor, and we hope to learn how commodities desks are dealing with increasingly prominent roles.

We are pleased to offer a rich content of insightful keynote addresses, educational panels and intellectual debates. We hope to present a myriad of intellectual and practical challenges, appealing to participants with diverse backgrounds and interests. The Conference brings together an unprecedented range and caliber of participants, offering a unique opportunity for attendees to socialize, network and exchange ideas with peers from across the financial sector. We have expanded the scope our panel discussions to include commodities markets, alternative investment vehicles, and the changing role of internal corporate functions within various industries. We hope that this will be a rewarding occasion for all.

We are honored that distinguished speakers, panelists, moderators, faculty and staff have agreed to participate in the Conference and we thank them for their invaluable contribution. We would also like to thank the conference executive committee, directors, assistant directors and numerous volunteers for their unsurpassed dedication and hard work.

Finally, we would like to thank our Sponsors, without whom we would be unable to achieve our ambition of making this the finest Wharton Finance Conference to date.

Your Conference Co-Chairs,