Two chief executive officers returned to their alma mater to discuss their companies' future -- in front of a television audience wearing the Red and Blue.
The 2006 inaugural episode of CEO Exchange, a show that last aired on PBS member stations three years ago, was taped yesterday at the Annenberg Center's Zellerbach Theatre.
Host Jeff Greenfield interviewed Comcast Corporation CEO Brian Roberts and McGraw-Hill Companies CEO Harold McGraw individually before both Wharton MBA alumni took the stage to answer questions posed by members of the largely Penn-affiliated audience.
Sitting among camera-ready set pieces and armchairs, Roberts -- a "cable guy" for the 21st century, according to Greenfield -- said that he "followed dad to work" beginning with his first job at the age of 16. Since succeeding his father as Comcast chairman, Roberts has led the telecom industry into a new era that he calls "the personalization of television."
"We're an experience," said Roberts, referring to his company's On Demand services and the 220 million annual telephone calls supported by Comcast. According to Roberts, Comcast has received over one billion orders for its On Demand programming -- which allows viewers to pause and fast-forward shows -- since January.
In answering a question from Wharton freshman Amanda Tedesco, Roberts emphasized that parental "support and encouragement" were essential to his success.
Greenfield discussed with McGraw his responsibility as head of a major publishing company in weighing the demands of competing interests, particularly in the school-textbook arena. McGraw said his company strives to deliver "balance and facts" in its educational resources to allow people to make their own decisions when developing their opinions.
McGraw said that, although he is part of a "fabulous family," his work represents a decidedly personal commitment to business integrity.
The two companies -- one public, one private -- are connected, Roberts said, in that Comcast is "an enabler for [McGraw's] content to reach" national video, data and voice customers.
Audience members such as first-year Wharton MBA student Kenny Lam appreciated the program's insightful look at how both CEOs decided to "go into the family business after graduation."
Attendee Daniel Veloric, a Comcast subscriber who served as CEO of Geriatric & Medical Companies Inc. years after attending entrepreneurial sessions at Wharton, said the televised program will enable viewers to "know the corporate culture vicariously."
