Jonathan Spector, vice dean of Wharton Executive Education, will leave Wharton to be the next president and CEO of The Conference Board.
The Conference Board is a New York-based research and business organization that produces the Consumer Confidence Index, the leading economic indicator for the U.S. and eight other countries, as well as other tools for measuring and analyzing economics.
To date, Wharton and the University have not announced this move.
In an interview last night, Spector said that the University has been supportive of his decision to seize an opportunity that he "couldn't say no to."
A search committee, yet to be appointed, will be charged with replacing Spector, who will, he said, give informal suggestions regarding qualified candidates.
When Spector officially assumes the position on April 16, he will replace Richard Cavanagh, who is retiring after 11 years as president.
Conference Board Trustee Douglas Conant, who is also the president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, chaired the Board's search committee that ultimately tapped Spector for the presidency.
Conant, like others on the committee, is confident that Spector is well-suited to fill the lofty role.
"Jon is bright, worldly, experienced and skilled at working with people," Conant said in a press statement released by The Conference Board yesterday.
Before his appointments of vice dean and director of Wharton Executive Education in August 2004, Spector worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company from 1980 to 2000. He launched Easy411, Inc., in 2003, serving as CEO and president for the company, which provides directory assistance to landline and mobile phone users.
"His work experiences as a CEO, a global consultant and as vice dean of the Wharton School have perfectly prepared him for this new role," Conant said.
