Penn-ICBC Program Executive Exchange Program

Penn-ICBC Executive Exchange Program
China's largest commercial bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), sent its top executives to Penn this autumn for an intensive one-year program that will provide them with the tools to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. The Penn-ICBC program is organized and managed by the GSE International, with great help from The Wharton School.

With increased globalization, privatization, and China's entry into the WTO, Chinese financial institutions face a host of new and challenging issues involving international banking practices, capital planning, marketing strategies, corporate finance, international accounting standards and customer relations. For the second year in a row, Penn is doing its part to assist the biggest Chinese commercial bank with the transition to the market economy. The Penn-ICBC program prepares participants for increased responsibilities, stimulates their interest in new management ideas and techniques, and enables them to forge relationships with their US counterparts.

The second year of the program (ICBC II) commenced with the arrival of ICBC President Jianqing Jiang at Penn in October 2003. He attended a luncheon hosted jointly by the Graduate School of Education and Wharton Business School.

During their first semester at Penn, the gentlemen participated in Business English, American Culture and IT classes in preparation for their second semester at Wharton. Each of the bankers is auditing between three and five courses currently. They are delighted to have been given the opportunity to learn from the excellent faculty at Wharton. The third phase of the program began in the summer of 2004, with participants each taking up an internship in a major bank either in Philadelphia or New York.

The program began after a conversation between PennGSE International Director and Vice Dean, Cheng Davis, and President Jiang in early 2002 in China. The President then visited Penn in September 2002 to confirm the details of the program. Within two months of that visit, the first ICBC executives arrived at Penn.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact GSE's International Programs Office.