Wharton Aerospace 2027
Registration is now open for Wharton Aerospace 2027 and you are cordially invited to join our 22nd annual conference.
Wharton Aerospace is an association of senior executives and invited guests with shared commitments to the commercial aerospace, defense & space industries. We conduct by-invitation-only annual conferences on Wharton campus in Philadelphia to foster closer ties between the Wharton School, our Wharton Aerospace participants and the industrial base.
Our event commences with a Thursday 21 January 7:30pm-11pm open cocktail reception at The Hilton Inn at Penn followed by a Friday 22 January 8am-3pm conference at the same location. (Note: this is not the same location as 2026).
Our 2027 theme is “Mobilization" and our confirmed keynote speakers are Lockheed Martin President Missiles & Fire Control Tim Cahill and RTX President Air & Space Defense Systems Sam Deneke.
We are currently forming our two concurrent commercial aerospace & defense capstone panels. Confirmed panelists to date include Anduril President & CBO Matthew Steckman, Hanwha Defense USA President & CEO Michael Coulter, Palantir "Mobilize" author Madeline Hart, Lockheed Martin Corporate VP Corporate Strategy Christy Boardman Grubbs, Moog EVP, Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer Rob Mullins, Parsons Defense & Intelligence Chief Strategy Officer Scott Goldstein, RTX EVP Corporate Strategy & Development Jesse Klempner, Spirit Defense President & CEO Keith Schrader and Textron VP Corporate Strategy Matt Reister.
For 2026 we continue our popular “communities of practice” break-out sessions (eight in total) with another two dozen panelists covering topics of interest to CFOs, COOs, CTOs, CSOs and Corporate Development & Business Development SVPs. Details of the eight sessions will be sent to registered participants.
Recommended Accommodations: The Hilton Inn at Penn (3600 Sansom St., Philadelphia) Preferred rates may be accessed at https://book.passkey.com/e/51305630
Dress: Business Attire
Our 2026 event was attended by ~320 participants and over four dozen speakers and panelists from over 200 companies. 75% of participants were corporate VPs and above; 25% were Presidents CEOs / CFOs / COOs CxOs. We expect a similar participant profile for our 2026 event and will cap registration at 320 participants (NO EXCEPTIONS - DO NOT EVEN ASK!)
We thank our 2026 sponsors for their continued support: AeroVironment, Bain, Baird, Boston Consulting Group, Curtiss-Wright, Cypress International, DHR Global, Deltek, Goldman Sachs, IonQ, KippsDeSanto, Korn Ferry, Lockheed Martin, McKinsey, Odgers, Renaissance Strategic Advisors, Spencer Stuart, TechnoMile, Voyager Technologies and XTI Aircraft
See you in Philadelphia!
Michael Langman (Starburst) & Ellen Chang (Capstone Impact Investments)
Founders & Co-Presidents
MLangman002@yahoo.com, C: 407-921-4490
Ellen.M.Chang@gmail.com, C: 858-254-0428