The Normandy Leadership Experience not only reinforced my belief that leadership is an integral part of the business school curriculum, but that the same leadership issues have been around for thousands of years. Leaders have always had to think about whether there is good communication, whether their troops understand their intent, and whether their troops are empowered to make decisions. Those things transcend time… While the history lessons were amazing, what really made this a great trip were the people… After you graduate from Wharton, you sometimes lose sight of how powerful it can be to get a group of people together to learn and discuss a common topic of interest. To be able to recapture that on this trip was great.

Roger Crandall, WG'02
President and CEO
MassMutual

At A Glance

Locations

The Allied invasion front stretched nearly fifty miles from the Orne River to the Cherbourg Peninsula and encompassed five major landing beaches. Our trip will take us to some of the key locations, including: Pegasus Bridge, where British glider troops launched one of the most critical and wildly successful surprise assaults of the battle; German defensive positions above Gold Beach; Ste. Mere Eglise, where American paratroopers seized the first town on the continent liberated by the Allies; Omaha Beach, where heavy casualties nearly derailed the invasion until junior leaders stepped up to make the difference; and the famous US military cemetery at Ste. Laurent.