For students in Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives, learning extends far beyond the classroom. Nowhere is that more evident than with Block Weeks, which are immersive academic experiences combining rigorous coursework, real-world exposure, and unparalleled access to industry leaders.
This spring, students from the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Global cohorts taking the Block Week on Artificial Intelligence traveled to Seattle to explore how organizations are adopting and scaling AI across industries. Through sessions led by Senior Vice Dean for Innovation and Global Initiatives Serguei Netessine, company visits, and candid conversations with executives, students gained a firsthand look at how AI is reshaping business and leadership.
We asked a student from each of the three EMBA cohorts to tell us about the week. Here’s what they had to say about their experience.
Marcello Gracietti, WG’27
San Francisco Cohort
A Global Perspective on Technology and Growth
Marcello Gracietti, WG’27, brings a deeply international background to Wharton, having grown up in Brazil and attended college and graduate school in Italy and France. Today, he leads a San Francisco-based software consultancy that helps organizations modernize their systems.
Gracietti enrolled in Wharton’s EMBA program to learn how to scale his business, and saw this course on AI in Seattle as a critical part of that journey.
“I wanted to consolidate my understanding of the real potential of AI — what’s noise versus what’s actually transformative — and how to apply it, both to modernize my own company and to help our clients innovate and find real efficiency,” he explains.
Learning From the Front Lines of AI
For Gracietti, the highlight of the week was the direct exposure to companies actively implementing AI at scale.
“We weren’t hearing from startups experimenting with AI,” he says. “We were talking to CIOs and senior leaders at companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Blue Origin, and T-Mobile — organizations that are fundamentally transforming their strategies with AI.”
“That level of access and depth is something you just can’t find anywhere else,” adds Gracietti.
Turning Insight Into Action
Gracietti didn’t wait to apply what he learned.
“After the week, I organized sessions with my team to translate these insights into our business context,” he says. “We’re launching a new service to help clients navigate AI transformation — grounded in this field research, our own experience, and what we’ve seen working with other companies going through the same shift.”
The Power of the Block Week Format
Gracietti emphasizes that Block Weeks go far beyond traditional lectures.
“This wasn’t just about sitting in a classroom,” he says. “We were visiting companies, engaging with leaders, and learning from both Prof. Nettesine and practitioners at the highest level as well as from our classmates.”
He also values the flexibility that Block Weeks provide.
“They allow you to explore topics you care about and learn in different locations,” he says. “If I could, I’d take this class again, and I definitely plan to take more Block Weeks.”
Fei Fei Wang, WG’26
Philadelphia Cohort
Expanding Leadership Through New Perspectives
Fei Fei Wang, W’26, built her career in hospitality and real estate investment management, but as she stepped into more senior leadership roles, she recognized the need to broaden her perspective. Wang came to Wharton with that goal in mind and, in her second year, she’s been intentional about choosing courses outside her core areas of expertise.
The AI Block Week in Seattle was a natural extension of that approach. At first glance, it felt far removed from her day-to-day work, making it the perfect opportunity to stretch into something new.
“In hospitality, we’re often late adopters of technology because we are so focused on people,” explains Wang. “But I knew AI would eventually impact us, so I wanted to understand it before it becomes unavoidable.”
That decision quickly proved worthwhile.
“This ended up being one of the most impactful electives I’ve taken,” she says.
AI as a Leadership Challenge
One of Wang’s biggest takeaways was a shift in how she views AI.
“I came in thinking AI was a skill to learn, like Excel,” she says. “But what I realized is that AI adoption is really a leadership mindset and challenge.”
Through conversations with executives and practitioners, a consistent message emerged: Successful organizations treat AI as an opportunity for experimentation. “The companies leading in AI create environments where employees can test, fail, and learn,” she says. “A big theme of the week was that, if you know an experiment will succeed, it’s not really an experiment.”
Real-World Insights From Industry Leaders
Company visits brought these ideas to life.
“I was impressed by how companies like T-Mobile approach AI not just from a technology standpoint, but as part of their culture,” says Wang.
At the site visits, students also saw the challenges of adopting AI, including gaps between executive vision and day-to-day implementation.
“Hearing both leadership and employee perspectives gave us a full picture of what AI adoption actually looks like, and reinforced the importance of a culture supporting experimentation,” she adds.
Building Connections Across Cohorts
Beyond the academic experience, Block Week fostered meaningful connections.
“Every night, we organized dinners and explored Seattle together,” says Wang. “I made a point to meet different classmates each day, and even connected with local Wharton students who weren’t in the class but live in the area.”
Working alongside peers from diverse industries added another layer of learning.
“My team included professionals from law, marketing, and tech,” she says. “That diversity made the experience even richer.”
Adam Tohn, WG’26
Global Cohort
Exploring AI at a Critical Moment
For Adam Tohn, W’26, the AI Block Week offered a chance to grapple with one of “the most transformative and complex technologies shaping the future of work.”
Tohn entered the week with “equal amounts of optimism and pessimism,” eager to learn from the companies and leaders shaping AI at the forefront of American enterprise and also cautious about AI’s risks.
“This was an opportunity to interact with people who are actively building the systems that will shape how we solve problems in the future,” he says.
Seeing AI’s Human Impact
One of Tohn’s most memorable takeaways from the week was how thoughtfully many organizations are approaching the human side of AI adoption. “People are really thinking about what it means for human beings to navigate this kind of technological change,” he says.
He points to one example discussed during the week: the Gates Foundation’s use of AI to rapidly identify mosquito species responsible for spreading malaria.
“AI can enable people to essentially become entomologists because they take a photo of a mosquito on their phone to immediately identify its species,” Tohn explains. “That information helps determine the most effective prevention strategy, whether that’s mosquito nets or spraying. It’s a practical example of how AI, if widely available, can save lives.”
At the same time, he acknowledges that the technology brings real risks that must be addressed carefully.
“We’re at a point where the choices leading institutions make about AI, governance, and design shape the trajectory for human living and working conditions generally,” says Tohn. “Done thoughtfully, this technology can free people to create and focus on higher-judgment, pro-social work.”
Applying the Lessons Immediately
The insights Tohn gained during the week didn’t just stay in the classroom.
“My team is evolving the AI strategy at our firm, including rethinking how AI fits into our governance and decision-making architecture — not just which tools to adopt, but how to structure the human oversight around them,” he says. “I got on the plane home and immediately started applying what I learned.”
The Power of Block Week Learning
For Tohn, the Block Week format creates a uniquely immersive experience.
“There’s real value in dedicating your full attention to a topic for an entire week,” he says.
Equally important is the opportunity to connect with classmates across cohorts, something that he says is especially meaningful for Global cohort students who are based across time zones.
“We spent evenings together discussing what we were learning in real time,” he says. “That concentrated time together is special.”
Tohn adds that Block Weeks capture one of the most distinctive aspects of the Wharton EMBA experience.
“They allow you to engage with industry, theory, and classmates all at once and in a place where the context makes the learning real,” he says. “I can’t overstate how valuable that is.”
By Meghan Laska
Posted: April 13, 2026
