When Patrizio Cernetti, WG’16, came to Wharton’s EMBA program in Philadelphia, he was a consultant at Accenture. Today, he is founder and principal of Legio, which helps companies get ahead of digital disruption. Jon Soberg, WG’09, came to Wharton’s EMBA program in San Francisco as an entrepreneur and advisor to startups. He is now the managing partner at MS&AD Ventures. Both serve as Wharton Customer Analytics (WCA) Senior Fellows. The WCA is an academic research center focusing on the development and application of business analytics methods for all aspects of the customer experience. We asked Patrizio and Jon to tell us more about their careers in business analytics and their role at the WCA.
Patrizio Cernetti, WG’16
Currently
Founder and Principal, Legio
Based In
Philadelphia
Wharton Campus
Philadelphia
Prior Education
- Politecnico di Milano, B.S. and Master’s in Telecommunication Engineering
- University of Minnesota, Master’s in Electrical Engineering
Coming to Wharton
“I worked as an engineer and consultant in Europe and the U.S. prior to Wharton. When my company was acquired by Accenture, I gained a new perspective on what it means to do business. I wanted to be more impactful, and that meant getting an MBA. I lived in Philadelphia and Wharton is a top business school, so this was a good fit.”
Exploring Analytics
“As a consultant, I analyzed large amounts of data to help clients with their supply chain. Back then, analytics was a necessary component of my job, but I needed to learn how to sell it to the client. At Wharton, I learned the tools, technologies, and perspectives I needed. I also discovered a passion for the creative aspect of analytics. In a Marketing class project, I reverse engineered software to better understand how the data worked and how to make the software work for me. That gave me the seed for a business idea. I also talked with classmates about how they were working with data. Those conversations watered that seed and my interest continued to grow.”
Career Impact
“Right after school, I took a job at a smaller company, which included an analytics function. I helped build their analytics capabilities from zero in a challenging environment to transform the company. Now at Legio, I help companies with digital transformation, supporting them from the foundation of data management to analytics and AI.”
Connecting with the WCA
“I was humbled and excited when I was asked to be a senior fellow. I like academia and this was a great opportunity to stay on top of cutting-edge research and connect with talent at Wharton. My role is mentoring MBA students, as well as students from across Penn, who are working on mini-consulting projects for real companies. I like helping them to solve real problems using real data. They are working on problems that I could deal with any day in my job.”
Jon Soberg, WG’09
Currently
Managing Partner, MS&AD Ventures
Based In
Palo Alto, CA
Wharton Campus
San Francisco
Prior Education
- Harvey Mudd College, B.S. Engineering
- Northwestern University, Master’s in Mechanical Engineering
Coming to Wharton
“I started out as an engineer and then jumped into entrepreneurship, and was involved in two startups. One went public, but the other failed when the dot.com bubble burst. Subsequently, I worked in operating roles and consulted for financial firms and startups, and eventually decided it was time to get an MBA. I wanted to learn about all aspects of building and running businesses, and expand my network.
Exploring Analytics
“I’ve always worked with data in one way, shape, or form. At Wharton, data analysis is a component of most classes. I dove deeper into this area when I began working with startups as a VC. The best startups are ones that understand patterns that come from collecting and sorting data.”
Career Impact
“After graduation, I was still consulting and working with startups until one of my VC classmates asked me to work with a couple of his portfolio companies. I worked on financial plans, operations and pricing optimization for multiple companies, including Hootsuite Media, and I got to know the team at Blumberg Capital. When my classmate went to a different fund, I was given the opportunity to join Blumberg and became a managing director. Now, I am managing partner at MS&AD Ventures, which is an early-stage venture fund focusing on companies that can help us understand, prevent, quantify, and mitigate risks. We look broadly at technology companies in InsurTech, AI, IOT, Big Data and Cybersecurity. I’ve now done 125 investments and held 45 board positions.”
Connecting with the WCA
“I’ve stayed engaged with Wharton by guest lecturing EMBA entrepreneurship and VC classes. I have also worked with the Entrepreneurship Program to advise student startups and judge pitch competitions. More recently, I became a senior fellow at the WCA. It is an honor to join this group of accomplished people. I am excited to help mentor students and bring expertise to the table as needed. The WCA has extraordinary resources, and it’s great to connect research, students, and companies.”
— By Meghan Laska
Posted: June 28, 2021