About This Episode
Welcome to our latest episode! In this installment of our higher education series, I (Ashish Fernando) have the privilege of sitting down with Peter Cappelli, Professor of Management at UPenn’s Wharton School.
Peter is a renowned expert in the field of human resources and workplace dynamics, with decades of research experience. In our conversation, we dive into the forces shaping the future of the American workplace, especially in the post-COVID era.
Peter shares his invaluable insights on:
1. The profound impacts of COVID-19 on workplace structures and employee expectations
2. How AI and automation are influencing HR policies and redefining roles
3. His experiences at UPenn and the research guiding him in understanding modern workforce needs
4. Key trends in HR practices that align with the future of work and employee engagement
5. Why he believes understanding workplace flexibility and resilience is essential for leaders today
Curious to learn more? This podcast is the perfect listen for you. Tune in now!
Host & Guest
Peter Cappelli
GuestPeter Cappelli is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and serves as the Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources. A leading authority on workforce management, labor markets, and employment policy, Cappelli’s work bridges academia, business, and public policy.
In addition to his Wharton role, he is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, MA. His global impact includes serving as Senior Advisor to the Kingdom of Bahrain for Employment Policy (2003–2005) and as a Distinguished Scholar for Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower since 2007.
Cappelli earned degrees in Industrial Relations from Cornell University and Labor Economics from Oxford University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. His academic and research career includes appointments as a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, a German Marshall Fund Fellow, and faculty roles at MIT, the University of Illinois, and the University of California, Berkeley.
He has contributed to major U.S. workforce and education initiatives, including serving on the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Commission on Workforce Quality and Labor Market Efficiency, as Co-Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce, and as a member of the Executive Committee for the National Center on Post-Secondary Improvement at Stanford University.
A highly respected thought leader, Cappelli has served on multiple committees for the National Academy of Sciences and panels for the National Goals for Education. His influence has been widely recognized—HR Magazine named him one of the Top 5 Most Influential Thinkers in Management, and he was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. He is also a recipient of the 2009 PRO Award from the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruiters for his contributions to the HR field.
Cappelli continues to shape global dialogue on employment and workforce strategy through his role on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Employment and service on numerous advisory boards.
Key Highlights:
1. George W. Taylor Professor of Management & Director, Wharton Center for Human Resources.
2. Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research.
3. Distinguished Scholar, Singapore Ministry of Manpower; former Senior Advisor, Kingdom of Bahrain.
4. Fulbright Scholar with degrees from Cornell and Oxford.
5. Named one of the Top 5 Most Influential Thinkers in Management by HR Magazine.
6. Fellow, National Academy of Human Resources.
7. Recipient, 2009 PRO Award for contributions to human resources.
Ashish Fernando
HostFounder & CEO, EDMO
Ashish Fernando is the visionary founder and CEO of EDMO, a revolutionary educational technology platform that's transforming how people learn and grow. With over 15 years of experience in education and technology, Ashish has dedicated his career to making quality education accessible to learners worldwide. Before founding EDMO, Ashish held leadership positions at several prominent EdTech companies and worked as an educational consultant for Fortune 500 companies. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Master's in Computer Science from MIT. Ashish is a frequent speaker at educational conferences and has been featured in publications such as EdTech Magazine, Learning & Development Today, and TechCrunch. He's passionate about the intersection of technology and human potential, believing that the right tools can unlock extraordinary learning outcomes for everyone. Under his leadership, EDMO has grown to serve over 100,000 learners globally and has partnerships with leading educational institutions and corporations. Ashish continues to drive innovation in personalized learning, adaptive assessment, and educational analytics.
Key Achievements:
1. Founded EDMO in 2019, now serving 100,000+ learners globally
2. Named 'EdTech Innovator of the Year' by Learning Technology Awards 2023
3. Featured speaker at Global Education Summit 2024
4. Published researcher in educational technology and learning analytics
5. Advisor to multiple EdTech startups and educational initiatives
Show Notes
- 1 0:00 We didn’t anticipate the boom of AI right now.
- 2 6:01 Employers, not schools, play a dominant role in shaping workforce quality
- 3 10:03 Staggering insight: The HR vendor industry is worth $1.9 trillion, with $190B spent on marketing alone—driving workplace narratives.
- 4 17:04 Historical evolution of remote work from the 1970s to now, and why it was more successful during the pandemic than before.
- 5 21:06 Open offices and hoteling are actively disliked, but are being used to cut costs. Remote work continues partly because the physical offices are gone.
- 6 24:05 AI is useful, but hype exceeds implementation. Many potential use cases don’t replace current jobs—they replace tasks we’re not doing.
- 7 35:58 Reskilling sounds good in theory but is hard to execute. Planning for future skills often fails because we can’t predict disruption.
Key Quotes
"Planning is way overrated. Figuring out how we manage uncertainty is something we can do, but it doesn’t sound as cool as just planning."
"The agenda on the future of work is largely driven by vendors—many of whom have problems they’d like to sell you."
Resources
Supercharge Your University CRM