Scott Kleinman Returns to Penn for Fireside Chat on Investing, Energy, and the Future of Work

Scott Kleinman (W’94, C’94), co-president of Apollo Asset Management and founder of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, recently returned to the University of Pennsylvania for a wide-ranging fireside chat that drew an enthusiastic audience of Penn students.

In conversation with Wharton undergraduate student Muhammad Vakil (W’26), Kleinman reflected on his Penn years, his nearly three decades at Apollo, the evolution of private markets, the promise and uncertainty of artificial intelligence, and the founding vision behind the Kleinman Center.

The event was hosted by the Wharton Undergraduate Private Equity and Venture Capital Club, the Investment Management Club, the Wharton Alumni Connections Council, and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

Scott Kleinman began by connecting his interest in finance to his upbringing near New York City, where conversations about markets and the movement of money were part of everyday life. At Penn, his curiosity expanded well beyond finance. Alongside his Wharton studies, Kleinman pursued Russian studies in the College, a choice sparked by history, politics, and the changing world of the early 1990s.

“I was always a super curious kid,” Kleinman said. “Loved to read—loved to read—about lots of different topics and learn about lots of different topics.”

That intellectual curiosity became a recurring theme throughout the evening. Kleinman urged students to follow interests beyond their primary fields, noting that unexpected classes and questions often shape how people think, lead, and invest.

Reflecting on his early career, Kleinman spoke about his time in investment banking at Smith Barney, describing it as an intense but formative training ground. He later joined Apollo in 1996 as the firm’s 13th employee, at a time when private equity was still a “cottage industry.” There, he helped build one of the world’s leading alternative asset management and retirement services platforms.

Kleinman credited Apollo’s success to a culture of contrarian thinking, deep conviction, and a willingness to look across the full capital structure for opportunity. He recalled the global financial crisis as one of the most professionally meaningful periods of his career, a moment when volatility and uncertainty created opportunities for disciplined investors.

The conversation also turned to artificial intelligence, where Kleinman offered students a realistic but encouraging view. He described AI as both a profound opportunity and a source of disruption, emphasizing that future professionals will need to combine technical fluency with true domain expertise.

He also reflected on the motivation to create the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Having spent years investing in energy-intensive industries, he saw firsthand the need for a more coherent energy policy. In 2014, he founded the Kleinman Center in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design to help educate the next generation of leaders and create a cross-disciplinary space for serious, practical dialogue on energy and climate.

“Energy is the single biggest driver behind whatever climate outcomes you think you’re going to have,” Kleinman said. “And so, it really is inextricably linked.”

Penn was the ideal home for that work. Energy policy, he noted, requires input from business, engineering, law, design, the arts and sciences, and beyond. Over the past decade, he said, the center has helped build a stronger energy and climate ecosystem across campus.

“Scott Kleinman reminded us that a career of true impact is fueled by staying curious and connected to the community,” reflected Ellery Spikes, a Kleinman Center research assistant who attended the event.

Throughout the fireside chat, Kleinman offered meaningful perspectives from a leader who has built an extraordinary career while continuing to give back to the university.