By Nathaniel Luce
Left to right: Jeffrey Stephens, Mourya Ravuri, Chemitra Clay, Krystal Foxworth.
A team of MBA students from Vanderbilt University won second place at the annual National Business Case Competition, sponsored by ExxonMobil and the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), in Houston, Texas, on April 7 and 8. The team from the Owen Graduate School of Management included Chemitra Clay, Jeffrey Stephens, Mourya Ravuri and Krystal Foxworth, all members of the MBA class of 2017.
The Owen School team advanced to the final round of a competition that began with nearly 30 teams submitting first round proposals. Judges picked the top three teams from the submitted proposals and the three finalists then presented their work before a panel of corporate, non-profit, academic and policy leaders in Houston.
“It was an honor to have been chosen from among highly qualified teams to present our proposal to executives from ExxonMobil and the ELC,” said Krystal Foxworth, MBA Class of 2017. “In addition to the large cash award, we walked away with feedback that will help us become better leaders, and connections to build upon as we re-enter the workforce. It is also exciting to know that our proposal will be shared with other ELC members to assist them in identifying creative solutions to their workforce challenges.”A team from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University won first place and $35,000 in scholarship money. A team from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School won third place and $15,000 in scholarship money.
The annual National Business Case Competition invites MBA/MA teams from select business schools to analyze compelling business issues that challenge students’ critical thinking, analytical and communications skills. The competition provides graduate business students at select schools the opportunity to compete for scholarships as either a team or individual. Entrants are given a specific business topic and asked to present the business case in an innovative strategy to solve a corporation’s problem.
This year’s business topic was talent management. Teams were tasked with creating a comprehensive talent management strategy for a fictional Fortune 100 widget manufacturer. Final solutions were to also include a development strategy, implementation tactics, financial analysis and key measurable metrics.
More than 2,600 students have competed in the National Business Case Competition since 2001; a third of these students were from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), according to the ELC.
Contact Person: Brett Israel Director, Business News & Communications Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management
Contact Phone: (615) 322-NEWS
Contact Email: brett.israel@owen.vanderbilt.edu
