Kellogg MBA Teams Win Big at Various Case Competitions
This article was originally sourced from Best-Case Scenario, an article on the Kellogg website about student teams taking top honors in recent case competitions around the world.
The Bulls aren’t the only team in the Chicago Metro who are winning when it counts—in business competitions across the globe, teams from The Kellogg School of Management are taking home top prizes and first-place victories. Three different teams of MBAs won at the Wake Forest University School of Business Marketing Analytics Summit, The 5th Annual Deloitte National MBA Case Competition and Wharton MBA Buyout Case Competition, respectively.
A five-person team from Kellogg took first place and $20,000 at the Wake Forest competiton on April 8, which focused on how marketers can produce data driven solutions supported by profound human insights. Composed of Adam Hirschkatz, Marissa McGann, Nick McGann, Yajur Kapoor and Alex Bourdeau, the Kellogg team had to create a strategy that would increase in-store mobile use through habituation, value to the customer and utility to the retailer.
“We used a number of sources to develop industry and consumer insights in order to develop a mobile strategy aimed at improving metrics for our client,” Bourdeau said. “Based on these insights and other industry benchmarks, we developed a strategy to increase mobile use in a grocery retail setting that would provide value to both consumer and retailer.”
Three Kellogg students took first place in the Deloitte Case Competition, which happened back in January. With a 10-hour time limit to produce a professional-grade presentation, Matt Heintz, Andry Lesmana and Bora Sekerelthe came up with recommendations solving numerous strategic challenges on behalf of Quirky, Inc., a New York City-based invention and consumer product company.
“I always heard that business school changes you, but this was the moment I knew what that meant,” Heintz said. “Kellogg’s focus on collaboration ensured we were ready to work efficiently and smoothly to tackle this challenge.”
Meanwhile, for the second straight year, a Kellogg team won the Wharton MBA Buyout Case Competition. Michael Jiwani, Joe Long, Justin Marku and Evan Cooney came in first place in the February contest that asked MBA students to make recommendations for a proposed private equity buyout for a major retailer, and earned $3,000.
“We knew a win would be difficult to repeat; however, our team never doubted our approach or ability to get the job done,” Jiwani said. “We were excited to have represented our fellow students at Kellogg and our private equity alumni base in such a positive light.”
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Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
