UB School of Management students take first in inaugural UB MBA Case Competition

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  Facing-off against students from around the country, a team of four University at Buffalo School of Management MBAs successfully defended their home turf and took first place at the inaugural UB MBA Case Competition, hosted by the UB School of Management and sponsored by Dun & Bradstreet.

Presenting teams were identified only by a number, so judges didn’t know which college or university each team was from until after their evaluations were complete. The winning team was made up of UB MBA students Briar Baker, Patrick Biver, Alex Lesins and Ronald Mendoza.

Ten teams of finalists were selected based on the quality of their written case analysis of a real-world business problem and were invited to present their solution to a panel of executive judges. The UB team received $5,000, Drexel University LeBow College of Business took second and received $3,000, and the University of Illinois Gies College of Business took third place and received $2,000.

In addition, Cecil Cheriyan of Baruch College Zicklin School of Business and Joe Dipre of the Drexel University LeBow College of Business each received $250 as the top two individual presenters.

“The competitors in this event were exceptional, and our UB team and the other finalists should be proud of their accomplishments,” said Paul Tesluk, dean of the UB School of Management. “I was particularly impressed by the innovative solutions proposed by the winning teams.”

The 10 teams that competed represented the following schools:

• Baruch College Zicklin School of Business
• Drexel University LeBow College of Business
• Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business
• Rochester Institute of Technology Saunders College of Business (2 teams)
• Texas Christian University Neely School of Business
• University at Buffalo School of Management (3 teams)
• University of Illinois Gies College of Business

At the competition, the teams presented solutions for how to successfully expand market share for an international, all-natural fruit smoothie company.

Professionals and representatives from industry served as competition judges, including Sach Barot, chief financial officer, global operations, partnerships and strategic planning, Dun & Bradstreet; Tom Cogan, senior vice president, Citi; Rich Ferranti, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Rich Products; Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, president and chief executive officer, Buffalo Niagara Partnership; Rachel Jackson, chief executive officer and founder, Rachel’s Remedies; Ilya Meyzin, vice president, data science chief of staff, Dun & Bradstreet; Amish Shah, director, corporate financial planning and analysis, Dun & Bradstreet; and Lindsay Stencel, chief operating officer, LaunchNY.

For more information about the UB MBA Case Competition, visit mgt.buffalo.edu/2018case-competition.

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