Three MBA students from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University took home the top prize for an international case study competition hosted by The Economist. The competition brought in 31 teams from across the US, UK, Brazil, and Canada to compete on their video-on-demand channel Real Vision. This was only the second annual MBA competition hosted by The Economist.
The international case study challenge asked teams to choose between investing in two retailing giants—Amazon or Walmart. The teams were then asked to present their case for where they would invest and why. The Ted Rogers team took home both first place and the People’s Choice Award for their case study.
In a press release from the University, Dean Steven Murphy spoke about the competition results and what it means for Ryerson and the Ted Rogers School. “This win continues our MBA’s meteoric trajectory and momentum—in just ten short years, we have become a globally ranked MBA program and force to be reckoned with in international competitions,” he said.
31 teams were challenged with submitting a short video giving an in-depth analysis of their case study, answering the question: “If you had money to invest in either Amazon or Walmart over the next ten years, which one would you choose and how would you structure your investment?”
Jesse Berger, Krysten Connely, and Saad Rahman made up the Ted Rogers team and took home the $10,000 first place prize for their unique investment solution. The Middlebury Institute for International Studies came in second while the Marriott School of Management came in third. The Ted Rogers team took home another $3,000 for being chosen as the People’s Choice winners.
“This extensive case was a true testament to our persistence and ability to join forces as a team under pressure,” said Connely in a blog about the competition. “Our strongest asset was our diversity of thought and skills – a perfect mix of strong investment savvy, critical thinking, creativity and research expertise. It was an extremely fulfilling experience.”