Two Georgetown McDonough MBAs Win Tech Case Competition
Two full-time MBA students from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business recently won the top prize in the sixth annual MBA Technology Innovation Case Competition, taking home $6,250 in total prize money. Anne Laughlin (MBA’17) and Nicholas Lamp (MBA’17) competed against and defeated teams from John Hopkins University, University of Notre Dame and George Washington University.
The MBA Technology Innovation Case Competition was hosted by McDonough’s MBA Technology Club and the MBA Career Center, as well as IBM. The tech giant wrote the case presented in the competition, which asked students to design a digital strategy for a U.S. Department of Defense client in terms of employee engagement, recruitment, and training. Each team had their presentations judged by a panel of five consultants brought in by IBM.
Alumni Peter Swiek (B’10) and Tom Coleman (B’01, EMBA’11) were also instrumental in making the competition happen. Swiek, who is a managing consultant at IBM, told the McDonough School of Business:
“Teams had to address user research, strategic thinking, product design, security, infrastructure, change management, implementation planning, and budgeting — all while providing an innovative strategy that hypothetically could be brought to senior organizational leadership for approval. The responses this year were by far the best in the history of the competition.”
In addition to Laughlin and Lamp, fellow Hoyas Anna Marie Jumamil (MBA’17), Heather Kelly (MBA’17), Stephen Kendrex (MBA’18), Zeynep Ozfatura Gundogdu (MBA’17), and Ari Sahu (MBA’18) also competed in the tech case competition and earned third place overall.
According to the official website, the Georgetown McDonough Tech Club provides a professional and social network for MBA students interested in making a difference in all business aspects of technology. Through digital platforms and local events, the club’s goal is to educate its members and the Georgetown community to understand the role of technology, innovation and design in business.
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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.
