A group of Georgetown McDonough School of Business MBA students competed against 36 other schools at the the recent National Black MBA/Prospanica Case Competition, coming in second place overall. The competition was held at the National Black MBA Association‘s annual conference in Philadelphia.
The McDonough team (see: below) was comprised of Nomblé Coleman (MBA’18), Timothy Lewis (MBA’18), Elida Ruiz (MBA’18), and Esmé-Thea Rogers (MBA’19). The team was tasked with crafting a 12-month, dealership-level marketing strategy for Alfa Romeo, one of Fiat Chrysler Automobile Group’s luxury brands that has had difficulty launching in the United States.
The McDonough team recommended a unique customer value proposition, a redesigned dealership equipped with the United States’ first Alfa Romeo Museum, and a comprehensive marketing strategy. The reached this recommendation following interviews with classmates who had experience in the auto industry, and leveraging their own expertise.
“Our final recommendations, and even the presentation, would not have been the same without support from several of our classmates who shared their architectural skills, knowledge of the auto industry, and insights from participating in other case competitions,” Timothy Lewis said. “The final result would not have been as rich without our classmates, other interviewees, and our team advisor, Diana Banks.”
Banks is McDonough’s Associate Director of Employer Development and a Certified Career Coach, and brings more than 20 years of corporate experience serving in a variety of roles with escalating responsibility at Reuters America, Bowne Financial Services, and most recently American Express. At American Express, Diana was vice president of global consulting, leading a team responsible for executing strategic engagements for Fortune 500 firms. Banks earned her MBA the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
According to Nomblé Coleman, the group meshed very well, and enjoyed their time competing together. “Assembling a group of talented individuals with diversity of thought and experiences truly enables a team to be successful,” Coleman said. “We wore Georgetown t-shirts with our suits and heard the love and support of our classmates who attended the showcase.”
You can read more about the team on the Georgetown official website today.