Smith MBA Students Take Second Place in Rutgers-Camden Case Competition

Members of Smith's team (left to right): Chandramohan Ammini, Brian Wallace, Jayaraman Anantharaman, Tushar Adya, and Pratik Mittal.

A team of Smith MBAs finished runner-up in Rutgers-Camden Business Schools MBA Invitational Case Tournament held on April 8, 2003. The winning team consisted of three-second year MBA students: Tushar Adya, Pratik Mittal, Brian Wallace, and two first-year MBA students: Chandramohan Ammini and Jayaraman Anantharaman.

This years event marked the 20th anniversary of the competition and the 10th time that the Smith School has participated. Each team, except for Rutgers-Camden, normally qualifies by winning a regional case competition. This year, invitations were extended to the University of South Carolina, the University of Western Ontario, and the Smith School, which has participated most often in the history of the tournament. The University of Western Ontario won the competition.

Dubbed as the the NCAAs of MBAs, the tournament required four competing teams to analyze a business case and submit a written report within 12 hours (7:30 a.m. 7:30 p.m.). This years case dealt with AOLs strategy to develop its presence in the European ISP market and fend off increasing competition from free Internet Service Providers. Upon completion, the teams were handed out a sequel to the case, for which the written report had to be submitted within the next 12 hours. After 24 hours of intense case analysis, the teams had to consolidate the recommendations to be presented to a panel of judges and audience members. Each team was allowed 20 minutes for the presentation, followed by a 25-minute Q&A session. Judges for the tournament included top business leaders, who acted as the firms executives.

"This is a challenging competition, where our team was up against some top teams," said Duane Helleloid, faculty advisor and teaching professor of management and organization. "Our group got together before the competition to prepare, and did an excellent job of analyzing a very difficult business situation. Not only did they work hard, but they also found the competition to be a fun challenge. We can all be very proud of their hard work and efforts."

Team member Tushar Adya said, We gave it all we had. The strong showing of the team was a result of effective teamwork and motivation both skills fostered by the Smith experience.