Smith School Hosts First Undergraduate M&A Competition

The Smith School congratulates the first place winners: Kishore Radhakrishnan, Jeff Williamowsky, Asheel Kakkad, Matthew Kannan, Gursean Singh and Aaron Fagan (not pictured) with event organizers Anna Mayr, John Chukundah and Elinda Kiss. Also shown in the photograph are the judges of the competition.

On Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted the first annual Undergraduate Mergers and Acquisitions case competition. This event was the idea of finance students John Chukundah, who organized the competition, along with Anna Mayr, president of the student club Finance Banking and Investment Society (FBIS). Elinda Kiss, Tyser Teaching Fellow of finance and faculty advisor to FBIS, and Rachel Loock, Director of Undergraduate Programming in the Office of Career Services, assisted Mayr and Chukundah with resources and the coordination of logistical details. Susan White, distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow of finance, wrote the case that was analyzed by the students.

The Smith School congratulates the first place winners: Kishore Radhakrishnan, Jeff Williamowsky, Asheel Kakkad, Matthew Kannan, Gursean Singh and Aaron Fagan.

The following served as judges for the competition:

Dara Khan
First Annapolis, Analyst
Dara Khan is an analyst at First Annapolis, a boutique management consulting firm focused on the financial services industry. He works with the Emerging Payments Practice, which advises internet and mobile payment services companies. Previously, he interned with Capitol Partners, a private equity firm in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2008 with a B.S. in finance with honors. He also studied abroad at the University of Oxford.

Norm Oremland
UBS, Senior VP - Investments
Oremland earned his undergrad degree in finance (at College Park) and has an MBA in finance (George Washington University). He is a past president of the Alumni Board at the Smith School and is a member off the finance committee for the Alumni Association.

Austin Murphy
BB&T Capital Markets|Windsor Group, Analyst - Investment Banking

Clarence Mitchell
PWC, Financial Instruments, Structured Products & Real Estate Group (FSR), Associate.
He graduated from the Robert H. Smith School of Business with a B.S. in Finance.

Randolph Shingler
Northwestern Mutual, Financial Advisor
Randolph has represented NMFN since 2003. He started as an intern during his senior year in college, then a full-time advisor after graduation, and now he also serves as a college unit director for the company. He engages his clients with comprehensive financial planning, and helps lead a Princeton Review top-10 internship program. He received a B.S. in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona.

Interested in studying finance at the Smith School? We have undergraduate, MBA, masters and PhD programs available, visit: www.rhsmith.umd.edu/finance.