A team of four students from Marist’s School of Management placed second overall in the inaugural International Business Case Competition at San Diego State University in California.  The competition took place at the university’s Fowler School of Business on October 19-21 and attracted undergraduates from colleges and universities across the country.  Each team was tasked with brainstorming the best solution to an international business-related case study within a limited amount of time.

Marist’s second-place showing was a major achievement: This was the very first time the College had fielded a team in an international business competition.  Having trained together for just four months, the team – comprised of juniors Madeleine Durand, Prateek Samal, Natasha Cacho, and Yihan Wang – nonetheless bested competitors from several larger institutions with strong international business reputations, including Villanova University, George Washington University, and the University of Southern California.  Washington State University took the top spot in the event.

(l-r) Madeline Durand, Dean Lawrence Singleton, Prateek Samal, Professor Detelin Elenkov,
and Yihan Wang (Not pictured: Natasha Cacho)

“In the semifinals, our team was a close second,” said Detelin Elenkov, Visiting Professor of International Business and the team’s faculty adviser.  “And in the final round our students made the best presentation from a practical point of view, according to a spokesman for the competition judges.  Most importantly, everybody came to congratulate us for our achievement.”  “Participating in case study competitions such as this one is an invaluable experience for our students,” added Associate Professor of Marketing Elizabeth Purinton-Johnson, who chairs the Department of Organization and the Environment, which includes international business.  “They get real-world practice in how to think critically and present their work in a way that’s both persuasive and compelling.”

The Consortium for Undergraduate International Business Education, a group that offers program benchmarks and best practices to business educators, was a co-sponsor of the competition.  “The globalization of the economy grows every day,” said Dean of the  School of Management Lawrence Singleton.  “Increasingly, business students need to understand not just how U.S. markets operate, International Business Competition trophybut how economies function in countries and cultures throughout the world.  We’re excited about and proud of our team’s showing in San Diego.  I hope their success will shine a national spotlight on the strength of our business programs here at Marist.”

To learn more about the competition and view a list of participating schools, click here