Baylor MBA Students Take Third Place At GW/KPMG Case Contest

by Alan Hunt

Competing for the first time at the eighth annual GW/KPMG MBA Case Competition in Washington, D.C., Baylor University MBA students won third place in the only national case competition that addresses issues and challenges for not-for-profit organizations. This year's case focused on the future role of the World Bank in energy and tourism projects.
"Having served as a judge for numerous case competitions, I believe this year's case to be one of the most complex and challenging I have ever read," said Robert DuPont of ExxonMobil. "The Baylor team's poise and command of the subject material during the intense question-and-answer period was extremely impressive."
Members of Baylor's winning team were Janet Hunninghake of Iowa City, Iowa; Christian Otteson of West Jordan, Utah; Rusty Parks of Austin; Scott Pittman of Waco; Deepak Rajasekaran of Greenville, S.C.: and Elizabeth Mwangi of Kenya. Dr. Mark Dunn, professor of marketing, served as faculty sponsor of the Baylor team.
Five of the 20 teams were international, traveling from Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy and Spain to participate. Domestic schools competing included American University, College of William and Mary, Case Western Reserve University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Oklahoma State University, University of Alabama, University of North Carolina, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rhode Island, University of South Carolina, Vanderbilt University, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University.
"The Baylor MBA team was remarkably professional," said DuPont. "The significant amount of preparation and serious thought expended by the Baylor team was clearly evident in the thorough and well-researched presentation. The recommended strategies were creative and solidly supported, but more importantly offered pragmatic solutions to difficult problems."
Participating schools, including Baylor, received the case one month before the competition to analyze the case and to prepare their recommendations for strategies. Presentations were made during the competition before a panel of judges, which included senior World Bank officials and executives from KPMG and other business executives. The competition is funded by The KPMG Foundation and co-sponsored by George Washington University.
For more information, contact Laurie Wilson, director of graduate business admissions in the Hankamer School of Business, at (800) 583-0622.