New York University Stern School of Business Takes Top Honors at Eighth Annual MBA National Case Competition

MBA Blog / 10th January 2018

The New York University Stern School of Business team won the eighth annual MBA National Case Competition by presenting a well thought out analysis and innovative solution to the business problem posed during the National Case Competition. This is the first win for Stern at the National Case Competition. Team members Denitsa Kosharova, Kelly Williams, Eric Gioseffi, Utkarsh Satyawadi earned a combined scholarship of $20,000 for their winning presentation.

MIT Sloan took second place; Dartmouth Tuck School of Business and Duke Fuqua School of Business followed in third and fourth place, respectively. The competition was held Jan. 4-7 at Deloitte University, Deloitte’s leadership center near Dallas, Texas.

More than 1,000 students from leading MBA programs across the country entered regional competitions, with 64 advancing to the national finals. At the national finals, these 64 students, making up 16 teams of four, developed a strategic proposal and presentation to answer a business challenge posed by Chameleon Cold-Brew, one of America’s fastest-growing cold brew coffee companies who was recently acquired by Nestle. Students’ recommendations focused on helping Chameleon Cold-Brew achieve growth by identifying target consumer segments, developing unique value propositions, and identifying capabilities required to execute its strategy. The teams presented their recommendations to a panel of 26 judges that included Chris Campbell, President and CEO of Chameleon Cold-Brew, as well as a combination of top industry and Deloitte leaders.

“Each year, we host tremendous talent from prestigious MBA programs challenging the teams with business and operating model issues that face C-suite executives in today’s digitally-connected consumer environment. The New York University Stern School of Business team and all of the other finalists should be proud of their achievements,” said Amy Feirn, national managing director for Deloitte Consulting LLP’s strategy and operations practice and a competition judge. “Given the complexity of the case, and the challenge presented by Chameleon to the teams, I am confident this year’s students will go on to make an impact in business as they have a great deal of creativity, insight and passion to offer.”

“The Deloitte Foundation understands that today’s business challenges require talent and leaders that are agile thinkers and problem-solvers who can think outside the box to create new solutions that improve our industries,” said Tonie Leatherberry, president, Deloitte Foundation. “The MBA National Case Competition, as well as our other education programs, are designed to amplify the classroom learning experience, provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and ultimately grow the pipeline of future talent. We continue to be inspired by the exceptional skills each student team brings to the competition.”

The Deloitte Foundation, founded in 1928, is a not-for-profit organization that supports education in the U.S. through a variety of initiatives that help develop the talent of the future and their influencers and promote excellence in teaching, research and curriculum innovation. The Foundation sponsors an array of national programs relevant to a variety of professional services, benefiting middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and educators.

In addition to the winners, this year’s finalists included teams of students from the following MBA programs:

Berkeley Haas School of Business
Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business
Columbia Business School
Cornell Johnson College of Business
Dartmouth Tuck School of Business
Duke Fuqua School of Business
Emory Goizueta Business School
MIT Sloan
New York University Stern School of Business
Northwestern Kellogg School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
University of Michigan Ross School of Business
University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler
University of Texas McCombs School of Business
University of Virginia Darden School of Business