Darden Schools Triumphs at Deloitte's Second Annual National Case Competition

NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation announced today that a team from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business won the second annual National Case Competition held at Deloitte University's landmark campus for learning and leadership development near Dallas, Texas.  Comprised of first-year MBA students Samuel He Huang, Tarun Keswani, Daniel Lee and Sarah Washabaugh— Darden's team won the top prize of $20,000.

Sixteen finalist student teams from America's top MBA programs competed in the evaluation of a complex business issue for Atlanta-based SweetWater Brewing Company.  Each team was provided with business case details and a 12-hour time limit to test students' critical thinking, strategic problem-solving and marketplace knowledge.   

"Because we focus daily on helping companies solve complex business problems, it's quite invigorating to watch some of today's top business school students do the same in a far more compressed timeframe," said Mike Canning, national managing director, Strategy & Operations practice, Deloitte Consulting LLP, who served as one of the judges for the competition.  "This year's competition was particularly close, so a well-deserved kudos is in order for all 16 finalist teams."

SweetWater co-founder and "Big Kahuna" Freddy Bensch added, "At the speed we have been brewing, drinking and growing our pipedream for the past 15 years, we've learned many lessons along the way.  This competition offered unique insights and fresh perspectives on the real world opportunities SweetWater has been working on for months.  I was glad to see the teams deliver as well as they did; in fact, a few of these folks earned some free beer next time they visit the brewery!"

Student teams from the following schools were also recognized for their efforts:

• University of Chicago Booth School of Business, second place, $10,000
• The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, third place, $6,000
• Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University), fourth place, $3,000

During the case study competition, teams' work was evaluated by judges including:

• Martin Arias, Director of Corporate Finance, Coca Cola FEMSA
• Nick Benz, chief operating officer, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
• Paul Early, vice president of strategy, Carlson Restaurants
• Jenna Fagnan, president, Tequila Avion
• Dave Guender, director of sales, SweetWater Brewing Company
• James Hallam, vice president of marketing, Ben E. Keith Company
• Matt Witherell, vice president of national accounts – Walmart for MillerCoors

"In the second year of this competition, we continue to be very focused on exposing some of the country's top MBA students to strategy and operations challenges facing companies today," said Shaun Budnik, president, Deloitte Foundation. "This program is a great way for them to apply their in-classroom learnings to real world business issues while building their skills set.  We are encouraged by the teams who participated this year as they are the business leaders of tomorrow."

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

• Columbia Business School (Columbia University)
• Goizueta Business School (Emory University)
• The Johnson School (Cornell University)
• McCombs School of Business (University of Texas at Austin)
• MIT Sloan School of Management 
• NYU Stern School of Business (New York University)
• Owen Graduate School of Management (Vanderbilt University)
• The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan
• Tepper School of Business (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth College)
• UCLA Anderson School of Management
• UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (University North Carolina)

About Deloitte's Strategy & Operations Practice
Deloitte's Strategy & Operations practice helps senior executives fuse insightful thinking with disciplined execution to achieve breakthrough performance.  Our  teams bring deep industry experience, rigorous analytical capabilities and a pragmatic mindset to our clients' most complex business problems, which span corporate and business unit strategy--M&A strategy, sales and marketing--as well as operational capabilities--issues facing manufacturing organizations, service businesses and infrastructure operations. For more information, visit us online.

About the Deloitte Foundation
The Deloitte Foundation, founded in 1928, is a not-for-profit organization that supports teaching, research and curriculum innovation in accounting, business and related fields within the U.S.  The Foundation sponsors an array of national programs relevant to a variety of professional services, benefiting middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.  For more information, please visit the Deloitte Foundation web page at www.deloitte.com/us/df.  

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP.  Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

Contact:
Shelley Pfaendler
Public Relations
Deloitte
+1 212 492 4484
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SOURCE Deloitte