USC Marshall School of Business

For USC Marshall student Yuri Genyk '11, preparing for the Scotia Bank International Case Competition (SBICC) at the Richard Ivey School of Business was a serious effort. "There was not one week we slacked off. We strongly believed that if we prepared well for the competition, results would follow," he said.

And results did follow, as Marshall's team of undergraduates--Swati Sehgal '11, Richard Graham '12, Scott Maier '12, and Genyk—brought home a finalist trophy. Singapore Management University won the competition, held March 17-19 on the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. The student-run competition is sponsored by Scotiabank Group and is "designed to expose Ivey students to future business leaders around the world."

"Although the USC team did not win first place, it participated in an invaluable learning experience, represented the Trojan Family in a stellar fashion, and earned some impressive bragging rights," said Naomi Warren, associate professor of clinical management communication at Marshall.

Members of the USC team are also members of the Marshall Undergraduate Case Team for which Warren serves as a faculty advisor. "What we try to do is teach them how to crack the case by using their analytical skills, problem-solving and team-working," Warren said.

The case was focused on Fortune Brands, which recently announced its plans to separate its three businesses: spirits, home and security, and golf. The students had 15 hours (split into two sessions over two days) to answer four questions to help shape the company's strategy. The third day of the competition served as the presentation day.

This year marked the 22nd anniversary of the SBICC at the Richard Ivey School, attracting its most diverse group ever, as 12 teams participated from around the globe, including: Mexico's Insitituto Tecnologico Autonomo, Denmark's Copenhagen Business School and Brazil's Fundacao Getulio Vargas.