2009 McCombs International Business Challenge

Peter Papastrakis, Lauren Markofsky, Valérie Larochelle, Jason Coviensky and  Mark Haber.


Congratulations to Lauren Markofsky, Valérie Larochelle, Jason Coviensky and Peter Papastrakis for a great performance at the McCombs International Business Challenge. October 27 – November 1, 2009. Four JMSB students participated to the 2009 McCombs International Business Challenge, an annual event at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Taking a live case format, the competiton included a 3 page mandate with constant up to the minute information which participants used to search through industry blogs and other sources. Students had 48 hours to prepare a solution to bring Motorola back from the doldrums in the cell phone industry. Participants then delivered their proposal during a 2 minute presentation to a distinguished panel of judges. This was followed by a 20 minute Q&A and 3 minute summation.

MIBC is the most realistic competition and one of the toughest international competitions. Twenty teams of four from leading undergraduate business schools from the U.S., Canada, South America, Asia and Europe took part in the event. The finalists were FGV-EAESP Sao Paolo team, Georgetown, the University of Washington and the University of Hong Kong, who won the competition for an unprecedented second year running.

The John Molson Competition Committee (JMCC) would like to thanks its alumni, Matthew Parker-Jones, Thomas Horvath, Kevin Gardner Gregory, and Caster Parham for their invaluable help in the coaching process. The team also thanks Valérie Larochelle for her unwavering dedication, despite an illness, to the team's success. A special thank you to Matthew Parker-Jones and Cameron Fortin who wrote short  up to date cases used in practice sessions and Head Coach, Mark Haber, for his continuous dedication for the Case Competition Program.