A team of four graduate students from Olin Business School won the $5,000 grand prize in a business case competition sponsored by the St. Louis chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). The final round was held at Simon Hall April 15.
Teams from business schools at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville also competed in the weeklong test of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with two rounds of case analysis.
The Olin team won an internal case competition and the right to represent Washington University in the inaugural ACG Cup in St. Louis.
Team members were John Curry, Rohit Ganguli, John Lucier and Peter Tran. All four are graduate students in the master’s of finance program.
ACG chapters throughout North America host similar competitions for more than 100 participating business schools.
“We’re thrilled to sponsor this competition in St. Louis and enable some of the St. Louis area’s brightest MBA students to tackle the case presented to them,” says Keith Rhodes, ACG St. Louis president.
In the future, the ACG Cup will be a regional competition, with the winner advancing to an international contest at the annual ACG Intergrowth Conference.
The competition provides students with the opportunity to interact and network with leading financial executives and organizations in the region as well as enhance their financial valuation, team-building and public-speaking capabilities.
The Association for Corporate Growth is the global community for middle-market mergers and acquisitions dealmakers and business leaders focused on driving growth. ACG members have access to data, content and networking opportunities to find the opportunities, capital and knowledge they need to drive and sustain corporate growth.
Founded in 1954, ACG has grown to more than 12,000 members organized in 54 chapters throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2010, ACG St. Louis is supported by numerous corporations, including platinum sponsors Gallop, Johnson & Neuman; UHY Advisors; and PNC Bank.