GBSN’s MBA Challenge Winner Announced! The first MBA Video Challenge drew to a close earlier this month and the selection committee had the difficult job of choosing a winner from nine fantastic submissions. GBSN was pleased to receive videos from Haas, IMD, MIT Sloan, Thunderbird, UDD, Tuck and Strathmore which highlighted the innovative work of MBA students in Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Mongolia, Panama, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Projects included the development of new technologies, the creation of new growth strategies, the provision of technical assistance, and the identification of new income-generating projects.
And the winner is… the eight students of Haas School of Business (USA) led by Hrishika Vuppala! These eight students spent one year working with Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) and the Wildlife Conservation Society to produce an independent organizational audit, a three-year strategic plan, and a geographic expansion strategy. COMACO provides a market-based solution to wildlife conservation by combating food insecurity through the creation of markets for rural farmers who might otherwise practice destructive land use or poach wildlife.
The Haas team identified and recommended the investments necessary to overcome historical difficulties, act more swiftly in the pursuit of opportunity, and shift from tactical considerations to concerted strategic maneuvers. By doing so, COMACO is better positioned to reach profitability in a sustainable manner and achieve long- term success.
Congratulations to the following Haas students – Hrishika Vuppala, Lauren Gellman, Kristin Mannix, Dan Parker, Paul Collins, Ciera Ashley, and Ricardo de Paula. We look forward to celebrating your success at GBSN’s annual conference in Mexico City!
We would also like to congratulate the team from IMD (Switzerland), including Cygni Chan, Veronika Torarp and Mahoto Harada for producing the the 2nd Place video.
In 3rd place we had a tie and we’d like to congratulate Hugo Campos and his team from Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile) and Marcela Cubas and her team from Thunderbird (USA) for their inspiring video submissions.
GBSN asked the question. “Can an MBA change the world?” and these students answered with a resounding “Yes!” We were pleased with the student response to this challenge and are inspired by the innovative and worthwhile work business school students are carrying out around the world. Click here to watch all of the video submissions.
