Students in the MBA program at Martha and Spencer Love School of Business showcased their expertise in the Annual Case Competition that this year focused on clean cement solutions.
Elon MBA students set to graduate this spring took part in a February campus competition that challenged them to apply their acquired knowledge and skills to a real-world issue.
April Dudash G’24, Major Duckett G’24 and Brandon Swindell G’24 comprised the winning team of the 2024 MBA Case Competition hosted by the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
Second-place honors in the Feb. 3 event were awarded to a team comprised of Felicia Cenca G’24, Meghann Lail G’24, Breanna Lewis G’24 and Aeriel Miller G’24.
“The Potential for Clean Cement in Nigeria with Donor Pull Finance,” a case study provided by Instiglio and Executive-in-Residence David Goslin, served as the theme of the annual program for graduating MBA students.
“It’s all about confidence and human connection,” said Dudash, a communications manager at Fidelity Charitable. “Even though the case may be about trying to save a business money or launching a new product, the most important thing is getting people on board with your ideas, both internally to the business and externally in the marketplace.”
Five teams engaged in an intense two-week preparation period to devise and refine their strategies for addressing the case study’s complex issues. Their solutions aimed at not only making a significant environmental impact but also ensuring economic viability in the Nigerian context.
“The MBA program prepares us to deep dive into large-scale problems and understand how to attack the challenge effectively,” said Duckett, a plant manager at Eaton. “The program gave us the tools and insight to compete the challenge.”
The judges for this year’s competition included:
- David Goslin, executive in resident
- Xin Liu, assistant professor of marketing
- Lawrence Garber, associate professor of marketing
- Haya Ajjan, associate dean of the Love School of Business
- Brian Lyons, associate professor of management and faculty director of graduate programs for the Love School of Business
- Rynita Julien, senior director, global program manager at CSL Behring
- Eric DeVane, finance associate manager at PepsiCo
- Mary DeFriest, assistant athletic director of marketing and fan engagement for Elon University Athletics
“The best part of the competition was working with my outstanding teammates,” said Swindell, a team leader from Fidelity Investments. “Our work in the program prepared us to work together at a high level in a quick amount of time.”
About the Elon MBA
Designed for working professionals from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, Durham and beyond, the Elon MBA offers small class sizes, a curriculum focused on the transfer of course content to practical applications, professional development support for students and alumni, evening classes and an extraordinary faculty committed to teaching and engaged learning. Learn more at elon.edu/mba.