Eller Students Shine in Inaugural Arizona Statewide Business School Case Competition (ASBSCC)

The Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona prides itself on preparing students for the challenges of today as well as the future. Exemplifying this mission, Karthik Kannan, dean and Halle Chair in Leadership in the Eller College—along with W.P. Carey School of Business Dean Ohad Kadan and W.A. Franke College of Business Dean Ashok Subramanian—co-developed the Arizona Statewide Business School Case Competition (ASBSCC), which fosters a collaboration of the state’s business schools to present students with opportunities to utilize their skills in real-world scenarios.

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The idea for this competition was developed in the fall of 2022 by the deans of Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and the W. A. Franke College of Business at Northern Arizona University. The ASBSCC was officially created and organized by Dan Gruber, associate dean for teaching and learning at W. P. Carey School of Business; Sarah Diaz, assistant dean of career and professional development in the Eller College of Management; and Gavin Zhang, professor and department chair of information systems, management and marketing at the W. A. Franke College of Business, in collaboration with the deans of these schools as well as leaders and teams across W. P. Carey.

“We wanted to create a competition that allowed students to come together to showcase what they have learned and apply it to the challenging situations and issues that they may very well face in their careers once they leave our classrooms,” says Kannan. “This inaugural event was a well-executed collaborative effort between our schools. I am extremely proud of the students’ ability to showcase teamwork, business acumen and grace under pressure.” 

The competition, hosted at ASU’s W.P Carey School of Business, included 78 students from the three state universities’ business schools. Each school had a designated representative to help spearhead the competition. 

On Day 1, Thursday, Feb. 8, students were divided into 12 undergraduate and eight graduate teams. They were then given five hours to create a presentation based on a case study provided by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council which focused on growing businesses in Arizona while incorporating the ASU design aspiration of Principled Innovation. Themes of climate technology innovation, electric vehicle manufacturing, autonomous transportation and health care were also tackled within the presentations.

On Day 2, Friday, Feb. 9, the students’ presentations were evaluated by a panel of 30 judges. The criteria of judging included students’ analysis and understanding of the case problem, the quality of their presentation, their ability to answer the judges’ questions and the creativity, innovation, feasibility and practicality of their proposed solutions. 

Winners of the undergraduate division include:

First place: Annie Qin (ASU); Ethan Hefflin (UArizona); Delaney Chenevert (UArizona); and Aaron Shneyderman (NAU).
Second place: Madison Reznicki (UArizona); Anthony Guz (ASU); Celeste Mesa (UArizona); and Vaibhav Kotecha (ASU).
Third place: Shivani Naik (ASU); Dhruv Nair (ASU); Alyssa Chang (UArizona); and Ansel Newman (UArizona).

Winners of the graduate division include:

First place: Brodie Butler (ASU); Akhilesh Khade (UArizona); Tanner Shumway (ASU); and Robert Powell (NAU).
Second place: Faseeh Yunus (ASU); Elliot Gatt (ASU); Ryan Soffer (NAU); and Sowmya Yalla (UArizona).
Third place: Kapil Bhise (ASU); Bitan Mani (UArizona); Sam Bradbury (NAU); and Mansi Patange (UArizona).

Each member of the winning teams received a $500 award and plaque. Members of the second-place teams each received a $250 award and plaque and members of the third-place teams each received a $100 award and plaque.

The Arizona Statewide Business School Case Competition will rotate between being held at ASU in Tempe, at UArizona in Tucson and at NAU in Flagstaff. The Eller College of Management is slated to host the next ASBSCC in 2025.

“While friendly school rivalries are always enjoyable, nothing beats the experience of joining forces with top business students from across the state in true collaboration. I'm truly grateful for the partnership with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (Kristen Stephenson, CEcD and Ashley Tupper), who crafted a real-world case for our undergraduate and graduate students to tackle head-on,” says Diaz. “It is inspiring to see the next generation of business leaders in Arizona engaging with practical challenges and showcasing their skills. Witnessing the next generation of business leaders in Arizona rise to the occasion and showcase their skills fills me with hope and optimism for the future of our state's public universities as well as our great state of which we serve.”