Manderson MBA Case Team
Staying in the Conversation
We lost a world-class football coach at The University of Alabama this year.
Nick Saban finally retired, concluding a 17-season career that resulted in six national championship titles and the team being ranked in the top four every season since 2008. In fact, the Crimson Tide became so successful, it is fair to say that some fans began to expect a national championship shot every year.
Competitiveness is great. But to expect to win a national championship every year is to overlook, perhaps, how unbelievably hard it is to play football at this level, and how amazing it is that the team reached a point where it remained in the national championship conversation consistently, year after year.
(At this point, you may be wondering if you clicked the wrong link. You did not. We are getting to Manderson MBA Case Team.)
Like the Crimson Tide football team, Manderson MBA Case Team, under the guidance of Quoc Hoang, has performed well over the past few years, and this year is no exception. In the 2023-24 academic year, Case Team students competed and placed in competitions against elite business colleges across the country, reaching advanced rounds and winning prize money in six competitions.
Case Team started slow this year. But they committed to learning their case process, competition after competition, month after month, showing resilience and competitiveness, and ultimately reaching advanced rounds or placing in over half of the case competitions they entered, while competing against b-schools from around the nation. All told, we're talking about an admirable amount of consistent excellence.
So let's appreciate a year where Case Team stayed focused, worked hard and remained in the conversation as one of the best MBA case teams in the country.
National Black MBAA Graduate Case Competition
At the National Black MBAA Graduate Case Competition in Philadelphia in September, a team of four Case Team students identified how Dodge could effectively market eMuscle cars to African American consumers. Their strategy focused on performance, experience, and exclusivity; that is, what their research identified as the most important features desired in this market segment.
“I recently read: ‘The only way to truly fail is not to try’. This was my first case competition as I started the MBA program a month ago,” said Kabria Thomas. “Being surrounded by so many incredible professionals and students, who are all working towards a common goal, was truly inspiring. I am proud of the work my team and I put in and it was a great start to my first year.”
MBAX at Howard University
The MBAX Case Competition was hosted by Howard University in DC and sponsored by the NobleReach Foundation. NobleReach Foundation tasked teams with developing an entrepreneurial strategy that brings together the public sector, academia, and the private sector to address America’s greatest challenges. The team’s proposal focused on funding and accelerating the development of dual-use technologies that addressed national initiatives while ensuring positive economic, academic, and public interest outcomes.
Tylan Farrokhnia said, “It was a unique experience to work on a time-pressured, ambitious project with little-to-no guidance or limitations. I’m proud of our proposal and this case competition gave me a new sense of confidence that the skills and strategies I am learning in the MBA program translate to success outside of the classroom.”
L-R: Jonathan Stuecker, Bethany Welty, Sam Ward
L-R: Jonathan Stuecker, Bethany Welty, Sam Ward
Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Competition Texas
The Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition gave students the opportunity to leverage analytical skills and business knowledge to solve a real-world problem for Humana. Teams were given complex healthcare data with the task of delivering a recommendation based on a robust technical analysis. Case Team delivered a detailed business recommendation along with a high-performing machine learning model that earned 12th place among 150+ teams.
“This case really showcased the importance of connecting technical analysis with business outcomes," Bethany Welty said. "It can be fun to build a cool [machine learning] model, but it always needs to align with business insights that can lead to real decisions.”
Team #1, Top, L-R: Joseph Turberville, Kaitlyn Shelver, Madison Dunn, Walker Burley Team #2, Bottom, L-R: Bess Martin, Carsen Piacsek, Jason Feit, Clara Gibbs
Team #1, Top, L-R: Joseph Turberville, Kaitlyn Shelver, Madison Dunn, Walker Burley Team #2, Bottom, L-R: Bess Martin, Carsen Piacsek, Jason Feit, Clara Gibbs
Florida Southern Strategic MBA Competition
The 2023 Florida Southern Strategic MBA Case Competition focused on Publix, the largest employee-owned company and seventh largest retail pharmacy in the United States. The case tasked teams to create strategies that would help Publix expand its pharmacy and health-focused solutions. The competition was held virtually and required teams to share their research and recommendations in a video presentation.
Two teams competed at Florida Southern. The first team — Joseph Turberville, Kaitlyn Shelver, Madison Dunn, and Walker Burley — proposed establishing personal care provider partnerships and creating a pharmacy bus that would travel into communities and provide services where customers live. “We had to learn how to effectively communicate and plan as a team in order to develop our ideas, create the presentation and video, and prepare for Q&A,” Joseph Turberville said.
The second team — Bess Martin, Carsen Piacsek, Clara Gibbs, and Jason Feit — proposed creating a unified rewards program and digital app to incentivize Publix grocery customers to integrate their pharmacy needs with their existing Publix shopping habits. "After working with my team for several weeks on a competitive project, I learned how much effort it takes to put together a strong proposal and how to use my abilities to advance the work,” said Carsen Piacsek.
“It was insightful to see how such an established company, like Publix, is tackling the monopolized and growing pharmacy industry,” Clara Gibbs said.
Faith & Belief Competition at Brigham Young University
(L-R): Price Dukes, Jordan Smith, Hannah Prescott, McKenzie Huckaby
(L-R): Price Dukes, Jordan Smith, Hannah Prescott, McKenzie Huckaby
Also in February, Case Team members competed in a new competition at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The case focused on helping employees bring their faith and beliefs to the workplace while also ensuring that the business achieve its strategic and financial goals.
After a grueling 24 hours of work, the team of second-year traditional MBAs — including Hannah Prescott, Jordan Smith, McKenzie Huckaby, and Price Dukes — successfully advanced in the field of 16 teams to make finals and ultimately finished second, bringing home $3,000 in scholarship money. In addition, McKenzie Huckaby won a best presenter award.
“The 24 hour format is challenging as you have so little time to understand the challenge, generate ideas, communicate with each other, and build your recommendations. The more ears the ideas go through the more filtered and refined they become — but that takes time and it requires all team members concentrating on the goal,” said Jordan Smith.
Keybank Case Competition at The Ohio State University
In February, Case Team members traveled to Cleveland where Ben Heggeman, Kabria Thomas, and Tylan Farrokhnia competed in the KeyBank/Ohio State University Case Competition. The team prepared for four weeks to develop recommendations for how KeyBank could deploy generative AI in a manner that was uniquely on brand and consistent with its long history of relationship-based banking services. In a field of 29 teams, the team advanced to finals and finished second in the competition, bringing home $12,000. Furthermore, Tylan Farrokhnia won best presenter in his division.
“Before the case, I did not know Kabria and Tylan very well,” said Ben Heggeman. “Quoc always talks about how being on a case forces you to truly to get know someone. Through this experience and the long hours of work, I now have two friends for life.”
Small Business Competition at Florida State University
(L-R): Anne Carlson Sylvest, Grace Beauchamp, and James Kelley
(L-R): Anne Carlson Sylvest, Grace Beauchamp, and James Kelley
In March, Case Team members took another second-place finish at the FSU/SouthState Bank Small Business Competition. The team — Anne Carlson Sylvest, Grace Beauchamp, and James Kelley — tackled a case involving the future of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA). Their recommendations centered on intentionally shaping perceptions about transit, partnering with key corporations and non-profits, and improving environmental outcomes through electrification. “We worked hard to design a tangible and attainable business plan for BJCTA,” said Anne Carlson Sylvest.
Their presentation won over the audience and BJCTA’s CEO/Executive Director, Charlotte Shaw, who, in her closing remarks, shared that she will work to create new positions in accordance with the team’s recommendation. Sylvest continued: “Hearing the CEO commit to our hiring plan and knowing how it will positively impact BJCTA is extremely rewarding.”
(L-R): Nicholas Perera, Madison Dunn, Brandon Harris (Bloom), Emil Fonseca-Caceres (Bloom), Clara Gibbs, Bess Martin, Dylan Manley
(L-R): Nicholas Perera, Madison Dunn, Brandon Harris (Bloom), Emil Fonseca-Caceres (Bloom), Clara Gibbs, Bess Martin, Dylan Manley
IDEAcorps at Loyola University New Orleans
Case Team took their final second-place win at this year’s IDEAcorps MBA Consulting Challenge at Loyola New Orleans. Over 5 weeks — including part of their spring break — students worked with startup Bloom, a platform that matches talent with entertainment venues, to develop and test strategies to grow Bloom’s revenues. With the second-place (runner-up) prize, Case Team members brought home $1,500 and won $2,000 for Bloom to implement their ideas. This competition included several days exploring key economic and entrepreneurship engines in New Orleans.
“My first case was a virtual one with a video deliverable. In contrast, IDEAcorps required an 8-minute, in-person presentation, so there was much more time dedicated to running through the deck and practicing as a team,” said Madison Dunn. “It was also fun to travel with my team and explore a new city while meeting with so many impressive CEOs and entrepreneurs.”
Business Analytics Competition at The University of Iowa
Manderson's Iowa Analytics Competition team had two weeks to analyze data from the Ball Corporation. Based on their analysis and insights, the team developed a people analytics model that linked operational outcomes to HR metrics. Unlike many teams who simply showed their analytics, the team demonstrated what they learned in their graduate classes by offering thoughtful recommendations that naturally flowed from their work.
“Rooted in our data analysis, we went for a bold solution,” said Elyse Peters. “Providing affordable, reliable, and convenient childcare would address a major challenge faced by all employees with children.”
SEC Case Competition at Mississippi State University
(L-R): Price Dukes, Hannah Prescott, McKenzie Huckaby, Nathan Yamaguchi
(L-R): Price Dukes, Hannah Prescott, McKenzie Huckaby, Nathan Yamaguchi
With a mere 24 hours to prepare and present their recommendations to enable FedEx to adopt and sustain new revenue streams, Case Team advanced to the finals of the SEC MBA Case Competition for the fifth year in a row, ultimately finishing third in the competition.
The team also swept individual awards in their division, including Price Dukes, Best Presenter and Nathan Yamaguchi, Best Q&A.
As someone who struggles with self confidence as a presenter, being selected to represent Case Team and The University of Alabama was an honor that came with a healthy amount of pride and pressure,” said Price Dukes. “When the 24-hour clock started, I knew there was no time to waste and drew comfort from the trust my team and advisor placed in me. The lessons I’ve learned over the past two years on Case Team prepared me to do well at SEC and shaped my career path after finishing my MBA program.”
Case Team Grads
Hannah Prescott
Financial Analyst
Lockheed Martin, Space
Huntsville, Alabama
"Case Team provided me an outlet for my creativity and for my curiosity of the world," Prescott said. "I am someone who just loves to absorb information, whether it be about sports and pop culture or politics and business. I just love learning and being curious. However, the information I retain best is not from a classroom, but from experiences with my teammates. I can sit in a lecture and find discussion interesting, but my ability to retain information or stay engaged comes from those late-night library sessions where someone has a breakthrough on the financial analysis. It comes from the Q&A sessions after presentations where the judge asks us about something I randomly saw on Google two weeks ago—celebrating afterwards that we just happened to click it. It is the ability to manage a trip itinerary, but still run through the airport five minutes before your plane takes off. I am, and my teammates are, a mixture of our life experiences and time together. Our technical skills and knowledge may come from the classroom, but our work together to deliver something beautiful on Case Team is what I will retain from my time in the MBA program."
Nathan Yamaguchi
Missionary
FOCUS
Texas A&M University
"I was able to deeply invest in the Case Team as a member for two years and competitor on four competition teams," Yamaguchi said. "As my engagements and business acumen both appreciated within Case Team, I grew in confidence in terms of the skill set I could bring to different career paths. While the translation of skills may not seem apparent to my immediate post-grad job, my experience on the Case Team has helped shape my future career in how I approach problems and discern my role within different team dynamics."
"With my looming future job title, Missionary, I initially worried about feeling like an outcast on Case Team for the remaining five months of the program," he went on. "I questioned whether taking a spot on a case would inhibit someone else’s opportunity from having a more relevant experience; however, the core trait I found of Case Team members was curiosity. The team is composed of so many unique members, and there are universal lessons to take away regardless of where someone is in their pursuits. I didn’t need to be aiming for strategy consulting with Bain to continue learning from invaluable experiences."
McKenzie Huckaby
HR Business Partner
Lockheed Martin, Space
Denver, Colorado
"In my interview for my initial internship, there was a way to relate every question back to an experience I had on Case Team," Huckaby said. "It was what allowed me to have tangible experiences to pull from and then apply on the job. As an HRBP Intern, I volunteered to be a team lead for a project where we presented to the leadership team. I structured our four-week prep, analysis, and presentation using the methods that we use on Case Team."
“A quote that resonated with me during my time in the program states that ‘growth and comfort will never coexist.’ When a case felt out of my comfort zone, I knew it was one I wanted to be on. Allowing myself to grow through the challenge of a case has enabled me to become the person I am today. In other words, I have Case Team to thank for elevating me one step closer to becoming the best version of myself professionally, and personally.”