MSB Students Place in USC Case Competition

Four students from the McDonough School of Business recently placed third in the 2005 Marshall International Case Competition (MICC) in Los Angeles, Calif.

The team, which includes Sean Doran (MSB ’05), Mitch Fox (MSB ’05), Christopher Satti (MSB ’06) and Aaron Sokolik (MSB ’05), placed third in a field of 24, which included 12 teams from abroad.

“It was invitation-only, with selection based upon reputation and previous placement in this and other case competitions,” Assistant Professor of Finance Jeffrey Macher, the team’s faculty advisor, said.

The team’s success in this year’s event marks the third consecutive year that an MSB case team has reached the final round in competition.

The MICC, which was hosted by the Marshall School at the University of Southern California, is considered the largest and most prestigious competition of its kind. Student teams were given 24 hours to research and analyze a case. They then presented their recommendations to a panel of judges from the private sector, academia and the government. This year’s case study focused on Amgen and its approach to the 2002 purchase of biotechnology rival, Immunex.

The case team placed third despite competing without team member Cindra Maharaj (MSB ’05), who broke her ankle two days before the competition.

“Losing Cindra was definitely a concern for our team,” Doran said. “We were forced to go to the competition never having given a presentation with the final team.”

Some of the team members had worked together before, however.

“Three out of the four from the team competing in [last fall’s case competition] were willing and able to participate in the Marshall International Case Competition,” Macher said. “Mitch was randomly chosen.”

The case team began preparing for the competition in the fall semester. They were assisted by numerous MSB faculty members.

“Being on the team was like taking a sixth class,” Satti said.

All of the team members said they developed real-life skills by preparing for and participating in the competition.

“I developed a lot of confidence and I better understand how I work under pressure with a group and in front of an audience,” Sokolik said.

The MSB has two case teams, which are selected based on interviews conducted by faculty and former case team members every year.