Biotech Conference Winners Announced

Business, law, science and medical students from top universities around the nation converged at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business on Feb. 24-25 for the 3rd Annual Biotechnology Conference and Case Competition.

This MBA case competition is unique because it unites students from a variety of educational backgrounds to collaborate and solve a strategic challenge. The had a to prepare a business plan for case sponsor LifeScan Inc. to enter a new market. The teams then made presentations to a panel of judges on Feb. 25

Winners were announced later that evening during an awards gala at Bridger Field House on the Wake Forest University campus.

University of California-Los Angeles won first place and a $10,000 prize. Students on the team included Alexy Aleshin, Terrence Allotta, Jeff Chang, Michael Y. Tsai and Baozhong (Jack) Zhu.

Second place and a $5,000 prize went to the University of Texas. Team members were Rohan John, Scott Marrett, Nick Meyerson and Jim Ryan.

Rutgers University placed third, receiving a $2,000 check, and was represented by students Brian Pan, Brandon Saks, Tarak Shah and Mark Slomiany.

LifeScan invested an additional $3,500 in surprise honorable mention awards worth $500 each.

Honorable mention recipients included:

• Wake Forest University Schools of Business: Best Conceptual Approach
• University of California-Berkeley: Best Emerging Marketing Analysis
• University of Chicago: Best Supporting Data
• Duke University: Best Tag Line
• Johns Hopkins University: Most Integrated Solution
• University of Michigan: Best Presentation
• University of California-San Diego: Most Patient-Centric

Sponsors commented about the value they received from the competition and noted that students delivered results comparable to the work of big consulting firms.

The Biotechnology Conference and Case Competition was organized by student co-chairs Justin Kistler (MBA ’12), Travis Riedel (MBA ’11, PhD ’12), Adam Vincent (MBA ’12) and Andrew Wilber (MBA ’12). The faculty advisor is Len Preslar, Distinguished Professor of Practice and Executive Director of Health Management Programs at Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

Preslar told the students, “You are wonderful and so bright, you are all going to be successful.”

“We want to thank LifeScan, the judges and all of sponsors for making the Biotechnology Conference and Case Competition so successful,” Kistler said. “We also want to recognize Wake Forest University Schools of Business Professor of Management Mike Lord for working with LifeScan to write this year’s case.”

Other conference events included student networking sessions and a keynote address by J. Donald deBethizy, the president and CEO of Targacept Inc.

The event was made possible by generous support from the following sponsors: LifeScan, Wake Forest Baptist Health, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Novant Health, Amgen, Banner Pharmacaps, Benefit Advocates, Cornerstone Healthcare, Merz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Sanofi, Targacept and Transtech Pharma.

LifeScan, a Johnson & Johnson company and a leading maker of blood glucose monitoring systems in the U.S., is dedicated to creating a world without limits for people with diabetes.

Before They Were Winners

Check out the audition video from the University of Chicago, the graduate school winner of the 2012 WFU Marketing Summit.

Information on the 2013 Marketing Summit

The 22nd Annual WFU Marketing Summit Competition has come to a close, and it was the biggest Marketing Summit yet! A record $106,000 in cash prizes were awarded to six highly talented marketing teams, and one particularly impressive recipient of the John A. Scarritt MVP Award. Thank you to all of the teams that participated; we at Wake Forest are honored to have been able to host such a distinguished group of MBA candidates from many of the top business schools in the world.

For those of you who just can’t wait and are interested in applying for next year’s competition, we will begin accepting applications in Fall 2012, around October and November. As we get closer to that date, be sure to check http://business.wfu.edu/marketingsummit regularly for registration details to prepare for another exciting Marketing Summit next February! Customarily the application process consists of answering a practice case, submitting the resumes of your Marketing Summit team, and submitting a team video introducing your school’s team.

Thanks for helping us to make this year’s Marketing Summit one of the biggest and best yet, and we look forward to seeing you again next year!

Unearthed: Videos of Wake Forest's Marketing Summit Teams

We just found video footage of the graduate and undergraduate teams for this year's Marketing Summit, discussing their excitement to build presentations for sponsors Hanes Brands and BB&T Corp. The competition will take place this weekend. Learn more at the competition's official website.

And here is another video for the unveiling of this year's sponsors:

Wake Team Takes First Place in Regional VC Competition

Five MBA students from Wake Forest University Schools of Business won First Place at the Southeast Regional Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) held at Georgetown University on Feb. 3, defeating Vanderbilt, Duke, Boston College, Emory and University of North Carolina.
Wake Forest now advances to the VCIC International Finals to be held April 12-14 in Chapel Hill, N.C., to compete against nine other regional winners.
Students on the winning team include: Emily Cantrell (MBA ’13), Guy Groff, Jr. (MBA ’13), Matt Henson (MBA ’13), Jud Killion (MBA ’13) and Dustin Morgan (MBA ’13). Members of the 2011 Wake Forest VCIC team helped this year’s students prepare.
Wake Forest VCIC faculty advisors include Stan Mandel, Professor of Practice and Director of the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship; and Todd Johnson, President of the Wake Forest Charlotte Center Board of Visitors and Managing Director of KeraNetics.
During the VCIC Competition, students play the role of venture capitalist evaluating high potential ventures. Teams negotiate with the entrepreneur on terms and funding.
The 14th Annual VCIC Competition encompasses 50 events on four continents with more than 1,000 MBA students competing. For more information, click here.

Note: Wake Forest has had a nice run in competitions recently, also taking first place in a financial plan competition in Las Vegas.

MBA Team Wins Financial Services Competition

Three MBA students from the Wake Forest University Schools of Business took first place in the American Financial Services Association competition held in Las Vegas on Feb. 2.

Julie Almendral (MBA ’12), Brandon Belk (MBA ’12) and Mary Beth Watson (MBA ’12) earned a $10,000 prize for their winning strategy to successfully market Automotive Financing to Generation Y.

The students presented to about people at the Vehicle Finance Conference who voted on the winner. Attendees included executives from General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and various banks and financial institutions. The Wake Forest MBA team competed against a team of PhD in Consumer Behavior candidates from the University of Arizona.

“Overall, it was a fantastic experience and we were honored to have the opportunity to represent Wake Forest Schools of Business in front of many executives from top global companies,” Belk said.

“The best part of this competition was the highly positive, enthusiastic response we received from many of the attendees of the conference,” Almendral said. “Our team received great feedback, on both our presentation skills and our insights. Several audience members said they intended to implement some of our recommendations, which made us feel like we made a significant impact.”

Almendral noted that none of the members of the Wake Forest MBA team had much exposure to the vehicle finance industry prior to this project. "I'm sure we'll all make very informed decisions the next time we buy or lease a car,” she said.

“Transferring our knowledge from academia to the real world was an extremely rewarding experience that I will benefit from in my professional life for years to come," Watson added.

Video: Charlotte Campus Grand Opening

We have found video of the grand opening for the Wake Forest University Schools of Business campus in Charlotte!

Wake Forest Charlotte Center Grand Opening from WFU Schools of Business on Vimeo.