Last modified: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
IU Kelley School of Business repeats marketing and strategy case competition win
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 28, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University muscled to a gridiron victory over Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket in Bloomington on Nov. 17. At the same time in West Lafayette, MBA students from IU's Kelley School of Business claimed a win over Purdue and five other universities in the Krannert Graduate Marketing Association Business-to-Business Marketing and Strategy Case Competition (KGMA B2B).The winning team was comprised of first-year MBA students Anthony Williams and Arvind Veershetty, and second-year MBA students Agnes Wu, Heramb Nirgudkar and Kiran Deshmukh. The team advisor was Frederick W. Roedl, clinical assistant professor of marketing and director of the MBA Business-to-Business Marketing Academy at the Kelley School.
Front Row (L to R): Agnes Wu, Kiran Deshmukh. Back Row (L to R): Anthony Williams, Heramb Nirgudkar, Arvind Veershetty, Fred Roedl.
The Kelley team went home with a trophy and a check for $5,000. The universities of Rochester and Illinois came in second and third. IU also won this event in 2005.
Participating teams in this competition, known as the leading case competition in the B2B marketing arena, had to develop the post 9/11 growth strategy for a software firm that provides e-commerce solutions and services to other businesses. Judging was conducted by a panel of business professionals and faculty members, who included two executives from Alticor Inc., one executive each from Xerox and Shell, and professors from Krannert and Kelley.
Kiran Deshmukh, a student in the MBA Class of 2008, said this year's win was an especially meaningful one.
"Competition was tough with big names like Kellogg and Tepper, but most importantly it was at Purdue," Deshmukh said. "This competition was prestigious for us and also a big responsibility. Our team was selected by professors to represent Kelley. We had to exceed their expectations.
"As a team, all of us took it as a challenge. We so much wanted to continue Kelley's legacy of case competition wins," he added. "Personally for me, this was a great learning experience, an opportunity to feel proud about being a part of the Kelley School of Business and a sweet memory for a lifetime."
The case competition is of particular interest for the Kelley School because the Kelley MBA program is home to a Business-to-Business Marketing Academy, an industry-focused part of the MBA curriculum that connects MBA talent in B2B marketing with the B2B corporate world. Academies at Kelley blend advanced coursework, sector-focused experiences, special projects, field trips, industry speakers and direct involvement with the senior practitioners on their advisory boards to prepare students for their chosen career paths.
"All of the students on the winning Kelley team are MBA Business Marketing Academy students," Roedl said. "They were uniquely prepared to compete in this venue, and it showed. We are very proud of their achievement. The B2B Business Marketing Academy helps our students stay focused on current B2B issues, including such topics as product positioning and segmentation, distribution channel design and management, pricing, sales resource management and e-commerce strategies."
