Two Teams Win the L'Oréal Business Games

May 7, 2008

Marie Sagarzazu, Jean-Paul Belmont and Jean-Philippe Roby, the members of the HEC Montréal Vizion team, brought home the top prize in the Canadian finals of the L’Oréal Brandstorm marketing strategy game for undergraduate students. The three winners will be winging their way to Paris on June 10 for the international finals, to compete with the national winners from 37 other countries.

“This kind of competition at the end of the undergraduate program gives us a chance to put into practice all the knowledge and skills we’ve acquired during our three years of studies,” explains Jean-Paul Belmont, a Bachelor's in Business Administration (BBA) student at HEC Montréal. “Our team represents a well thought-out strategic alliance that draws on the complementary nature of each member’s strengths. Marie is a very clear-headed thinker, Jean-Philippe is highly organized and analytical, and I’m more of a creative entrepreneur.”

For four months, the students competing in the Brandstorm game had to put themselves in the shoes of a brand manager and worked with L’Oréal executives to develop a new product line and a communications and marketing campaign.

“The special thing about this kind of competition is that the students deal with a number of other people at once, and are faced with very real issues and constraints, within a very realistic time frame,” notes François Carillat, Assistant Professor in the Department of Marketing. Along with his colleague Jean-François Ouellet, he accompanied the HEC Montréal teams throughout the competition.

Third place in this business game also went to an HEC Montréal team – Emmanuel Lafleur-Valesco, Camille Hanslik and Margaux Nguyen.

Another victory

The HEC Montréal Stardust team of Léticia Charvein, Annick Turi and Lionel Bohbot took first place at the undergraduate level in the national finals of the e-Strat Challenge 8 on April 9. The six-month business game calls for participants to become entrepreneurs and make some 150 decisions to keep their business thriving in a virtual two-year business world. The students have to react quickly and think ahead, using their creative and strategic skills and their team spirit – just like corporate leaders in the real world.

From left to right: Jean-Philippe Roby, Marie Sagarzazu and Jean-Paul Belmont of HEC Montréal Vizion team.

From left to right: Dominique DeCelles, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of L'Oréal Canada, Annick Turi, Lionel Bohbot and Laeticia Charvein of HEC Montréal Stardust team, and Javier San Juan, President of L'Oréal Canada.