HEC Montréal takes third place in the 2012 HEC Sustainability Challenge MBA case competition
March 22, 2012
On March 17, the HEC Montréal team of four MBA students (El-Hassan Boussif, Savvas Pilarinos, Exequiel Rolon and Durga Srinivasan) won third place at the HEC Sustainability Challenge case competition, held at the School and organized by HEC Montréal MBA students. The team members, coached by Lecturer Paul Lapensée, President of Alta Vista Inc., will share the $1,000 prize.
“Thanks to our students who organized the event this year, the competition attracted a number of renowned business schools and was a great success,” said MBA Program Director Michael D. Wybo.
Eleven teams from leading business schools around the world faced off in a case competition focusing on sustainable international business opportunities. All the teams received the same case and had one week to analyze it and prepare their recommendations, which they then presented to a jury of experts in sustainable development and energy. Only four were selected for the second round, and then competed in the finals. The HEC Montréal team took third place, while Ryerson University took the silver and Queen's University the gold. This was the second time on the podium for HEC Montréal in its three years of competing.
“It’s no coincidence that the School chose to hold a student competition on the theme of sustainability. It is becoming more and more essential for leaders to understand all aspects of social responsibility if they are to manage properly in today’s economy. All in all, it was a very enriching experience,” the four students agreed.
The competition was part of the 3rd edition of the Montreal Sustainability Weekend, organized by HEC Montréal in partnership with the John Molson School of Business and the Desautels Faculty of Management. The goal of the event was to promote the importance of social responsibility in the business world and encourage companies to adopt responsible approaches. Some 250 people took part in the weekend and over 150 participants attended the lectures, held again this year at Concordia University.
Jury members for the final round:
- Kim Cornelissen, Regional and International Development Consultant with Bebop et cie
- Nicolas Dalmau, Director of Energy and Strategic Development with Alcoa
- Jacques Fortin, Academic Supervisor for the Specialized Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting at HEC Montréal
- Mustapha Ouyed, Project Manager with Golder Associates, and
- Gildas Poissonnier, Manager, Sustainability and Climate Change with Deloitte
Participating universities:
- Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – John Molson School of Management
- Copenhagen Business School (Copenhagen, Denmark)
- HEC Montréal (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
- McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) – DeGroote School of Business
- McGill University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – Desautels Faculty of Management
- Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) – Queen’s School of Business
- Ryerson University (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) – Ted Rogers School of Management
- University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) – Alberta School of Business
- University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) – Haskayne School of Business
- University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) – Rotman School of Management
- University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont, United States) – School of Business Administration
From left to right: Durga Srinivasan, El-Hassan Boussif, Exequiel Rolon et Savvas Pilarinos