MBA Students Head for Singapore for the Semi-finals of the Prestigious NUS Global Business Challenge
March 26, 2008
HEC Montréal is among the top six teams selected to take part in the semi-finals of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Global Business Challenge, also known as the largest master’s-level competition in the world with close to 450 registered teams from over 110 universities in 30 countries. After going through three elimination rounds, the HEC Montreal team – Fabio Carriero, Montu Gupta, Mauricio Idarraga and Rani Salman – will go head-to-head with that from University of Hong Kong in the semi-finals held on March 27th. The winner will automatically move on to the grand finals on March 28th. The other four teams still in the race are from NUS Business School, McGill University, University of Minnesota (Carlson School of Management) and London Business School.
As part of this business plan competition, three growing businesses in Asia seeking innovative expansion plans share one common mission: to tap the talents of the brightest minds in the world. The three leading Asian companies involved in the competition are Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbrewery, Singapore’s award-winning microbrewery restaurant; Expressions International, a leading provider of healthy lifestyle wellness services and education in Asia and internationally; and Qian Hu Corporation Limited, an integrated "one-stop" ornamental fish service provider. The HEC Montréal team has been working on an innovative business plan for Brewerkz since the beginning of the competition, at the end of November 2007.
Montu, Rani, Fabio and Mauricio entered the Intensive MBA program at HEC Montréal only at the end of August 2007 but quickly built the solid experience that led them to this remarkable success. Professor Ari Van Assche, of the Department of International Business, and Mouloud Khelif, MBA lecturer and doctoral student, have coached and worked closely with the team members over the past few months.
“We felt confident we could take on this challenge, but given the high level of competition and the large number of participants involved, we are twice as proud to have made it this far and truly hope we can go all the way,“ commented Montu. “We most certainly have to pay tribute to the academic and administrative support the School has granted us in helping us achieve these results.”
The HEC Montréal Intensive MBA program, spanning over 12 months and offered in French and English, ranks in the Top 10 best MBA programs outside the United States, according to BusinessWeek magazine, 2004 and 2006 editions. It has also been listed in the Forbes ranking, 2003, 2005 and 2007 editions.
From left to right: Rani Salman, Mouloud Khelif (coach) (behind), Mauricio Idarraga, Ari Van Assche (coach) (behind Mauricio), Fabio Carriero and Montu Gupta