Deloitte Announces Team From Vanderbilt as National MBA Human Capital Case Competition Champions

November 6, 2009

Challenging and inspiring tomorrow's leaders, Deloitte awards $10,000 and 2009 Human Capital Case Competition championship title

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte announced today a team of students from the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management came in first place at the 2009 National MBA Human Capital Case Competition. The third annual competition, hosted by Owen on October 16-17, included teams from ten of the top graduate schools across the country, pitted against each other to address a real-world human capital issue and present solutions relevant in today's fast-paced global economy. Second and third place were awarded to Emory University's Goizueta Business School and UCLA Anderson School of Management, respectively.

Owen's winning team was comprised of three second-year students and three first-year students, including Joe Parise, Heidi Wallenhorst, Eric Bilbrey, Kristen Schaefer, Lindsay Goldman, and Sarah Hultquist.

Prior to the competition, teams received the Human Capital case and were given a week to analyze the issue and prepare their solutions for presentation at the Owen Graduate School of Management to a team of esteemed judges, including:

    --  Richard A. Kleinert, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
    --  Kevin Knowles, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
    --  Erica Volini, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP

    --  Corbette Doyle, Lecturer of Leadership and Organizations, Peabody
        College, Vanderbilt University.

The case, set in 2008, examined how Google Inc.(TM) had worked to avoid the pitfalls of rapid growth such as: bureaucracy, slow decision-making, lack of visibility and organizational inconsistency. At the competition kickoff, prior to the teams' first presentations, Deloitte introduced an unexpected twist to the case. All students received new information and were asked to reconsider their solutions in the context of the current environment; teams had three hours to make any adjustments for presentation to the judges that afternoon.

"We were pleased with how well the teams managed the surprising twist, particularly when they came prepared with one set of solutions and were asked to think on their feet and re-evaluate their approach in light of new information," said Garth Andrus, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "Solutions presented by Owen were particularly impressive, and our hope is each of the teams will incorporate the skills they've gained from the competition to the remainder of their course work and their future careers."

According to Deloitte, these types of real-world, competitive opportunities not only present students with a chance to engage in and help identify innovative solutions for real-world issues, but they offer organizations like Deloitte and Google Inc. varying perspectives and insights on current business challenges to help create a competitive, sustainable advantage and drive business growth. After all, in this competitive environment where people issues are front-and-center, the demand for innovative solutions that link talent strategies to the business is greater than ever.

This year's finalists included teams of three (3) second-year students and three (3) first-year students from the following MBA programs:

    1. Carroll School of Management (Boston College)
    2. Goizueta Business School (Emory University)
    3. Kenan-Flagler at UNC-Chapel Hill
    4. Johnson School at Cornell University
    5. Marriott School of Business (Brigham Young University)
    6. Marshall School of Business (University of Southern California)
    7. Owen Graduate School of Management (Vanderbilt University)
    8. Ross School of Business (University of Michigan)
    9. UCLA Anderson School of Management

    10. Yale School of Management

For more information about the competition, please visit http://www.humancapitalcasecompetition.com/. For more information about Deloitte's Human Capital practice, please visit http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Services/consulting/consulting-services/human-capital/index.htm.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Services LP, subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

SOURCE Deloitte