NANYANG MBA

JOHN MOLSON MBA INTERNATIONAL CASE COMPETITION 2020

The winning team back on campus in SingaporeArticle contributed by Julia Leuchtgens, Lyla Wang, Muthamma Malanda and Sai Sundaram, Nanyang MBA, Class of 2020

What began as a 25-hour flight from Singapore to Montreal, Canada ended as a 7-day adrenaline rush and a fantastic learning journey. At the start of the 39th John Molson MBA International Case Competition, we encountered headwinds. However. by innovating and improving throughout the competition, we fought our way to the finals and achieved third place.

We always wanted our MBA to be an experiential journey. Case competitions are a great channel to take classroom learnings outside, experiment with strategies for a real company, and gain experience in a global setting. Following a three-round selection process designed to test our case analysis ability, we were proud to be selected to represent the Nanyang Business School (NBS). Our motivation was high, and we were ready to get into rigorous practice with our coach Akshay’s help.

The week-long competition took place in Hotel Bonaventure in Downtown Montreal. While the official start of the event was on Monday, things kicked off on Sunday evening with a cocktail party. It was great to meet people from all over the world and get into the competition spirit as the 36 participating teams were split into six divisions. For the preliminary round, teams would compete against each of the other teams within their division.

Stress levels rose as we reported for our first case on Monday morning, which involved three hours to read and prepare the case, followed by a presentation to the judges and a Q&A. After each case, a total of 11 points were distributed between the two competing teams.

Riding on a high from our last practice session, we set out to crack Case 1 by attempting to differentiate ourselves with strategies that were out of the box. Our first competitor was University of Cape Town, who was well known in the John Molson circuit. The presentation ended on a good note, and the team was fairly confident. Cut to the end of the day when results are announced – we lost with a score of 10-1. We were devastated. This loss put everything into perspective. We now had to win all four remaining cases to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals, which would be made up of the six division winners and three wild cards.

Day 2 and our second case on OYO Hotels was a complete curve ball, resulting in us learning to trust each other’s instincts. Case 3 was a short live case on Element AI, where we addressed public perception issues with AI. We won both cases. Day 3 gave us Case 4, a long live case on Flighthub, an online travel aggregator. We got creative with strategies and applied learnings from Professor Vijay Sethi’s class to pull out another win.

Day 4 – Case 5; it was do or die. To tackle issues related to the survival of an online gaming retailer, Gamestop, we got creative with ideas but were conscious of being too radical. Results were announced over lunch and we were wildcard #2! That put us into the semi-finals, but out of our comfort zone as we had to deal with an insurance company – AXA. We were pitted against two of the strongest competitors and erstwhile champions – Memorial University and UCT Dublin. However, our research came to our rescue, and we were able to deliver our best presentation yet and earn our place in the finals, where we faced off with our first opponent – University of Cape Town, and Paderborn.

Our final presentation was witnessed by a live audience of 150 and  livestreamed to more. The case revolved around strategies towards the survival of a sustainable clothing company, EcoAlf. Our presentation was a success, and our team was at its peak of confidence. We knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, irrespective of the outcome. We felt very proud representing the school and maintaining NBS’ reputation for being the competitor to look out for. Our recovery from a 10-1 loss to becoming a finalist was testament to that! We would also like to thank our coach, Akshay, and Nanyang MBA alumni Jonah, Minghao, Vishnu and Cory, who sacrificed their personal time to guide us step by step.

Our tips for future NBS representatives? Trust your instincts. Don’t get comfortable with previous years’ formats as a guide; instead try to find your own synergy and flow as a team. More importantly, use the practice sessions to the maximum, to experiment with ideas and thought processes. It’s also important to be cognisant of applying concepts that have been taught in class, and learnings from your research.

Beyond the competition itself, we have learned great lessons for life. We appreciated getting to know the other teams through the dinners, parties and networking opportunities that were organised, as well as experiencing different cultural aspects of Montreal. We will cherish the memories forever. Thus, the best recommendation for future representatives would be to give it their best, soak it all in and enjoy every moment of the journey!

Julia, Sai, Muthamma and Lyla the presentation ceremony in Montreal

The winning team back on campus in Singapore

Nanyang MBA

The Nanyang MBA is a flexible 12-month or 18-month programme designed to fuel your growth into a future-ready leader equipped with the skills needed to excel in a global, digital environment. The programme aims to develop impactful, culturally adept leaders who embrace the connection between business, technology, and innovation to excel in global environments and adapt to each new wave of digital change.