WINSTON SALEM, N.C., Feb. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A team of MBA students from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business walked away with a $75,000 cash prize and the Cheerwine Cup on Saturday, Feb. 18, after winning first place in an international case competition at the 22nd Annual Marketing Summit presented by the Wake Forest University Schools of Business Center for Retail Innovation.
Hanesbrands, the Marketing Summit's MBA case sponsor, challenged student teams to spend 36 hours developing a comprehensive marketing plan for its hosiery line.
Members of the winning MBA case team include: Christina Maria DesVaux, Sinem Guzelce, Sohee Lacey, Anna Liu and Gina Pee and Tom Batten, a 2001 graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Wake Forest University and the only male on the Chicago team.
"I was so excited to be able to come back to Wake Forest and show off my undergraduate alma mater to my MBA teammates and participate in this competition," said Batten. "Wake Forest puts on such an outstanding Marketing Summit each year. Winning the $75,000 makes the trip from Chicago even more amazing."
University of California-Los Angeles Anderson School of Management finished second and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School was the third place finisher in MBA case competition.
Other participating MBA programs included: Brigham Young University Marriott School of Management, George Washington University School of Business, London Business School, University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business and Wake Forest University Schools of Business.
Howard Upchurch, President of Innerwear and Hosiery, Hanesbrands, Inc. said, "Hanesbrands is proud to sponsor the Wake Forest Marketing Summit MBA case competition. We are very impressed with their intelligence, energy and insights. The teams generated a number of thought-provoking ideas for our business. The WFU case competition effectively showcased the talent of the next generation of marketing leaders."
Christina Maria DesVaux of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business received plaque and a $1,000 check for the inaugural John A. Scarritt Marketing Summit MBA MVP Award. The award was given to the one participant who showed distinction and outstanding contributions during the presentations. Upon giving the award, Scarritt, a Wake Forest MBA alumnus, said, "I am so proud to be associated with Wake Forest University Schools of Business and the world-class Marketing Summit."
A team of students from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School won first place in the undergraduate case presented by BB &T, taking home a $10,000 cash prize and the BB &T Lighthouse Trophy.
Members of the winning undergraduate case team were: Ann Dang, Shaun Libou, Jeanette Sha and Diane Wang.
University of Maryland Robert H.Smith School of Business finished second in the undergraduate case competition, and Wake Forest University Schools of Business finished third.
Other competing undergraduate schools included: Brigham Young University, Northeastern University, and College of William & Mary.
"We will definitely find ways to leverage the ideas we heard. We found the outcomes of this competition to be incredibly valuable," said Howard Brooks, Executive Vice President, Electronic Delivery Channels, BB &T.
Brigham Young received a $1,000 prize for winning the Fan Favorite award, voted on by people all over the world via (marketingsummitlive.com). Nearly 9,000 votes were cast for the Fan Favorite during the 36-hour case competition.
"The Wake Forest Marketing Summit is truly and international event. People from 70 countries joined in the festivities through (marketingsummitlive.com) by voting for the fan favorite, viewing photo galleries, watching videos and reading student blogs," said Marketing Summit co-chair, Eric Wiggins (MBA '12). "The site had nearly 65,000 visits during to Market Summit social media pages."
A record $106,000 in prize money was awarded out Feb. 18 during a celebration at the Millennium Center in downtown Winston-Salem. Corporate sponsors for this year's event include: Hanesbrands, BB &T, FedEx, Frito-Lay, Sam's Club, Altria, Inmar, Symphony IRI Group, Embassy Suites Hotels, Cheerwine, Texas Pete, Fleishman-Hillard, Mullen, Chick-fil-A, John A. Scarritt and Marriott.
The Marketing Summit is produced annually by more than 100 Wake Forest University Schools of Business students led by three co-chairs and faculty advisor Roger Beahm. This year's co-chairs were: Alyssa Thomas (MBA '12), Adam Vincent (MBA'12) and Eric Wiggins (MBA '12). For more information on all of the competing teams including videos, photos, blogs and news feeds, visit (marketingsummitlive.com).
About Wake Forest University Schools of Business (business.wfu.edu)
The Wake Forest University Schools of Business offer undergraduate programs in finance, accounting, mathematical business, and business and enterprise management, and graduate programs including a Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accountancy and Master of Arts in Management. Our programs are consistently ranked among the world's best in surveys by U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, the Economist, Forbes, and the Financial Times. Wake Forest MBAs who sat for a Six Sigma certification exam in 2011 had a 100% pass rate. Wake Forest accountancy graduates have earned the highest passing rate in the nation on the CPA exam for five of the past six years.
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Gina Katzmark, katzmag@wfu.edu, 336.758.4098 or Sylvia Green, greensm@wfu.edu, 336.782.5958
