ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A team of three MBA candidates from Emory University emerged as the leading team among three competing in the finals of The Executive Leadership Foundation’s 2015 Business Case Competition. The competition, sponsored by Exxon Mobil Corporation, invited students from the nation’s top business schools to form teams, led by black team leaders. Each team was challenged to analyze compelling business issues that demonstrated the students’ critical thinking and analytical and communications skills.
The First Place team from Emory included Akilah Doyle, the team captain concentrating in Operations/Management and Consulting; Aurora Hill, focusing on Finance; and, Ife Eni-Olorunda, a candidate for a MBA in Strategy and Operations.
This year’s teams presented innovative ideas to enhance ExxonMobil’s current offerings, develop new products or propose new consumer service offerings. The top team presented a proposal to create a novel mobile capability to deliver fuel to remote areas of developing countries with a value proposition, supported by research and financials, as well as a robust and engaging digital and social media campaign for internal and external audiences.
“We are thrilled that teams from two great business schools, Emory Goizueta and Vanderbilt Owen, joined us again to compete in the 2015 Business Case Competition,” said Ronald C. Parker, president and CEO of The Executive Leadership Council and Foundation, the preeminent membership organization for the development of global black leaders. “Through the generous support of Exxon Mobil Corporation over the years, we are pleased they were able to gain insights from these talented MBA students. Like ExxonMobil, we recognize the value of diversity and innovation, and the positive impact they can have on business growth.”
Teams were asked to offer the following:
- Develop a new petroleum product or service offering that demonstrates innovation
- Build a strategy and plan to enhance or implement the product or service
- Develop the business case and research for the product or offer
- Develop an integrated media launch plan (to include social media/digital)
- Provide an economic analysis to support the recommendations
[highlight]The First Place team from Emory was presented with a cash award of $35,000. A $20,000 cash award went to the Second Place team from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management and $15,000 was presented to the Third Place team, also from Emory. Both the second and third place teams presented cases for enhancing ExxonMobil’s Speedpass and Speedpass+TM app. In addition to the cash award, the First Place team from Emory Goizueta Business School will be introduced at The Executive Leadership Foundation’s Annual Recognition Gala on Oct. 8, 2015, at the Gaylord National Harbor and attended by more than 2,200 leaders in business, public affairs, education and the arts.[/highlight]
“Diversity and inclusion are making ExxonMobil more competitive and better able to navigate the complex and constantly changing global energy business,” said Jeffrey Webster, global manager, Learning & Professional Development at ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants and Specialties Marketing Company. “This year’s competition challenged each of the teams with a difficult, but real-world business case. We are honored to recognize these future business leaders for their great work and creativity.”
This year’s case, “The Game Changer – Innovation,” was written by James R. Calvin, Ph.D., associate professor at the Carey Business School of Johns Hopkins University, and Laurin Hodge, a Carey Business School graduate and social entrepreneur.
ExxonMobil has a long history of supporting The ELC’s mission to develop global black leaders through leadership development and education initiatives. For the past six years, ExxonMobil has sponsored the Business Case Competition on topics such as innovative STEM education initiatives and devising a U.S. energy plan to reduce greenhouse gases by the year 2030.
This is the third year Emory has fielded a team in the competition and the second for Vanderbilt.
About The Executive Leadership Foundation
The Executive Leadership Foundation (ELF), the 501(c)(3) related charitable organization of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), focuses on improving local communities and helping disadvantaged groups within the broader society through its support for education programs, and provides scholarships to deserving students interested in business and corporate careers. The ELC is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(6) corporation founded in 1986, and is the pre-eminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global black executives in C-Suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. Comprised of more than 600 current and former black CEOs, board members and senior executives at Fortune 1000 companies and equivalents, our members work to build an inclusive business leadership pipeline that empowers global black leaders to make impactful contributions to the marketplace and the global communities they serve. For more information about The ELC and ELF, please visit www.elcinfo.com.
About Exxon Mobil Corporation
ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is the largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com.
ExxonMobil utilizes technology and innovation in every element of its business and recognizes the essential roles that math and science play in the energy business and in the nation as a whole. ExxonMobil is committed to advancing U.S. math and science education and does so by supporting a variety of educational initiatives targeting students and teachers. Additional information on ExxonMobil’s involvement in math and science partnerships is available at http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/community_math.aspx.
