Team Rocket goes to Florida.

University of Florida – Heavener International Case Competition

In mid-February a team of four (Jessica Yao, Brittany Rea, Ed Barker, and Ashley Elder) along with coach, Brendon Potter, travelled 30 hours to the college town of Gainesville, Florida, to compete in the inaugural Heavener International Case Competition (or HICC for short). The competition involved 20 teams from across the globe split into four divisions, with UoA placed against Singapore Management University (SMU), Ivey Business School (Western University, Canada), Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania) and Rotterdam.

The competition involved two long cases, a 24 hour case on Exactech, a publically listed global biotech company and a 31 hour case on Crom, a private North American concrete water tank manufacturer. Both cases were written specifically for the competition and involved real-life strategic decisions the respective companies were facing. The team failed to impress for Exactech however a day at Disney and numerous spa and gym breaks provided the drive to gain 1st in division for Crom, resulting in 2nd place overall in their division, narrowly missing out on a spot in finals.

A global case competition goes beyond than the case room and socially, HICC delivered. On the first evening of the event, the team was greeted by their hosts in typical fashion – a bonfire, smores and a keg of beer with red cups. HICC is also the only case competition that can claim sponsorship by, and a trip to, Disneyland Florida. This took place between cases and acted as an enjoyable break to the case room! The team also took part in a campus tour, which involved a look around the 90,000 seat stadium of the University’s college football team, the Gators.

The competition concluded with a formal dinner and night out in Gainesville, after which the team headed to Miami for 4 days of recuperation and sightseeing prior to the start of semester. Overall the competition provided not only a valuable learning opportunity, but also a chance to meet a number of great people from all around the world.

The team would like to thank the HICC organizing committee and our host, Megan, for her help throughout the competition.  We would also like to thank Brendon Potter (BP) and the Business School for their dedication and on-going support of the Case Programme & MCC.

Ed Barker. (29-2-16)