March 5, 2011 – Four Seasons Hotel, Downtown Vancouver
After months of research, five teams — from UVic, TRU, SFU, UBC, and UBC-Okanagan — finally had a chance to present their masterpiece. The competition began in October 2010 based on Westport Innovations, a company that not all had heard of, in an industry with a limited history. For the SFU team, represented by Alex Conconi, Lauren Looi, Robb Ponti, Chris Tse, and Jin Yan, five months of company and industry research, financial statement analysis, risk analysis, and financial modeling boiled down to a 10 minute presentation in front of a panel of three judges at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Vancouver.
Having several months to prepare, each team presented with utmost eloquence and definitude. But no amount of practice was able to prepare the teams for the brutally tough questions from the judges. Following the presentation, each team was subjected to a 10 minute Q&A. Every little detail was questioned and the judges showed no mercy in grilling participants. Audience members cringed and watched in silent anguish as they watched the teams struggle with the interrogation. However, something unexpected happened when it was time for SFU’s Q&A session… they stumped the judges. Whereas every other team was questioned until the allotted time expired, SFU satisfied the judges’ appetite for completeness.
After 40 minutes of deliberation by the judges, the winners were announced: UBC-Okanagan in 3rd, UBC Sauder in 2nd, and SFU Beedie in 1st. As Antoine Dodson would say, “Run and tell that”.
The SFU team will now advance to the Regional competition in Omaha, Nebraska, representing B.C. and competing with schools from across North and South America. This competition will take place April 6-7. In case you are wondering why the competition would take place there, Omaha is the hometown of Warren Buffet, who, along with a host of other esteemed individuals, will be there to meet the teams.SFU Team:
Alex Conconi, MFRM 2011 Candidate
Lauren Looi, MFRM 2011 Candidate
Robb Ponti, BA Economics 2011 Candidate
Chris Tse, BBA Accounting 2011 Candidate
Jin Yan, BBA Finance 2011 Candidate
Great article! Well done SFU…. sounds like it was a good (but intense) place to be this past weekend. Sorry I missed it.