AIM team wins Yale’s Integrated Leadership Case Competition
MBA students from the Asian Institute of Management beat business schools from around the world to emerge as winners of this year’s Integrated Leadership Case Competition, held at the Yale School of Management, in New Haven, Connecticut, USA last April 8-10.
The AIM team composed of Sayandeb Chatterjee, Meelendra Singh, Abhinav Shukla, and Sarosh Sujay Nicholas edged out teams from the MIT-Sloan School of Management, USC- Marshall School of Business, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, NUS Business School, and Yale School of Management, among others.
The Integrated Leadership Case Competition challenges students from business schools across the world to develop creative business solutions that require multidisciplinary integration.
Competing students are expected to examine fi nancial, marketing, and ethical considerations, taking into account the impact on multiple stakeholders as they formulate their strategy and prepare their presentation.
The team was mentored by MBA Class 2015 alumni Anna Melissa Nava and John Emmanuel Chua and faculty coaches led by professor Jess Gallegos.
“I was confident that they had the skills necessary to win the competition, and we expected the team to call us with the news that they secured first place,” recounted Gallegos. “Sure enough, the first thing that I saw on FaceTime was the trophy.”
When asked what gave them the edge over the rest of their competitors, the students credited the AIM case method, the open class discussions they engage in with professors and peers, and the mentorship of faculty and alumni.
“We knew what to expect. We knew it was going to be about the triple bottom line: people, profi t, and planet,” said Nicholas. “Our experience in the classroom allowed us to do very well in the Q&A session, as our class discussions really encourage original thought.”
“The judges praised our analysis of the problem,” Chatterjee added.
“There was a collective effort,” noted Singh. “The resources and support from AIM gave us confidence – there was no intimidation factor.”
“We knew how to keep it simple, how to connect with the audience, and how to communicate without having to rely just on our slides,” said Shukla. “We never felt out of place even amongst the Ivy League students.”
This year’s AIM win marks the fourth time the Yale competition has been held.