Up against schools with names like the University of Kaiserslautern (Germany), Glen Skrubbeltrang was shocked his MBA group ranked fourth in one of the business world’s most prestigious case competitions.
The Brock University MBA student and his three teammates placed first in Canada and fourth overall at the 2009 John Molson MBA International Case Competition last month.
They finished just behind the University of South Carolina, Helsinki School of Economics and the University College Dublin Smurfit Graduate Business School.
The 35-year-old says the keys to their success were staying focused and having good group dynamics.
“We had a really good group of people that were not only smart academically but were smart in the tangible, business-world experiences,” he said.
In addition, he said, Brock University’s MBA program prepared them for the rigours of business outside the classroom.
“For a relatively new program, it’s extremely in-depth,” he said.
The co-owner of Niagara manufacturer Fibreline Truck Caps will graduate in December and said he’s not sure what he’d like to do next but he’s looking forward to the challenge.
He’s enrolled in Brock’s accelerated Certified Management Accountant (CMA) stream of the MBA program, which puts him further ahead on his path toward becoming a CMA.
Shari Sekel, director of graduate programs for the faculty of business, said the university couldn’t be happier with Skubbeltrang and his teammates for their performance.
“We’re exceptionally proud of them for a couple of reasons: First of all, obviously, for their success. They’ve gone there and they’ve represented our programs, our faculty and the calibre of their colleagues very well,” she said.
And secondly, this is the first year a student group from Brock has entered the competition.
“We were very fortunate because each of the four team members that represented our university and our program was of the absolute highest quality,” she said.
The international competition is a not-for-profit event organized by a team of four MBA students from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal. It’s the largest competition of its kind.
