June 21, 2009. Shanghai -- In an unexpected twist, this year's Innovate China Global Challenge ended in a tie between IESE Business School and the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). More than 300 guests attended throughout the four-day competition, which wrapped up at the CEIBS Petrochemical Auditorium today.
According to lead judge Andrew Grant, McKinsey's Head of Greater China, it had been impossible to pick just one winner. "We did the numbers, we did the analysis and there genuinely was a tie between two teams. We then asked Mr. Ren [Shiyou, Chairman and General Manager of the competition's main sponsor Shanxi Tangrong Group] to break the tie and he couldn't," Mr. Grant explained.
Members of the winning teams, CEIBS and IESE, with CEIBS President Zhu Xiaoming and Shanxi Tangrong Group's Mr Ren Shiyou.
IESE and CEIBS beat out four other teams from London Business School, NYU Stern Business School, University of California Anderson School of Management, and University of Cambridge Judge Business School. During today's exciting Grand Challenge finale, all the teams presented their workable solutions to a case first revealed to them on June 18. They were evaluated by the Innovate China 2009 panel of judges which, in addition to Mr. Grant and Mr. Ren, also included: Rudi Von Meister, China General Manager for IVECO Fiat S.p.A; and Horst Loechel, Professor of Economics at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
Innovate China Lead Judge Andrew Grant, McKinsey & Company Head of Greater China
Mr. Grant added humor to the award announcement by praising each team for bringing aspects of its business school's respective culture to the competition. He praised IESE for its "Spanish smoothness" in presentation delivery, UCLA for its "California optimism," London Business School for its "English-style stoic pragmatism," Cambridge for the scope of its analysis, which incorporated geopolitics and the world economy, NY Stern for its focus on "getting rich from the IPO," and CEIBS for its attempt at delivering a "fully bilingual presentation."
In welcoming participants to today's event, CEIBS President Zhu Xiaoming said, "Innovate China 2009 aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities that Chinese companies will face on the road to going global." He then outlined some of his thoughts on the issue, telling the audience, "First, companies that want to go global will first have to experience a learning curve -- there is no short-cut. Second, going global shall be a means -- rather than an end. Companies eager to go global must carefully study both the risks and benefits. Third, a sound decision for going global should be based on each individual company's managerial competence and resources. This includes both financial and human resources. Finally, though M&As are eye-catching, they are not the only way for those who want to surf the wave of globalization. Many multinationals grew out of strategic alliances, or organic growth."
CEIBS President Zhu Xiaoming (right) and MBA Programme Academic Director Lydia Price.
Today's exciting conclusion to Innovate China Global Challenge 2009 came after three days of vigorous preparation by the six competing teams. The contest began with a welcome dinner at CEIBS Lujiazui International Finance Research Centre when the Grand Challenge question was revealed to the competitors for the first time. The case was: "If you were consultants advising Shanxi Tangrong Group's Chairman and General Manager Ren Shiyou, what would you do to help the company compete locally with multinationals and eventually bring the company global success?"
Shanxi Tangrong Group is a leading Chinese manufacturer of high-quality automotive wheels and brake drums. It is also China's largest manufacturer of heavy-load automobile wheels and brake drums. The company now seeks opportunities to grow -- both in the domestic and international markets.
After the June 18 official welcome ceremony, the participants -- full of excitement about the challenges they would face over the next three days -- enjoyed their first night in Shanghai. Their networking continued well into the night, with a great meal and wines thanks to Slice Restaurant and ASC.
On Day Two, all the participants met with Shanxi Tangrong Group's Mr. Ren, to get the background information needed to solve the case based on the real life operations of the company. With only two hours in which to get the most information possible, team members sometimes exchanged intense whispers to identify the best questions that would illicit vital information from Mr. Ren.
Said CEIBS' Joo Yi after the information session, "It was a great experience to talk to the chairman of the case company. Mr. Ren was very passionate and willing to share his very important business insights. Now we can have a clear idea and decide the direction of our proposal." After the gruelling Q&A session, competitors were fortified with pizza and beverages -- and more networking.
The CEIBS team during the general Q&A session on Day One.
Enthusiastic contestants who wanted to speak with Mr. Ren privately -- so as not to tip their hand to their rivals -- got that chance on Day Three. Each team was given 45 minutes in which to try and glean more details on how best to meet the company's needs. For many teams, sleep was out of the question on the final night before the Grand Challenge. In fact some teams, based on their one-on-one talks with Mr. Ren, had to completely change the focus of their presentations.
Finally, it was time. At 8:30 this morning, the Grand Challenge began. Each team presented its solutions to the panel of judges and the more than 200 guests in the audience. Said NYU's Danny Chen after his team had faced the judges, "We were so nervous speaking in front of so many people and experts. Finally, it's done! Yay!"
The competition was fierce, and each team's solution was workable, however the judges thought IESE and CEIBS were the best.
After a few words from the winning teams, a congratulatory speech by CEIBS MBA Programme Academic Director Lydia Price, and tokens of appreciation to the judges and all the contestants, the event wrapped up with a press conference in the Spanish Centre.
The panel of judges and a section of the audience.
Said Robyn Yang (CEIBS MBA 2008) from the Innovate China 2009 Organizing Committee, "We put tremendous time and effort into this event. Sometimes we wanted to give up, because -- due to the financial crisis -- we couldn't find a main sponsor until the very last moment. Innovate China Global Challenge was a real challenge for us, too! Even during the event itself, so many unexpected things happened. However, we made it, and it's been one of the most exciting events of my life. I learned how Chinese business works and I made lots of friends. It was a lot of work; now finally, we get to have a good night's sleep!"
Meet the winners
The IESE Team
Andreas Prosinecki (centre) is 28 years old and is Australian/Swedish. His background is in engineering, specifically Automotive R&D. He would like to pursue his future career in Consulting or General Management. His interests are business, technology, sports, and travelling.
Rahul Jain (right) is a 24 year-old Indian with a background in Hi-tech sales. His career interests are in Consulting or VC. He enjoys reading, travelling, and keeping up with global business.
Timo Scheiber (left) is a 28 year-old from Germany. His background is in banking. In the future, he plans to either stay in banking or work in consulting. His other interests are business and politics, as well as sports.
The CEIBS Team
Joo Yi is the only female member of the CEIBS team and a self-proclaimed global citizen. She is from Korea, but was born in Saudi Arabia and raised there, the United States, and Korea. She returned to Korea in 2004 and worked for McKinsey prior to coming to CEIBS. Outside of work, Joo likes watching Korean dramas and being a spectator of sports.
Frank Zhu (left) is local Shanghainese and comes to us with a strong engineering background, working first as a process engineer then as a manager of other engineers at AT&S China prior to coming to CEIBS for his MBA. In his leisure time, Frank enjoys spending time with his family, inclusive of his lovely dog, and is very excited at the addition of a new family member later in the year.
Johannes Muffler, from southern Germany, wrote his diploma thesis on economic evaluation methods of Sino-International joint ventures, demonstrating his interest in the Chinese business environment early on. Prior to CEIBS, he has been with Strategic Planning in Bayer's CropScience group since 2007. In his leisure time Johannes enjoys cooking for friends, engaging in various sports and is an avid traveller.
About Innovate China
Founded in 2008 as the first Chinese student-run international business competition designed for MBA students from around the world, Innovate China aims to:
• Create a platform for top business minds to interact with each other and create innovative solutions to real life business problems with a China focus.
• Draw global attention to the Chinese market and create innovative ideas that can make a difference.
• Give students from around the world the opportunity to experience the opportunities and challenges of business in China.
-- By Robyn Yang, Member of Innovate China Organizing Committee
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发表于 2009-6-22 23:50:00
