Students from the Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies at Mount Allison University have walked away with two of the top four spots in the “Are you smarter than a CEO?” competition held recently at the Sobeys School of Business, Saint Mary’s University.  The competition encourages budding business leaders from Atlantic Canadian universities.  And one of the Mount A teams won the “bonus” round, which saw the four winning teams square-off to analyze a social entrepreneurship case.

The Mount Allison commerce students entered the competition as part of their Human Resources Management course taught by Professor David Iremadze of the Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies.  The winning teams received $1000 and a chance to win another $1000 in the “bonus” round.

"Competitions such as “Are You Smarter than a CEO?” allow students to gain confidence in tackling the issues that practicing managers and entrepreneurs are dealing with everyday. And, having done so, our winning teams have proven that they can be smarter than a CEO,” said Professor Iremadze.  The competition is organized by Saint Mary’s University’s Business Development Centre and is sponsored by several organizations including the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

The teams watched four Maritime business leaders present challenges their companies are facing and then prepared 5-minute videos of their proposed solutions to these problems.  The CEOs and companies taking part were Pierre Pelletier, CEO of “Olivier Soapery”;  Dean Pelley, CEO of “Mad Rock Marine Solutions”; Arla Johnson,  CEO of “Prince Edward Distillery;” and Matthew Deucette , CEO of “XONA Games.”

Each CEO watched their companies’ videos and then selected the winner for that category.  Mount Allison’s Kinetic Consulting team, Chelsea McCune, Chris McGean, Matthew Couture, and Matthew Kesthely came first for Olivier Soapery.  While Mount Allison’s SHRED team, Max Tennessen, Michael Pierce, Elizabeth Bungay and Bryce Works came first in the Mad Rock Marine Solutions.  

"It was a great experience! These competitions give a sense of reality to what we learn in the classroom.  It is also encouraging to see that companies are interested in implementing our suggested strategies," said McGean.

In the bonus round, the members of Kinetic Consulting, Chris McGean, Matthew Kesthely, and Chelsea McCune came up with the winning plan. 

The four finalists were given a case written by The Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development in Halifax (CEED).  CEED offers programs for all ages, including at-risk youth, to encourage and strengthen entrepreneurship.  The teams had to create a video clip and follow-up with a live pitch to the executives of CEED and a group of investors at Saint Mary's University.

The students were asked to focus on the social issue of youth homelessness and develop a strategic employment program. “Kinetic recommended the implementation of a social entrepreneurship program that motivated youth to enter an established youth home and enroll in a personal and professional development program,” Kesthely said.  The students received another $1000 prize for the bonus round.

You can watch the winning videos online: Kinetic Consulting  at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4RLwNoITrw    and team SHRED at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5utKN9YxIc&sns

Kinetic Consulting bonus round video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0typss6IzB4&NR=1