April 26, 2007

The Copenhagen Business School has won the ninth annual UW Global Business Case Competition, held in April on the University of Washington campus.

This year’s edition drew 64 undergraduate students from top business schools in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Singapore and the United States. A team comprised of students from Brazil, Denmark, Singapore and the United States also competed, and reached the final four, along with the National University of Singapore and Concordia University.

The students’ task was to present a workable expansion plan for vCustomer, a Seattle-based international business process outsourcing company. The 20-page case, written by Business School faculty, outlined the challenges, risks and rewards of setting up service centers in new countries and serving new industries. Sanjay Kumar, founder and CEO of vCustomer, was one of the judges.

Running in parallel to the usual student competition was the addition of a “corporate track” competition, which pitted teams of young executives from Ascentium, Costco, Microsoft and Starbucks against each other to handle the same case. The concept was created by Martin Coles, president of Starbucks Coffee International, an advisor to the UW Global Business Center.

For the students who convened in Seattle from all over the globe, the competition capped a week of Puget Sound tours and meetings with the region’s leading businesses, as well as a chance to share their respective cultures with students at Seattle’s Hamilton Middle School.

"This event is a great opportunity for students not just to compete, but also to interact with other cultures," said Katie Diggs, a student co-chair of this year's event.  "They also get to establish business and personal relationships, give back to the Seattle community and network with business leaders from global companies all while having a lot of fun."

The Global Business Center sponsored and hosted the Global Business Case Competition along with students in the Certificate of International Studies in Business program (CISB).

Sponsors included Avanade, Boeing Co, Captaris, Costco Wholesale, EDS Corp., Expeditors International, F5 Networks, Fluke, Holland America Line, Microsoft, SSA Marine, Starbucks, T-Mobile and Wells Fargo.