Engineering alumnus on second place team in Molson International Case Competition
Memorial University and its alumni were dominant players in the 25th John Molson School of Business MBA International Case Competition in Montreal earlier this month. Faculty of Engineering alumnus John Kearsey, B. Eng. (Co-op)'94 was a member of the second place team from HEC – Montreal. Mr. Kearsey credits his time at Memorial as key to the success. "One key factor that the faculty developed in us was our ability to think independently, which remains one of the most important abilities in the business world. Adaptability and ability to think outside the box were two traits that really helped during the MBA case competition at Concordia University," says Mr. Kearsey. “What we learned at Memorial was to analyze a situation, scenario or design, think about what is actually occurring, and what improvements could be implemented. At all levels of university and business, team work has become so essential to success, so learning how to work in teams and bring out the best in yourself and others for the benefit of the project. This started in my engineering studies and has carried on through to this day.”
Mr. Kearsey left his former job in Calgary to undertake and intensive energy management program at HEC. He says about 40 per cent of his MBA class have engineering backgrounds, from all over the world. “Just six months ago, I never contemplated being part of such fun competitions, now I am succeeding beyond my expectations!” Mr. Kearsey hopes to remain in the oil and gas sector when he completes his MBA, preferably moving to operations with a Canadian oil and gas producer, probably headquartered in Calgary. However, having worked and lived in Europe (London, Helsinki and Inverness during engineering work terms) he still has a taste for international work. Although, he adds, he’s very keen to return to Calgary and reclaim his season ticket seats for the Calgary Flames.
This year's MBA team finished in the top nine out of thirty international universities. In addition to the awards, Memorial's Faculty of Business Administration was recognized as the most successful school in the competition's 25 year history, taking first prize eight times since the competition began in 1982. The John Molson International Case Competition challenges the MBA teams business savvy by presenting them with real-life challenges faced by today's leading corporations. The teams develop their solutions under the watchful eye of more than 200 judges from the business community.
