Graduate students win first place in business competition

Two Grand Valley MBA students took first place in a business competition that aims to give graduate students experience and the chance to win $6,000.

Anand Muthusamy and Marty Gurry earned top honors in the 7th annual Association for Corporate Growth Western Michigan’s ACG Cup. The ACG Cup is a competition designed to give business and finance students real-world experience and networking opportunities with the region’s top merger and acquisition professionals.

Teams from Davenport University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, Cornerstone University and Grand Valley competed in the finals February 24. The awards were announced March 17 at the ACGWM Outstanding Growth Award reception at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.
 
The competition begins when teams receive case materials describing key stakeholders, business issues, indications of motivation and contextual data. Based on the information provided, the teams must prepare an analysis that identifies key issues or questions relevant to the case, and then provide recommendations for moving forward.

“The experience expanded my professional skill set,” said Gurry. “I applied what I learned in preparing for the competition to projects I was working on in my job last fall and this winter. The results were very well received at work. I will carry these skills forward and they are likely to open doors to new professional opportunities.”