Zoom became a staple during the COVID-19 pandemic, with organizations around the world turning to the video conferencing platform to keep employees connected while they worked from home. But how does the company sustain its growth and meet its development goals now? That was just one of the questions answered by students during this year’s case competition, hosted by the Kogod School of Business in collaboration with Goldman Sachs.
The annual case competition, organized by Kogod’s Office of Career Engagement and the AU Career Center, brings together students from across the university to dive deep into the questions facing major companies today. Students take on the role of financial analysts like those at Goldman Sachs and are given an issue to research, analyze, and present solutions on. This year, twenty-three students formed six teams to look into Zoom’s slowing growth and devise a way to combat it. They then presented their ideas to a panel of Goldman Sachs judges, all of whom are also AU alums. This competition’s judges included James DeLucia, David Dubner, Lauren Klotz, Jarred Snyder, and Daniel Sullivan. They not only judged the competition but also met with participating students to network and discuss their roles at Goldman Sachs.
Upon receiving their prompt, student teams were given a few days to research, approach the company’s issues from different angles, and formulate a presentation. During that time, they studied Zoom and its competitors, scrutinized data, and even utilized a Bloomberg terminal in their research. From there, it was time to propose a strategic solution for Zoom and present it to the panel of judges, who judged the teams on their innovative thinking and deep understanding of financial analysis.
This year’s winning team consisted of Kogod students Nithi Salian and Sam Scherban and Kogod-School of Public Affairs students Finnley Collins and Taryn Estes. The runner-up team consisted of Kogod students Jackson St. Cyr and Julia Jehle and Kogod-College of Arts and Sciences student Moises Zaga. Each team was commended for its creative approaches, ability to develop strategy, and teamwork.
The skills judged in the competition are also part of the appeal for the students who enter it. As they are assigned their teams, participants must develop their networking and relationship building capabilities to put together a winning presentation with people they often meet for the first time through the event. Additionally, the competition provides real-world scenarios to learn from, often involving familiar brands such as Zoom or last year’s case company, exercise equipment manufacturer Peloton. Between learning from high-profile, relevant situations and alumni and financial experts at Goldman Sachs, Kogod students are drawn to the case competition every year for a great hands-on learning experience.
The annual case competition embodies Kogod’s focus on meaningful experiential learning opportunities for its students. By placing participants in the role of financial analysts solving real problems and providing them with the resources to solve those problems, the event gives students a way to put their education into practice, learn more about their future careers, and develop meaningful professional relationships with their colleagues and with the panel of judges. Each year, students come out of the case competition having learned a lot and often having made new friends, and the positive feedback is a testament both to the success of Kogod’s hands-on approach and to how eager Kogod students are to learn and acquire practical skills.
Learn more about Kogod's Office of Career Engagement here.