A team from School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), won the Kochi semi-final of the BLoC Boardroom Challenge on Monday. The runners-up were from IIM Kozhikode. The other teams in the fray were from IIM Kozhikode and TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal.
The team comprising John George, Kanev Raj, Theresa Santosh and Anjana Dineshan presented to the jury a convincing and viable business strategy for a detergent maker to increase its revenue growth and profitability. The team's presentation was marked by the ability to distil macro learnings from the number crunching and offer the board workable solutions, presented crisply.
The runners-up from IIM Kozhikode —Saurav, Barkha Gupta and Kuntal Biswas — impressed with their data-driven insights and quick thinking in response to queries from the jury.
The runner-up team
Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Funds is the title sponsor of the event, which is powered by Swiss watch brand Frederique Constant. Vizag Steel Plant and One Crest are the associate sponsors. The event was held on the campus of CUSAT, Kochi.
The jury comprised MSA Kumar, an IIM-A alumnus and accredited CEO coach who heads talent management company Catalyst 360; Vaibhav Sutar, Regional Head for Kerala, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, and S Sivakumar, a human resources / learning and development coach, who is associated with Potential Genesis as a Performance Development Enabler.
Sutar’s presentation on “Your First Pay Cheque” evoked interest among the audience and a few students asked queries on choosing the right investment instruments.
Addressing the students after the presentations, MSA Kumar said the performance of all teams was evenly matched and commended the efforts put in by the participants.
Sutar pointed out that contests such as the Boardroom Challenge are a great learning experience for students that enable continuous improvement in their academic performance.
Sivakumar pointed out that, as we are in an increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world, it's important to be able to think on one's feet, analyse and come up with viable solutions to corporate problems.
MSA Kumar presented mementoes to the winners and the runners-up.