A week after Get Connected, it was time to take on another challenge, the McKinsey Case Competition. We had to work in self selected groups of 5-7 and put our creative problem solving and team building skills to the test.
As a case competition rookie, I didn’t know what to expect but was excited to work with the team we had formed – six classmates from various backgrounds in marketing, finance and consulting.
On Wednesday at 7:45 a.m. we received our first case. After a round of brainstorming, we quickly sectioned off the work and started tackling various components that needed to be solved. Time flew by quickly and suddenly it was less than an hour before the deadline, with many slides still incomplete. There were moments when I wondered if we were going to make it. But with less than a minute before time ran out, my teammate grabbed the USB with our saved presentation and raced down the hall to hand it in. He returned with a pulled quad, but luckily that injury did not affect the team’s performance. Within five hours of receiving our case, we had to present our analysis and recommendations to a panel of Ivey faculty. The limited amount of time meant that we all had to think on our feet. The first case was a great exercise and a few hours later, we were ready to take on the next one.
Our second case involved extensive number crunching and Excel modeling, which two of my finance teammates took on with much enthusiasm. We had an extra hour for this case and similar to the first one, used every minute of it. The next morning we presented our findings and later that day our entire class gathered in the auditorium. It was finally time for the big reveal of our last case, which was presented by McKinsey and a few special guests. Once the presentation ended, we quickly returned to our meeting rooms and pushed forward to complete our final challenge. On the last day, we presented to representatives from McKinsey, our faculty, Ivey alumni and the organization that the case was written for. The competition culminated with three finalists and then one winning team. It was amazing to see the talent within our class on display and how much all of us can accomplish in such a short period of time.
Three days, three cases, it was definitely a whirlwind, but I can safely say that I will look back at my first case competition with fond memories. In 72 hours, our team debated, celebrated and quickly bonded. A lot of work went into organizing each day of the competition, so I would like to thank everyone involved! It was a refreshing change of pace from class work and with ten more months still ahead, I know there will be many more great memories awaiting us!
Team one: Jazmine Tong, Zack Pryor, Cory Tanaka, Brendan Thompson, Teresa Zhang, Jacob Avinash
About Teresa:
Born in Shanghai and raised in Toronto, Teresa graduated with a degree in Business Management and Organizational Studies from Western University. Before attending Ivey, Teresa worked at CI Financial as a Marketing Consultant advising on client communication and implementing new initiatives within the wealth management side of the business. At Ivey, Teresa is the Founder and President of the Ivey Retail Club, an Ambassador Senator, plays on the softball team and is a member of the marketing and sales, consulting and women in management clubs.