At the Ivey High School Case Competition (IHSCC), students in grades 10 through 12 spend the day collaborating to tackle real issues, make decisions under pressure, and present critical ideas to industry professionals.
Matthew Pizzuti, MSc ’18, is the Associate Director of HBA Recruitment. The department facilitates the IHSCC across Canada to motivate interest in a business education by introducing high school students to the Ivey case method.
“We want students to experience firsthand what case-based learning looks like at Ivey, and to walk away feeling inspired and capable,” said Pizzuti. “These competitions are often the first spark that leads young people to see themselves in business – and that’s what makes it so powerful.”
This year, the IHSCC was held in Vancouver (B.C.), Montreal (Que.), Calgary (Alta.), and at Ivey’s London (Ont.) campus. It was the first time the IHSCC was hosted in Montreal.
Two hundred students from throughout Canada attended the London competition, doubling the number of registrations from last year. Of them, 55 per cent of participants self-identified as women.
On May 3, the Ivey High School Case Competition began at 8:30 a.m. in the Richard Ivey Building. Students are not expected to have previous case competition experience, so an introductory preparation session was led by the Business Foundations team. This included Business Foundations Lecturer Lucas Cicchelli, MSc ’22.
Participants from different schools, cities, and grades were divided into teams of six and assigned to individual rooms, preparing their case analysis and a five-minute presentation. This year’s case from Ivey Publishing focused on the local organization, Meals on Wheels.
Two rounds of judging took place, starting with each team presenting to two Ivey alumni across five judging rooms. A finalist team is selected from each room, advancing to the final round.
The final five teams presented to all ten judges and participants’ families were welcome to attend. Devon Mota, the Community Development Liaison from Meals on Wheels made a special appearance in the final round of judging.
Ivey alumni return to encourage the next generation
This year, nine of the 10 judges were Ivey alumni: Paul Boucek, ’81; Kira Hatanaka, HBA ’25; Joe Gilvesy, HBA ’21, MSc ’21; Jayshree Bhargava, HBA ’21, MSc ’22; Isabella Ramirez, HBA ’22; Nathan Leili, HBA ’22; Arjan Jonuzi, HBA ’20; Teddy McCollum-Kuntz, HBA ’25; and Cindy Wang, HBA ’24. Completing the panel was Jack Duff from one of the event’s Platinum Sponsors, Empire Life.
First-time IHSCC judge, Jayshree Bhargava, HBA ’21, MSc ’22, is a senior consultant at Kearney, the initiative’s presenting sponsor. She participated in the Ivey High School Case Competition when she was in grade 11.
“It was actually my very first case competition – totally outside of my comfort zone, but in the best way. I walked away with great memories and new experiences that stuck with me,” she said.
Experiencing case-method learning encouraged Bhargava to consider business as a potential career path and have a sense of what being a student at Ivey would be like. A defining takeaway from stepping into the shoes of an HBA student was how much she enjoyed collaborating with her team at the competition.
“We had only met four hours prior to presenting our case and by the end of it our team had inside jokes, knew each other’s working styles, and had a great sense of camaraderie,” said Bhargava. “Meeting new people and hearing different perspectives was a big part of what made the experience so memorable.”
Serving as a judge in this year’s competition was a full-circle moment for the Ivey alum.
“I know firsthand how impactful this competition can be, and I wanted to give back to an initiative that helped kick-start my own journey,” she said.
Student networking and corporate partnerships
Networking opportunities are a key part of the IHSCC. Representatives from Western University, Huron College, King’s University College, and the Morrissette Institute, in addition to the event’s sponsors Kearney Consulting Firm, CPA Ontario, Empire Life, and ICON Talent Partners, attended the event to share information about internships and job opportunities.
Ivey has been an official partner with ICON since 2021.
An exciting new partnership was established between Ivey and Prosper Foundation, based in British Colombia, for this year’s IHSCC. This collaboration qualifies the winning teams in Montreal, Calgary, and London, and the top three teams of the Vancouver event, for the Prosper Ivey Invitational Competition being held on June 28 to 29, 2025, in Whistler, B.C.
Congratulations to the winners
Stephanie Ikharia, Sanjit Narasimhan, Marlo Bent, Shasini Thilageswaran, Faiz Yagboyaju, and Carter Green, were the winning students from Team 9.
A $5,000-cheque was donated to Meals on Wheels, which will cover the cost of approximately 2,000 meals for the community of London.
Special thanks to
HBA Recruitment: Nicole Jesko, Recruiting Manager. Matthew Pizzuti, MSc ’18, Associate Director.
Jayshree Bhargava, HBA ’21 and MSc ’22, judge at London’s 2025 Ivey High School Case Competition.
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