Business students Daniel Bielak, Alexis Del Papa, Jessica Gomes and justice studies student Maheen Nazim sit on a benchA team of four University of Guelph-Humber students has advanced past 579 other competitors to make it to the Top 6 in the international CFO Case Study Competition.

U of GH’s team – composed of business students Alexis Del Papa, Jessica Gomes and Daniel Bielak and justice studies student Maheen Nazim – overcame a field of nearly 2,300 students on 580 teams from 86 international universities.

The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Case Study Competition is an annual, multi-round business strategy case study competition organized by The CharterQuest Institute South Africa. It challenges university students to solve a set of complex finance, operational, strategic and ethical problems that affect real-world global business in emerging markets.

U of GH is looking to repeat as champions, after having won the 2019 CFO Case Study Competition — the first North American university to win the competition.

Preparing for this year’s competition was a much different experience.

“The competition began March 1. A few weeks into the competition, all of Canada went into quarantine, which significantly impacted the team’s ability to compete,” said acting business program head Justin Medak, who trains U of GH students for case competitions at all levels.

“However, their resilience and determination were unwavering as they adapted to the new social distancing rules while proceeding forward in the competition. I am very proud of the hundreds of hours each team member has invested into the CFO Case Study Competition while working from home.”

The other Top 6 teams are from:

  • Brown University, U.S.
  • Indian Institute of Technology, India
  • University of Munster, Germany
  • University of Lagos, Nigeria
  • University of Free State, South Africa

The winner will be crowned in October.