Fresno State Business Students Win International Strategy Competition

Students from the Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno topped 35 schools from throughout the world to win first place at the recent 38th Annual International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition.

The competition is a 10-week-long contest in which the team members participate in a real-world scenario and are judged on their decision-making capabilities.

Fresno State team members Courtney Nakayama of Clovis, Matt Pendola of Selma, Fabrizio Lofaro of Italy, and Uwe Kaiser and Thomas Wiechert of Germany faced a simulated crisis in which their CEO suffered a "heart attack" during a crucial decision period and was not available to the team.

Team members compete as management executives in a computerized simulation of business operations within a highly competitive environment. During the course of the competition, 20 sets of quarterly decisions represent a simulated period of five years.

The students put in hundreds of hours of work during the semester as part of the competition, said Charlene Coe, faculty adviser. She said the competition provides students with valuable, practical experience.

"Most students tell me that it is the first time they have had an opportunity to see and feel first-hand how all the various functions fit together -- production, marketing, finance, etc.," she said.

Coe said this was the fourth time Fresno State has captured first place in 13 years that she has been team adviser.

The Fresno State team also won first runner-up for Best Business Plan and Annual Report.

Contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster 559-278-2795