FAIRFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ACG Connecticut today awarded the third annual ACG Connecticut Cup title to a team of The University of Connecticut School of Business MBA candidates at ACG Connecticut’s Monthly Breakfast Meeting at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut.
Members of the UConn team were presented with the prestigious ACG Connecticut Cup title and a cash award at this morning’s ACG Connecticut April Breakfast Meeting, a monthly event that draws over 150 dealmakers and corporate professionals from the region. The second-, third- and fourth-place teams from Yale SOM, Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac University were also in attendance and received cash awards and prizes.
Students from UConn competed against teams from across the state overlooking the trading floor of the RBS Building in Stamford during the final round of the ACG Cup held earlier this week on April 2, 2012. The teams presented valuation, capital markets and M&A strategic advice to a panel of seasoned M&A professionals from within the ACG Connecticut community, including Jim Barra of Ironwood Capital, Mark Campbell of BlumShapiro, Michael Carter of Carter, Morse & Mathias, Ramsey Goodrich of Carter, Morse & Mathias and Fridolf Hanson of RBS Business Capital.
Participants in the ACG Connecticut Cup 2012 included:
- 1st Place. The University of Connecticut School of Business: Vivek Goel, Isaac Park, Archit Patel, Tom Wang and Dawei Zheng.
- 2nd Place. Yale University School of Management: Susan He, Vincent Song, James Wu and Byron Ye.
- 3rd Place. Sacred Heart University John F. Welch College of Business: Gillian Blunschi, Matthew Maleri, Rachel Mitchell, Lauren Palumbo and Jason Tutin.
- 4th Place. Quinnipiac University School of Business: Nicholas Distefano, Kevin Kelly, Kirk Medzrychowski, Derek Stanley and Rodrigo Uchoa.
“The ACG Cup competition allowed us to apply our academic knowledge to a real-world scenario with the guidance of the state’s best dealmakers, and utilize the quantitative and qualitative skills required in investment banking,” said Vivek Goel, a member of the victorious UConn team. “Our success in the ACG Cup is through a strong team effort in which we learned from and supported each other. The spirit of teamwork is also one of our major takeaways from this case competition and we look forward to building on it next year.”
“It is a pleasure to host the ACG Cup again this year and congratulations to our winners from UConn,” said Justin Blum, ACG Connecticut Cup Chairman, and Commercial Banking, M&T Bank. “The teams conveyed varied approaches to valuation and deal structure, plus roles for non-financial considerations like the management and operational strategies, in solid, engaging presentations from all competitors. It was clear to the judges that the teams invested a great deal of thought and effort into the analyses and presentations, and we applaud their efforts.”
“The ACG Cup has become a core part of ACG Connecticut’s programming and we are pleased to work with this year’s competitors,” said Karin (McKittrick) Kovacic, President of ACG Connecticut, and Business Development, CBIZ MHM, LLC. “The Cup provides an opportunity to introduce top-notch MBA candidates into the ACG Connecticut community and allow the state’s best MBA programs to network with nearly 300 prominent financial professionals. This year’s success already kindles our excitement to host next year’s Cup competition.”
The ACG Connecticut April Breakfast Meeting featured a keynote address by Richard J. Fernandes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Affinion International, a global leader in the designing, marketing and servicing of comprehensive customer engagement and loyalty solutions programs.
For more information on the ACG Cup Competition and ACG Connecticut programming please visit http://www.acg.org/ct.
About ACG
ACG’s 14,000 members include professionals from private equity firms, corporations and lenders that invest in middle-market companies, as well as from law, accounting, investment banking and other firms that provide advisory services. Founded in 1954, ACG is a global organization with 56 chapters. Learn more at www.acg.org. ACG drives middle market growth. Learn how at www.middlemarketgrowth.org. For more information about ACG Connecticut, please visit http://acg.org/ct.