by Barbara Black

The John Molson School of Business MBA International Case Competition will take place January 6 to 11 at the Hilton Bonaventure hotel.

After 22 years, this student-run business competition goes pretty much like clockwork, but it’s still a lot of work. The organizers are chosen back in the spring, and plunge into their tasks right away — choosing business cases, recruiting volunteer judges, dreaming up original party ideas and booking hotel facilities. Their work isn’t done until the last guest has left the awards banquet on the final day.

Thirty teams from business schools around the world will compete in a round-robin, going head-to-head to solve business problems.

About half the teams are Canadian, and the other half from the U.S. and beyond, including New Zealand, Germany, Finland and Sweden

As always, the organizing team have an eclectic background. Students are expected not only to have a previous degree but to have some executive experience under their belt before pursuing the master’s of business administration. Meet this year’s organizing committee.

Dror Amar has an engineering degree from McGill University. He has worked in the oil industry in Texas and New Mexico, and was involved in offshore operations off the coast of Angola, Africa. He’s a co-founder of the MBA Investment Club, which has enjoyed great success in its first year. When he graduates, Dror intends to go into investment banking or investment management.

Mark Burger is from Ottawa. He has a BA in political science from the University of British Columbia with a specialization in international relations. He has worked for an international bank, and for the federal government. He will finish his MBA this spring on exchange at Université ESSEC in Paris, France, and after that, go into international business development.

Viken Chahinsarian has a degree in business administration. He has been a credit officer for a major financial institution, and is currently working part-time as a quality manager in a production company. Viken is also active in student life as the VP finance for the MBA Society.

Haixia (Stella) Yu came to Canada in July 2001 with her family, and entered the MBA program two months later. Stella obtained her BA in Xi, China, where she grew up. She has considerable professional experience, having worked for Siemens Ltd. China for six years, including a stint at Siemans’ corporate business school, where she enjoyed working with colleagues from all around the world.

We’ll tell you more about the Case Competition in the next issue of CTR, January 16. For more on the event, visit the Web site, at www.mbacasecomp.com.