A team comprising five York graduate students won the case competition at the 2016 Graduate Management Consulting Association of Canada's Strategic Management Consulting Conference last month.
The York GMCA team, from left, Jonathan Memme (Kinesiology & Health Science MSc), Nilum Panesar (Sociology MA), Han Zhang (Communication & Culture PhD), Nareh Edjiu (Kinesiology & Health Science MSc), and Ninoschka D'Souza (Kinesiology & Health Science MSc)
Placing first among the 12 teams representing various Canadian universities, the York team delivered recommendations for Best Buy to save $178 million in operating costs by restructuring Best Buy retail stores given the advent of online and mobile sales platforms.
As part of their response, the team, including Jonathan Memme (Kinesiology & Health Science MSc), Nilum Panesar (Sociology MA), Han Zhang (Communication & Culture PhD), Nareh Edjiu (Kinesiology & Health Science MSc), and Ninoschka D'Souza (Kinesiology & Health Science MSc), proposed a shift towards the new smart home market aimed at the "Baby Boomer" generation, levering service and private label brands to generate an additional $375 million in profit for Best Buy.
The competition, which occurred as part of the organization's annual conference – hosted this year at the University of Toronto's Victoria College – was judged by consultants from top firms, including McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Deloitte, KPMG, IMS Health | Brogan, Oliver Wyman, Capgemeni, and Shift Health.
The Graduate Management Consulting Association (GMCA) is a student society representing graduate students at various universities who are pursuing a future career in management consulting. They have developed a comprehensive program for preparation of graduate students for career in management consulting.
For more information York's GMCA chapter, visit their website.