FFI at the Family Enterprise Case Competition

Prepared Exclusively for FFI Members

February 05, 2021

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FI is committed to the education and advancement of future generations of family enterprise academics and advisors — a commitment that is highlighted in its ongoing collaboration the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (FECC) at University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business. This outstanding collaboration has been in place since 2013, and 2021 was no exception—all virtual, all well-organized—and, of course, featuring talented undergraduate and graduate students from around the world.

Here are some highlights.

THE COMPETITION AND THE WINNERS

Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (FECC) in 2021

The competition began on January 4 and concluded with a virtual awards ceremony on January 17. Organized by FFI Fellow and former FBR editor Pramodita Sharma and her colleagues at UVM, this year’s competition included 27 teams, 153 competitors and coaches, 64 judges from five continents.

Pramodita Sharma
University of Vermont

Graduate League Winner

First place winner in the graduate division was ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain, coached by Alberto Gimeno and Maria José Parada. Graduate team members: Natalia Bautista, Daniela Betancourt, Aline Franzner, Camila Oriol

Alberto Gimeno
ESADE Business School Coach

Maria José Parada
ESADE Business School Coach

ESADE Business School Team

Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, a finalist in the graduate division, was coached by FBR Associate Editor Peter Jaskiewicz.

Peter Jaskiewicz
Telfer School of Management Coach

Undergraduate League Winner

First place winner in the undergraduate division was Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada, coached by Sean Cameron. Undergraduate team members: Sophie Ziomecki, Rona He, Alexander Clayton, Grant Meaney

Sean Cameron
Wilfrid Laurier University Coach

Lazaridis School of Business & Economics team member 1

Lazaridis School of Business & Economics team member 2

Lazaridis School of Business & Economics team member 3

Lazaridis School of Business & Economics team member 4

Wilfrid Laurier University Team

View all results

The Cases

The Case selection committee, for which FFI is a collaborator, was chaired by Dr. Mira Bloemen-Bekx, 2020 recipient of the FFI Best Dissertation Award and Dean of the Hanze University of Applied Science and Technology. She was joined by FFI Fellows Karen Vinton and Randy Waesche, and former FBR associate editor Allison Pearson.

Mira Bloemen-Bekx
Hanze University of Applied Science and Technology

Allison Pearson
Mississippi State University

Karen Vinton
Vinton Consulting Services

Randy Waesche
Resource Management LLC

Cases chosen were:

Jebsen & Jessen Family Enterprise: A Hong From the Cold
Marta Widz & Benoit Leleux (IMD, Switzerland)
Shubham Goldiee Masale Private Limited: Consolidate or Expand?
Sabyasachi Sinha & Vinod Thakur (IIM Lucknow, India)
Family Feud at Aldi Nord
K B S Kumar & Indi Perepu (ICFAI & IBS, India)

See the FFI Practitioner article on Jebsen and Jessen

The Judges

More than 60 judges participated in this competition. FFI members serving as judges were Mira Bloemen-Bekx, Linda Bourn, Judy Green, Steve Legler, Don Neubaum, Ginny Santiago, Randy Waesche, Marta Widz.

Mira Bloemen-Bekx
Hanze University of Applied Science and Technology

Linda Bourn
Alliant Private Client

Judy Green
Family Firm Institute

Steve Legler
TSI Heritage

Don Neubaum
Florida Atlantic University

Ginny Santiago
De La Salle University

Randy Waesche
Resource Management LLC

Marta Widz
IMD

More information on the 2022 competition will be available shortly from the Grossman School of Business.

Previous Edition

FFI is fortunate to have a generous and expansive community of members. Their contributions to the field and to FFI are well known around the world.

Several members and organizations have shown their commitment to extending the professional development of the field through scholarships to the Global Education Network (GEN) certificate programs.

Thanks to these sponsoring organizations, and congratulations to those who have been awarded scholarships—all of whom are making amazing contributions to FFI and the field by serving on committees, writing for FFI Practitioner, leading virtual study groups, serving as GEN faculty, and much more. Applicants do not have to be members of FFI.

Applications for the 2021 Scholarships are now open and must be received by April 15, 2021. Go here to apply for any of the scholarships listed below.