A highlight of our MBA program, the annual Desautels Cup challenges participants to put their first-semester knowledge to the test. This tradition was originally put in place in 2008 as the culminating point of the MBA program’s redesigned core curriculum, which covers the business essentials in topics such as Finance, Strategy, Organizational Behaviour, Information Systems, Marketing and more.
The goal behind our cross-functional approach is to equip the MBA’s with the ability to handle the complex global issues the world is facing today and to solve them from multiple angles. Every year, our students get to put this integrated approach into practice by competing for the opportunity of hoisting the Desautels Cup. This year, 31 of our students participated and were divided into eight teams, each equipped with a second-year student coach.
Students competed over two rounds by solving a real-life case and presenting their recommended strategies to a judging panel made up of prominent business leaders, representing companies such as Ernst & Young, Aldo Group, BDC Capital, etc. The majority of the guest judges are McGill MBA alumni or Desautels alumni.
The second-year MBA coaches getting ready for the Desautels Cup.
This year’s case was Raintree Resorts International: Envisioning Unique Adventures and it examined the challenges associated to the timeshare vacation property industry, from an integrated perspective. Following the final round, all participants were invited to a celebratory networking cocktail where Dean Isabelle Bajeux, head of our Faculty, gave an introductory speech before Associate Dean Steve Fortin announced the winning team.
The winners were Anna Trusen, Joshua Morton, Zafer Zeren and Alexandre Lanctot, and brought forward a plan to rejuvenate this industry by enticing millennials to join it as a solution to the case.
The winning team with Isabelle Bajeux, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management.
Desautels MBA Program
- Find out how Desautels’ small-size cohort creates unique opportunities by contacting our Student Ambassadors.
- Connect with a recruiter to learn more about pursuing an MBA at McGill.
