On Feb. 25, the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit hosted its third annual Impact Investing Case Competition.
The competition presents a learning opportunity for students to develop impact investment skills by framing an investment thesis aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations and doing due diligence to make impactful and profitable investment decisions.
This year, five teams competed for the first- and second-place prizes. First- and second-placing teams received prize money of $2,000 and $1,000. The teams were represented by master of business administration (MBA) students and master of finance students.
The first-place team, "Coffee&Finance," was made up of three full-time MBA students: Anshul Gupta, Suyash Pranjal and Samit Kumar Chauhan.
The second-place team, "ESG Capital," consisted of two full-time MBA students, one MBA/master in finance dual degree student, and two master in finance students: Nick Cwikla, Brandon Gathagan, Colin Basinski, Shawn Sun and Yuzi Li.
“We are really proud of all of the teams and their presentations,” said Megan Buchter, director of the Fowler Center. “A lot of work goes into preparing for a competition and the students all do it outside of class time. Impact investing is a field of growing interest among Weatherhead School students and the Fowler Center is proud to be able to play a part in providing some experience and networking to our students in this area.”
The eight judges of the competition included:
- Rumu Sarkar, adjunct law faculty member at Case Western Reserve, general counsel of Millennium Partners (MP);
- Lynn Carpenter, co-founder of EPOCH Pi;
- Christal Contini, member and co-chair of the McDonald Hopkins Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group;
- Ben Cooper, senior vice president of Utilities, Power, and Renewable Energy;
- Scott Hackenberg, founder of JSH Impact Advisors;
- Chris Jeannot, relationship management officer specializing in portfolio management in Glenmede's Cleveland office;
- William Vogelgesang, co-founder of EPOCH Pi;
- Amy Wojnarwsky, associate in the McDonald Hopkins' Business Department