Sacred Heart University MBA Students Win ACG Connecticut Cup

From left are Justin Blum of ACG,
Janelle Wolitski, Henry Pinto, Rory Hauser,
Rose Miller and Ramsey Goodrich of ACG.

Contest tests MBA students’ ability to think like ‘dealmakers’ in M&A case study
ACG Connecticut, the premiere association of dealmakers in the state, awarded the fourth annual ACG Connecticut Cup to a team of MBA students from Sacred Heart University. The SHU team edged out student teams from the University of Connecticut and Yale University.

“This is very close to a real-world exercise for these MBA students,” said ACG Connecticut Cup Chairman Justin Blum of M&T Bank. “The teams were allowed one week to develop a central thesis encompassing valuation, capital markets and M&A strategic recommendations that they then had to pitch to a panel of three judges, representing the board of directors of the client company. Each team was scored in the following areas: Organization/Structure, Content, Transaction/Valuation, Financials/Technical and Verbal/Board Presentation.

“Our students have the right combination of business skills, real-world experience and determination to successfully compete with any other top-notch business school,” said Anthony Macari, executive director of Graduate Programs at SHU.

 The team of five students included Rose Miller, Ryan Donahue, Janelle Wolitski, Rory Hauser and Henry Pinto. “Our first-place finish reflects the quality of students and business programs here at Sacred Heart,” Macari noted.  “From day one of the competition they were organized, focused and prepared.”