Managing Money Comes Easy to Finance Case Competition Winners

Four Smith undergrads had some extra spending money this summer, compliments of the Joseph M. Wikler Finance Case Competition, held in April. Nathaniel Zola, Michelle Donnelly, Julianne Kortz, and Zach Barratt each received $1,000 in prize money by earning first place in the competition, which was organized by Smith's finance department.

Zola used his winnings to fund a study abroad venture this summer. He enrolled in a six-credit class, "Sports Commerce and Culture in the Global Marketplace," offered by the University of Memphis. One of the reasons Zola signed up for the class was because the trip leader was David Andrews, associate professor of Kinesiology at UM. The class was a fourteen day trip to the United Kingdom which comprised of daily lectures and field-trips. Students were exposed to theories and practices in the economics of sports and the impact of globalization. Besides lectures, their class visited such places as Wimbledon, Lords, Twickenham, and the F.A. Premiere League headquarters, where the students spent time touring facilities and having Q&A sessions with executives.

Zola said that he particularly enjoyed the field-trip component of the class. "They provided me with great experience into the real workings of our lectures in practice," he said. Students also visited sponsoring organizations like Coca Cola U.K., and media centers like BSkyB.

Kortz put her money toward tuition and a down payment on a new car, while Donnelly and Barratt invested their winnings.

The competition was sponsored by Joseph Wikler, who is a director of OppenheimerFunds and a consultant for T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Value Fund. He also serves as a director for a number of other private and non-profit organizations. Wikler has been professionally associated with Professor Lemma Senbet, chair of Smith's finance department, since their days as directors of Fortis Funds, which was acquired by Hartford Life. Wikler initiated the competitive program in consultation with Senbet, who then led the adoption process with finance faculty, naming Susan White, teaching professor of finance, as the faculty coordinator.

Much like the Smith MBA Case Competition, students were given a limited timeframe to develop a solution and strategy for a real-world organization's current issue. To support their strategies, undergraduate students were asked to provide financial analyses using formulas and calculations learned in the classroom.

This year's case involved Radio One Inc., an urban-oriented music, entertainment, and information radio operator that caters primarily to an African-American audience. In the case, Radio One had the opportunity to acquire 21 established urban radio stations from numerous reputable operators around the country. These purchases would almost double Radio One's market reach and increase revenues tremendously. Students were asked whether Radio One should invest in these stations, and if so, how much? They were given only 40 hours to come up with a practical answer and compelling presentation, given case facts and intelligent assumptions.

Zola said, "One of our goals was to be as accurate as possible in our assumptions. We did background research so that we could begin calculations. After reading the case, we knew immediately that it was an NPV [Net Present Value] problem, but we also knew that we needed to do a sensitivity analysis."

The winning team presented excellent rationale for their solution to proceed with the acquisition. Judging the competition with Wikler were Allen R. Freedman, retired CEO and chairman of Assurant (formerly Fortis Inc.), and Eric-Vincent Guichard, managing director and CEO of GRAVITAS Capital Advisors LLC.