GSIPM

Four Monterey Institute MBA students, James Shirreff (MBA/MAIEP ’14), John Foss (MBA ’13), Mary Vargo (MBA ’14) and Morgan Rogge (MBA/MAIEP ’14), traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to compete in the final round of the International Business for a Better World competition, sponsored by Corporate Knights and the Schulich School of Business. On January 24^th, the four presented their proposal to a panel of very distinguished judges as part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The students worked hard to get to this round of the competition.  They devoted hundreds of hours to research and analysis to come up with solid recommendations for a more sustainable future for Canada’s largest company, Suncor.

“We had to delve into the oil industry and many other subjects that we knew little about,” shares Mary Vargo of the very steep learning curve, “but we had enormous support from Dean Yuwei Shi (of the Graduate School of International Policy and Management), and Professor Sandra Dow (of the Fisher International MBA program), as well as other faculty, fellow students and staff members at the Monterey Institute.”

John Foss adds: “It was truly amazing and I think we really pushed ourselves.”

The MIIS quartet beat out teams from 20 other universities around the world to reach the final three. The four said the experience in Davos was “amazing,” and their presentation was very well received. They were awarded the third place, carrying a $2,000 prize. “The MIIS team was the thought leader in this competition,” says Dean Yuwei Shi of the Institute’s Graduate School of International Policy and Management. “Their work treads convincingly beyond corporate social responsibility and shows an exciting direction to businesses that are looking past the one-, five- or even ten-year horizon. We are very proud of the team’s achievement.”

Vargo and Foss are students in the Institute’s Fisher MBA in International Management program, while Rogge and Shirreff are pursuing the joint degree program combining the MBA with the Master of Arts in International Environmental Policy.