By Kimberly Hergengrader, Guest Writer
On behalf of the Thunderbird Honor Council, The Global Crypto Warriors embarked on a journey to Cambridge, Massachusetts to partake in the 20th Anniversary of the International Business Ethics Case Competition (IBECC).
Equipped with the Thunderbird Mystique and global mindset, MGM Candidates Kimberly Hergenrader, Vyoma Mehra, Zoltan Nagy, Gaurav Shetty and Chris White presented the ethical, financial and legal precedents of Apple’s stance on encryption in the San Bernardino case.
Photo courtesy IBECC team
IBECC consisted of three presentations – a 30-minute presentation to the Board, a 10-minute synopsis and a 90 second employee pitch. Of these three, Thunderbird placed first in the 10-minute synopsis presented by Vyoma and Gaurav and the 90-second pitch given by Chris.
The judges were particularly impressed with Vyoma and Gauarv’s ability to articulate the technicalities of the Apple case clearly and concisely as well as Chris’s persuasive argument, which highlighted the ethical contradiction eloquently.
Photo courtesy IBECC team
In addition, to the case competition, Gaurav and Zoltan competed in a biathlon in the heart of Cambridge. With the support of friends & family, Thunderbird placed first in fundraising with all donations going towards the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
The highlight of the trip was experiencing the Thunderbird Mystique firsthand when the team ran into a fellow T-Bird and recent graduate, Thaedra Brondum (MBA ’15) in Cambridge. The 70th Anniversary provided a glimpse of the legacy we will graduate into and this experience solidified it.
While we all have different backgrounds, skill sets and career goals we are all united in our passion for diversity and global perspective. In our daily interactions with students and faculty, we forget that the majority of the world is not as internationally focused. Thunderbird’s global perspective sets us apart even among other internationally recognized schools like Oxford, Hong Kong, UC Berkley and the University of Melbourne.
Photo courtesy IBECC team
We hope to establish our legacy with an international sustainable business case competition held at Thunderbird next Spring. Special thanks to the Thunderbird Honor Council lead by James Scott, Dr. Melissa Samuelson (ASU W.P. Carey School of Business) and the Hawkins for support and guidance.
Check out the previous Das Tor article about the IBECC team.
Great job team! So happy to hear you guys represented Thunderbird so well, even against such fierce competition. Thunderbird is small but mighty!
Demonstrating why we are the best! And super classy. Good job, T-Birds!
It was great running into you while you were visiting Massachusetts. Congratulations again on all of your success that weekend!