Johns Hopkins teams tackle Tesla business challenge in case competition

The Johns Hopkins Graduate Student Consulting Club (JHGCC) hosted its annual mini-case competition at the university's Homewood campus earlier this month.

The competition, designed to provide participants with an opportunity to hone their problem-solving and teamwork skills by attacking real-world business issues, was a day-long event open to all Johns Hopkins undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, fellows, and staff. A total of 16 teams were selected to participate, and each team was challenged to develop strategic recommendations for Tesla, a well-known electronic vehicle manufacturer, in a hypothetical scenario to help maximize its profit potential. Teams had to complete their analysis and presentation in just three hours and present their recommendations to the JHGCC board. Five finalist teams were selected to present to five judges from four top consulting firms: McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, and IBM Business Performance Services.

After two rounds of competition, team modHealth Consulting won first place and a $150 prize. The team members included Tim Xu, Melissa Temkin, and Christopher Bailey, who have backgrounds in clinical medicine and business. Second place and a $75 prize went to team Mosaic, which included Antonio Spina, Kush Gupta, and Anshul Subramanya, all undergraduates from the biomedical engineering program. Other finalist teams included Bringing Home the Bacon, Pathview, and Leon. The final presentations were followed by a networking reception for participants, judges, and members of the audience.

The event was organized by the JHGCC case competition committee—Basil Hussain, Hao Jia, Janna Serbo, Saurabh Khasnavis, Shirley Tan, Steven Wang, and Yuanming Suo—with assistance from other JHGCC board members. The event was sponsored by the Graduate Representative Organization (GRO) and Graduate Student Association (GSA).

JHGCC—previously known as the Johns Hopkins Business and Consulting Club—is a student-led group whose mission is to introduce the Johns Hopkins community to the world of business and consulting. Through case competitions and other events, JHGCC helps members develop business knowledge and skills, as well as network with consultants from top firms. Find out more at the JHGCC website.