Georgia Tech MBA students recently won the 2010 ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Cup, a business case competition with more than 100 MBA programs competing.

Georgia Tech's team included Chad Karnes, Ryan Melsert, and Jesse Richuso. They and other participants presented valuation, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions advice to experienced ACG professionals, including investment bankers, lenders, private equity groups, accountants, attorneys, and corporate development officers.

Held at Emory University, the competition specifically involved a case of a private equity firm considering the purchase of a broadband services company. "We were tasked with making a recommendation based on analysis of financial data, projected performance, risks, preferences of the current owners, and many other variables," explains Richuso.

"Winning the competition for the first time is a great step forward for Georgia Tech, showing that its MBA students can compete with the very top schools in the country," adds Karnes.

He and his team members believe that their diverse backgrounds gave them an edge in the competition.  While Karnes has professional finance experience, Melsert and Richuso come from engineering and physics backgrounds, respectively. "The reason I think we won is because we built a team that was well-rounded," Karnes says. "The teams we competed against had primarily all finance backgrounds, and I think we were able to capitalize on some of the other important aspects of case competitions such as presentation skills and the ability to look at things from an outside perspective."

ACG is the global community for middle market M&A dealmakers and business leaders who are focused on driving growth. Founded in 1954, ACG has grown to more than 12,000 members organized in 54 chapters throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.