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Cornell Case Competition for Family Ownership Logistics & Rules

Team Eligibility

  1. Teams must consist of 3 current graduate-level* students at the time of the competition, and one coach (optional). The coach can be a university faculty member, mentor, or other person affiliated with the university program. The role of the coach is to prepare you in advance of the competition. Your coach may not help you during Part A of the competition, but you will be given time to consult with your coach for Part B of the competition. *Executive Program MBA candidates are eligible and welcome to participate. 
  2. Only one team per school or university is permitted. A second team from each school may register as a backup and will be waitlisted and notified when eligible.
  3. The first 8 teams to complete the application and payment process will be accepted into the Cornell Case Competition. Team payments are non-refundable. Subsequent teams that apply will be placed on a waitlist.
  4. Cornell students please note: The Cornell Team will be selected through an internal competition in the fall. If you have questions, please reach out to Susan Hu yh789@cornell.edu.

Logistics

  1. Teams will have one week to prepare for Part A of the case.
  2. Teams must save their slide deck on a USB drive and, once on site, hand this over to their assigned school ambassador on the morning of the competition no later than 11:30am ET.
  3. Part B of the case will be distributed after the first-round presentations. This will be followed by a discussion with the business owners. Teams will have one hour to consult with their coaches and the rest of the evening to work on their second presentation, to be delivered the next day.
  4. Slide decks for Part B of the case must be handed over to school ambassadors at 8am on Saturday morning. There can be no further changes after submission.
  5. Judges will evaluate both presentations to determine the winner.

Honor System

  1. You are NOT permitted to discuss the case with anyone other than your teammates. Consulting with your coach, once the case is distributed, other advisors, business owners, faculty members, or the like, is strictly prohibited.
  2. Any information in the public domain (e.g., Management Library databases, the Internet, etc.) is fair game. Please, under no circumstances, attempt to contact a member of the family, the business, or their team.
  3. Any violation of these rules constitutes grounds for disqualification.

The Presentation

  1. Teams must use the provided PPT template for their presentations.
  2. All teams will have 15 minutes of presentation time plus 10 minutes of Q&A. A timekeeper in the room will indicate when you have 5 minutes left and 1 minute left. Time limits will be strictly enforced.
  3. Student teams may watch other presentations only after they have presented their own.