Ryerson team to rep Canada in Hong Kong

By Hilary Hagerman

For the Ryerson Global Management Group (RGMG), a last minute change is a good thing.

The group was putting the final touches on a competition project late the night before it was due when they decided to make a big change to the structure. They scrambled to reassemble, and finished at 4 a.m. – two hours before the deadline.

Now, they’re on their way to Hong Kong.

RGMG, made up of fourth-year business management students Parham Rashidi, Perry Kekropidis, Tyson Herwynen and Aysha Ahmad, competed against over 40 other schools in a case competition based on corporate social responsibility. In May, they received a case on a Taiwanese company, which they completed in nine days. In November, they’ll head to Hong Kong to compete against four other finalists from around the world.

The group was set up last year by Carlyle Farrell, chair of the global management program.

“What we’re looking to do is make RGMG an association slash society that students from the Ted Rogers school come to in order to get informed in terms of what’s happening in multinational corporations and international affairs worldwide,” said Kekropidis, vice president strategic management.

On Nov. 13, they’ll compete as the only Canadian finalist in the Hong Kong case competition. They’ll be given a case in the morning, and then have six hours to analyze and prepare. They will then give a 20-minute presentation to a panel of five judges, and then have a question and answer period.

If victorious, they’ll come out with up to HK $15,000 and a trophy.

“This isn’t only an accomplishment for us as a group, but for Ryerson,” Kekropidis said. “With Ryerson being somewhat of a newcomer to the university scene, especially the business program, us beating out schools like York and Simon Fraser, who actually placed second last year, I think speaks for itself. We’re hoping to raise Ryerson to an international standard and make it a household name.”

And after only one year, they’re excited about the accomplishment. “This was our the first case competition we did – ever,” said Herwynen, director of operations.

“I don’t think any of us thought we would make it this far, or I don’t think we thought that we would actually get chosen out of all the schools,” said Ahmad, vice president operations.

“We’re all pretty proud of each other,” Kekropidis said.