Office of Research and Graduate Studies News

(December 18, 2007) -

Five MBA students from the Eberhardt School of Business at University of the Pacific earned first place in the 43rd annual International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition, held in April. The team represented themselves as a virtual company called “Stripes,” a manufacturer of high-end sunglasses. This marks the second year that Pacific students have taken top honors in this competition.

The Stripes team consisted of CEO Dan Natividad (Stockton), VP of Forecasting Ben Courtney (Santa Ynez), VP of Marketing and Sales Pete Weber (Clovis), VP of Production Derek Herboldshimer (Yuba City/Live Oak); and VP of Finance Zaixin Wu (Kumming, Yunnan, China).

Stripes CEO Dan Natividad said the team gave a great effort throughout the competition. “My teammates demonstrated strong technical skills and represented the University with dignity and integrity. It has been a true privilege to work with this talented group of individuals.”

The students successfully competed against other teams from San Jose State, Cal Poly, CSU Sacramento, and Willamette Universities. The team ran their virtual company over the Internet for ten weeks before traveling to San Diego for the final intensive phase of the competition. They made decisions in the areas of finance, marketing and operations, and prepared a strategic plan and an annual report. Real-world executives served as their board of directors and judged the team’s quantitative performance on the basis of shareholders value, earnings, and market share.

Faculty advisor Dr. Cynthia Wagner Weick said the team faced relentless competition, but never let go of their goal. “Along with the demands of quarter to quarter decision-making, the industry had to also weather a hurricane that disrupted production, and SEC oversight of financial statements. Stripes faced each challenge intelligently and ethically. I could not be prouder of them.”