Results of the 2006 Hot Seat Challenge

Seventeen teams competed in the 2006 Hot Seat Marketing Challenge which was held on Friday, October 27, at the Radisson Hotel. Dow Chemical Company was this year’s Platinum Sponsor. Dow provides the raw materials for many types of plastic bags, and the company is looking to expand its presence in the pet food bag space. The participating teams presented their strategies for how Dow could best approach the different players in the value chain. Twenty-three company representatives served as judges for the event, representing sponsoring companies which included Dow, Citigroup, ConAgra Foods, Conoco Phillips, Kimberly-Clark, Lilly, Miller Brewing Company, Coca-Cola, Dell, H-E-B, and Wal-Mart. Many of the judges commented on the quality of the 1st year students and the creativity of their recommendations and presentations.

The GMN congratulates this year's winners:

1st place: Mixmasters - Roshan Gummatira, Jason Haby, Sara Litton and Wendy Wheless
2nd place: sunDOWn - Rachel Callahan, Nick Clary, Erin Folker and James Rapp
3rd place: Marco Polo - Vivek Goel, Brad Gureisch, Tatiana Jitkoff and Sesh Natarajan
4th place: Melting Pot - Christopher Lloyd, Sawangsin Ngaol, Yoshifumi Tamura and Shena Yang
5th place: Cardinal Points - Valerie Andersen, Forest Bloede, Brian Conti and Sean Foley
Best Speakers - 1st Round: Rachel Callahan, Roshan Gummatira, Sesh Natarajan, Deepak Surana & Dana Swanson Switzer
Best Speaker - Finals: Roshan Gummatira