The University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics continued its tradition of experiential learning this spring with the Carol A. Ammon Case Competition, an annual event that challenges graduate students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world business problems.
Designed to strengthen analytical and presentation skills, the competition gives student teams the opportunity to develop and present strategic recommendations to alumni and industry professionals. In the preliminary round, teams present to Lerner MBA alumni judges, with the top three advancing to a final round before a panel of business leaders. Past focal organizations have ranged from Endo Pharmaceuticals and Dogfish Head Brewery, reflecting the competition’s broad, real-world scope.
This year’s competition, held March 13 at the FinTech Innovation Hub, brought together 62 students across 17 teams, with 43 students on 13 teams presenting. This year’s case focused on Harvey AI, challenging students to evaluate the company’s growth strategy following major funding while responding to new competition from Anthropic.
Lerner Assistant Professor of Management Kurt Norder, who selected the case and authored an updated addendum, emphasized the learning goals behind the challenge.
“The reason I chose the case was to get them to consider AI products as well as strategic planning and financial capital allocations,” he said. “It will help them to learn about the AI ecosystem and product ‘training’ and enhancements, key aspects of competition, strategic planning, and assigning capital allocations with projected internal rates of return.”
To support participants, Norder also hosted a strategy session, alongside a roundtable discussion on the intersection of legal services, technology and strategy with Larry Cunningham, director of UD’s John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, and Vish Dharanipragada, director, consumer credit risk at Barclays. The final round was judged by Jeff Sills, adjunct professor at the Fordham Gabelli School of Business, Richard Rollo, director at Richards, Layton & Finger, PA, and Norder.
Following a competitive day, the top teams were named:
First Place – Catalyst Crew: Akshay Rao, Shantanu Singh, Reshma Thomas and Mandira Sonar
Second Place – Third Order Strategy: Smitha George, Krishna Thakkar and Akshita Potdar
Third Place – Peer Power: Purity Ngigi, Cynthia Cheptoo, Lloyd Chunga and Juline Ojwang
A signature Lerner event since 2000, the Carol A. Ammon Case Competition continues to connect classroom learning with real-world application – equipping students with the skills and confidence to navigate an evolving business landscape. The Lerner community looks ahead to next year’s competition, tentatively scheduled for March 12, 2027.