Supply chain and operations students from across the nation met online to leverage their skills and innovation for one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world.
October 11, 2021
By Erin Smutz
Top business undergraduate and MBA students came together online to compete in the second annual Raytheon Technologies Invitational Business Case Competition, presented October 7-9, 2021, by the Center for Supply Chain Innovation at the TCU Neeley School of Business.
The competition combined 34 graduate and undergraduate business students to work in randomly assigned mixed teams on a case provided by Raytheon Technologies, focusing on a supply chain and operations challenge.
The students came from Raytheon Technologies’ top tier business schools in the nation: California Polytechnic University – San Luis Obispo, Howard University, Michigan State University, Mississippi State University, TCU, University of Florida, The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas at Dallas.
“TCU’s ability to host students from all of our partner schools at this competition provides a unique way to evaluate talent while also giving us solutions for a real-life challenge within Raytheon Intelligence and Space,” said David Boelens, supply chain professional development lead for Raytheon Intelligence & Space, who served as a judge. “We are consistently impressed with the innovation and emerging talent that we get to see.”
Jeff Place, vice president of operations, supply chain and security for Raytheon Intelligence & Space, kicked off the competition as teams worked virtually with their new teammates throughout the day Friday, and then presented their creative ideas and innovative solutions to executives and talent acquisition team members from Raytheon Technologies the next morning. Teams were judged on the strength of their case and presentation.
“We’re looking for students who we can place big bets on and show us they have what it takes to make a difference at our organization,” Place said.
First Place of $10,000 was awarded to the team of (L-R): John Cassidy (University of Florida), Cooper Curtin (TCU) and Ryan Farmer (University of Texas at Dallas).
Second Place of $7,500 was awarded to the team of (L-R): Stephen Dunne (The University of Texas at Dallas), Jonathan Scholten (TCU), Gracie Chavez (Mississippi State University) and Julie Liu (Michigan State University).
Third Place of $3,500 was awarded to the team of (L-R): Alberto Cortez (TCU), Vanessa Gambini (The University of Texas at Dallas), Kamiya Daniel (Howard University) and Jenna Chen (The University of Texas at Austin).
In addition to Raytheon Technologies awarding prize money to the winners, 10 students from the competition were offered supply chain and operations internships at Raytheon Intelligence & Space.
“This competition is a great opportunity for us to share some of the real challenges we’re facing with the ever-evolving supply chain and give senior leadership a closer look at future talent,” said Justin Burns, senior principal subcontracts manager for Raytheon Technologies, another judge.
Other judges from Raytheon included: Christine Mosier, project manager; Crystal Parnell, senior manager of operations; Robert Huff, commodity management and sourcing; Bill Pinkowski, associate director ISRS sourcing; Bryan Melton, associate director of program operations; James Nelson, supply chain manager; Emily Tolliver, subcontract manager; Mike Rynbrandt, executive director of operations and supply chain; Brian Hartman, manager of business processes; Shannon Averett, senior manager of supply chain management; Tammy McGuire, senior manager of acquisition; Brande Smith, associate director of supply chain management; and Ron Uselton, associate director of acquisition.
This is the second year TCU Neeley has hosted the Raytheon Technologies Invitational Business Case Competition, made possible by a partnership between the TCU Center for Supply Chain Innovation and Raytheon Technologies, one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world.
“We’re honored to host this annual business case competition with Raytheon Technologies,” said Dave Malenfant, director of outreach and partnerships at the Center for Supply Chain Innovation. “Working alongside companies like Raytheon allows us to hone in on our mission to highlight talent and thought leadership in supply chain.”
“TCU is one of our partner schools for a reason,” Boelens said. “With our current and future expansion in the North Texas area and TCU’s proven ability to deliver great talent, this partnership make sense.”
“With the growth of our business, rapidly changing technology, and evolution of our supply chain and operations, we appreciate the great work from TCU as a host and partner for the case competition,” Place said.
To learn more about the Raytheon Technologies Invitational Business Case Competition, visit our web page here.
Interested in engaging the Raytheon Intelligence & Space Operations and Supply Chain team? Follow #RISOSC on LinkedIn and Facebook and join the conversation.
