CSUN and UC Riverside students from a wide variety of majors got the chance to think like a big business at a recent case competition hosted by financial services giant Goldman Sachs (GS), held in cooperation with the CSUN David Nazarian College of Business and Economics.

Held on April 29 at CSUN’s University Student Union Northridge Center, the competition was meant to showcase problems solved by the GS Operations division and give students a preview of the firm’s business practices and environment. Six teams (four from CSUN and two from UC Riverside) were given two weeks to examine the acquisition of grocer Whole Foods by Amazon, including how the two companies’ employees, distribution networks and business practices could be incorporated, what strategy Amazon might take with Whole Foods and how the acquisition might affect investors.

Host Aaron Eddy, an analyst in human capital management for GS, began the morning with a brief overview of the firm and its programs. The six teams then had 10 minutes each to give their presentations to judges Rosanne Reneo, GS managing director; Mark McCaskill, GS vice president for Private Wealth Management; and Priyanka Prasad, GS senior vice president for Client Onboarding Operations.

The teams were judged on their problem-solving skills, creativity, impact of ideas, feasibility of solutions, communication skills, and presentation and teamwork. The judges said they were impressed with the presentation and conclusions of the teams, and awarded first place to one of the teams from CSUN, comprised of students Tal Fitlovich, Nyan Lin, Faraz Samsami, Tony Lund and Joseph Elmajian.

“CSUN is one of the most accommodating campuses we travel to,” Eddy said. “We’re thrilled with the opportunity to recruit the brightest and best from here.”

competition, CSUN David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, Goldman Sachs