A team of five MBA students who studied with Laura B. Resnikoff, an associate professor in the Management Division, won a second-place award at an international student paper competition. The Carl Marks Student Paper Competition recognizes outstanding student achievement in the field of corporate renewal. The Columbia team — Matthieu Cocq '06, Patrick de Loe '06, Franck Legoux '06, Genki Oka '06 and Alexander Zorn '06 — was selected alongside student winners from the Kellogg School of Management and London Business School. "Each year we see higher-quality submissions," said Dr. James Neelankavil of Hofstra University’s Zarb School of Business, who led the six-person selection committee.
The winning papers, which are submitted in general and case study categories, are chosen for their relevance to corporate distress, financial restructuring and reorganization, and the quality of writing and analysis. The Columbia team analyzed the challenges faced by RadioShack and proposed solutions for a successful turnaround. Last year, another Columbia team that studied with Professor Resnikoff — James H. Baird III '06, Stefan Lehmann '05, T. Charles Quinn, Jr. '06, and Keith Zadourian '05 — earned a second-place award for their paper on Six Flags.
The award includes a $1,500 prize. In addition, the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) will provide one member of the Columbia team with travel and lodging expenses to attend its annual convention in October. The TMA, headquartered in Chicago, is the only international nonprofit association dedicated to corporate renewal and turnaround management.