2009 NZIM Business Challenge Champions Found

1 DECEMBER2009

2009 NZIM Business Challenge Champions Found

Congratulations to Holmes Consulting Group for their victory in the 2009 NZIM Business Challenge. A very successful return to the competition, after a six year absence!

For this year’s final teams were asked to manage a company that manufactured and supplied DVD's in a series of declining markets, succumbing to the impact of new Blu-Ray technology. Their role was to maximise the return possible out of these declining markets by using various pricing and marketing strategies, whilst ensuring the rest of the logistical and production aspects of their business were operating effectively.

The final consisted of five teams from around the country including two from AMI Insurance, NZ Post (2007 Champions), Chevron New Zealand and Holmes Consulting Group. Holmes Consulting Group’s winning team members were Bruce Galloway, Mark Whiteside and Alex Murahidy from their Christchurch office with John Booth representing the Queenstown office.

The Final was a very tight contest, with little separating all five teams over the finals weekend. Over the six periods of the final, there were three separate teams leading at various stages of the competition. After their first decision, the Holmes Consulting Group team were in third place and $120,000 behind the initial front-runners of Chevron. After three more periods of slowly but surely making up ground, they pounced in period five to take the lead and hold onto it through to the final whistle.

Jared Brixton, Managing Director of KiwiHost, said “Being responsible for administration of the competition this year, we saw all manner of decisions made by many of the country’s largest organisations. Holmes Consulting were consistently good with the decisions they made. In a final as close as this one was, any small mistake could have spelled disaster for any of the teams. Bruce and his team did well to hold their nerve the whole way through.”

For their excellent efforts in the final, and their dedication over the past three months of competition, they have won a trip for four to Samoa, staying at the newly refurbished Sinalei Reef Resort & Spa.

Bruce Black, Managing Director of Holmes Consulting Group said “It’s great to see acknowledgement that our engineers can not only solve complex design solutions, but also can apply those problem-solving skills to complicated business decisions”

This year there were over one hundred and ten (110) teams participating in the Challenge. The final placings for the 2009 NZIM Business Challenge were as follows:

1st Place: Holmes Consulting Group
2nd Place: NZ Post
3rd Place: AMI Insurance
4th Place: AMI Insurance
5th Place: Chevron New Zealand

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