UW Students Take Second at International Business Ethics Competition

A team of University of Wyoming students secured second place in the 90-second presentation category at the 28th annual International Business Ethics Case Competition (IBECC) April 9-11 at San Francisco State University’s downtown campus.

The participating UW students were:

-- Robert Coe, a junior business management major from Rawlins.

-- Charli Frankenfeld, a junior marketing and sales management major, with a minor in leadership, from Sterling, Colo.

-- Helena McGaugh, a senior human resource management major, with a minor in leadership, from Torrington.

-- Tristan Patterson, a junior finance and law major from Cheyenne.

Guided by Chase Thiel, the Rile Chair of Leadership and professor of management in UW’s College of Business, the team analyzed a contemporary ethical issue facing a business or industry. Teams in the competition delivered three presentations: a comprehensive 25-minute analysis addressing legal, financial and ethical dimensions; followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session with judges; a focused 10-minute discussion on ethical issues presented without visual aids or questions and answers; and a 90-second elevator pitch highlighting ethical concerns from the perspective of an employee speaking up in a business meeting.

“It was a thrill to bring home a second-place finish in the 90-second round of the International Business Ethics Case Competition -- one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind,” Thiel says. “The University of Wyoming hadn’t sent a team in nearly a decade, so there was some uncertainty heading in. But our students rose to the occasion, and I’m incredibly proud that their hard work and thoughtful preparation paid off.”

Coe describes the competition as a powerful experience.

“What we presented wasn’t just an ethics case -- it was a warning. In a world rushing toward automation, we made a stand for reason, responsibility and human conscience,” he says. “It was about reminding people that some decisions must remain human -- not because we’re perfect, but because we care that we aren’t.”

“IBECC was an incredible experience for networking and collaboration,” McGaugh says. “As a team, we learned so much -- not only from each other, but also by diving into real-world ethical challenges.”

Patterson says the best part of the competition was “connecting with like-minded people from all over the world. This experience can open many doors to future career and graduate school opportunities.”

For more information about the International Business Ethics Case Competition, visit https://ibecc.net.