Three teams from York University’s Schulich School of Business made it to the top 10 in the national finals of the L’Oréal Brandstorm case competition, with one team earning second place.
L’Oréal Brandstorm is an innovation competition that reinvents the beauty shopping experience through entertainment – exploring the world of retail and e-commerce – mentored by L’Oréal’s digital experts.
The three Schulich teams did an outstanding job representing Schulich in a competition that saw close to 150 teams from schools across Canada participate.
The second-place team members consisted of Anne Villeneuve (BBA ’22), Ananthen Karunakaran (BBA ’22), and Hugo Pinto (BBA ’22).
The final round was held virtually, with the top 10 teams competing from seven different Canadian business schools. One of Schulich’s finalist teams presented to an executive panel, including Frank Kollmar, the president and CEO of L’Oréal Canada and a member of Schulich’s International Advisory Council, as well as other senior executives from L’Oréal Canada and the President of Publicis, L’Oréal’s advertising agency.
“It is always so inspiring to see the extraordinary levels of creativity among our undergrad students who bring an unbridled enthusiasm to the process and create outstanding solutions,” said coach and Schulich Professor Joe Fayt. “It also reminds me of how strong and resilient our students are – the world was turned upside down, and they figured it out, got re-oriented, and continued the Schulich legacy of success.”
The aim of the competition was to offer students an experience and opportunity to innovate within the beauty industry. It also enhanced students’ entrepreneurial skills, creativity skills, and perception of the L’Oréal business. Some of the participants were involved in a recruitment process to explore career opportunities.
“We’ve been involved with this competition since it started in 1992, and Schulich has been supporting our teams, both through faculty coaching and through consultations with the Career Development Centre, ever since,” said Fayt.