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Video captured and provided by Boldy Told Video, 2023. |
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ACG Cup is an intercollegiate competition among business school students from colleges and universities across the nation. Retaining and recruiting talent in West Michigan is a major objective of the Cup competition for ACG's Western Michigan Chapter. During competition, students analyze complex business cases and present strategies involving merger and acquisition alternatives, valuation, capital markets, finance options, and corporate strategy. Student participants gain invaluable experience in a real-world context, receive feedback from leaders in the local business community, and create meaningful networks.
ACG Western Michigan is known for bringing together a robust and diverse group of students representing teams from around our state and the nation. For 2024, we invite teams from across the Midwest and beyond to compete in person at Grand Valley State University's Seidman College of Business. We'll also host a networking reception the evening before our competition so teams can make new connections to the West Michigan business community and judges taking part in ACG Cup.
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![]() One Competition! The ACG Cup competition will be held as a single competition open to all students who are currently registered at least half-time at participating colleges and universities during the 2023 - 2024 academic year. Participants are generally finance, accounting, marketing, international business, general business, supply chain, operations, and management majors, and teams may be comprised a mix of undergraduate and graduate students, or teams may be comprised of solely undergraduate or solely graduate students. There will be no separate divisions for undergraduates and graduate students. Recent graduates: Teams may have no more than one member who has recently obtained their undergraduate degree from the same college/university. This means students who graduate with their undergraduate degrees in December 2023 may compete with classmates who are still enrolled at the time of the competition. Image
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Prizes: The winning team will take home a cash prize of $6,000 plus each team advancing to the Final Round will receive and invitation to have dinner with ACG Cup judges, company representatives, or sponsors. The Case: The case study simulates a real-world business situation offering students a learning perspective that diverges from textbook examples. Faculty advisors are encouraged to provide guidance to students prior to the case being released to students, but after the case is released, professors are prohibited from offering advice, critiques, or detailed solutions after the case materials are distributed. Student Investment Clubs: Are you part of a student investment club and want someone to come and speak about ACG Cup? Contact ACG Cup Coordinator at hedwards@acg.org and we'll be sure to put your club in contact with our liaisons. Image
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Cup Update No. 1: 9/5/2023 | Cup Update No 2: 11/21/2023 | |
The following list is comprised of colleges and universities that participated in our most recent competition. We are eager to expand the list of competing institutions. Click on any college or university logo below to learn more about their business program offerings. If your institution is taking part for the first time in 2024, email ACG Staff and we'll add you to this list!
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Meet some of the ACG Cup participants from last year and see what they have to say about how the competition impacted them. | ||||
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Once we have our 2024 line up of competitors, you can view their bona fides and headshots here. We'll make it easy for talent scouts from our business community to connect with participants you might have met at this winter's competition!
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![]() ACG Western Michigan has developed a system of liaisons to assist you and your students in awareness and promotion of the Cup competition. Our team of liaisons is headed by a past Cup competitor who understands all facets of the competition and is ready to help answer your questions, deliver important information for your teams, and guide you through the process. Liaisons listed below are tasked with outreach to the college and universities we see most years. They may or may not be alumni of those institutions, but they've pledged to help you and your students learn about the competition. Learn more about our 2024 Cup liaisons below and reach out if you'd like a liaison to visit your classroom or student investment club. |
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![]() Finance Feud is a fundraising event to support ACG Cup. Held in the autumn preceding the Cup competition, Finance Feud presents a fun way for teams in business and related industries to try to one-up each other in a friendly trivia competition. This fun, high-energy trivia night pits teams from accounting and law firms as well as corporations and universities against one another. The winning team takes home the trophy and bragging rights for the next year.
This year's Finance Feud teams participated from the West Michigan firms and organizations listed below. Find out more about each of them now.
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![]() Historically, our annual Valuation Seminar has offered an introduction to M&A from different perspectives. Seminar lesson focus on theoretical and technical approaches to valuation, as well as qualitative factors that influence the value of a company. Valuation Seminar materials have proven instrumental in understanding the ins and outs of M&A from different perspectives. Image
![]() For the past three years, we've held our Valuation Seminar on virtual platforms the same day the competition case is released. In 2024, we're giving you that Friday back to get to work on your case and have the ability to review Valuation Seminar materials on your own schedule. We're offering all elements of our popular Valuation Seminar session in an on-demand format only. Once your team registers, you'll receive access to our complete library, which contains videos on M&A methodologies, private equity lessons, personal branding/networking tips, and -- NEW this year -- presentation basics. Our Valuation Seminar leads are here to answer any questions you might have.
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All registered teams and their professors/advisors are invited to join us for a pre-event networking reception just north of downtown Grand Rapids on Friday, February 23, 2024. This reception will provide access to a wide array of business professionals in the West Michigan region and beyond who are eager to make connections with new talent. Attendance will ensure you meet competition judges, advisors, company representatives, ACG Western Michigan Board and Cup Committee members, and generally mix and mingle among ACG Cup competitors.
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Registration for our Networking Reception coming soon! Image
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See the list of participating companies and firms that competitors met at last year's Networking Reception. Click on any logo to learn more about the company as a whole and click the PDF company description to see what you can expect to learn from our Career Conversation representatives at the Networking Reception!
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Adamy Valuation | BDO USA, LLP | Blackford Capital | |
Calder Capital | Charter Capital Partners | Connection Builders | Crowe LLP |
DWH | Mercantile Bank of Michigan | NuVescor Group | Waseyabek Development Company |
Our judges' combined experience and expertise in M&A, valuation, and financial products allows them to help simulate a real-world experience for our competitors. Judges come from our business community and volunteer their time and talent to make our competition a success. Our Judges' Leads, Elisa Berger and Scott Harris, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience about the ACG Cup initiative and their savvy will ensure we have the region's best professionals judging your case presentation in 2024. Learn more about Elisa, Scott, and our 2024 judges below.
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Our volunteer judges come from our business community and provide our competitors with real connections to their industries. They are professionals who dedicate their time to ensuring the ACG Cup competition is a well-rounded experience, and we are so thankful for them. As our judges commit to the competition this year, you'll be able to select the bios below to learn more about the professionals who volunteer their time and talents to judge our competition.
Meet the Committee that makes our ACG Cup Competition possible!
Please select a Cup Committee member to learn more about his/her background.
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![]() Elisa Berger, Charter Capital Partners Judge Recruitment Lead |
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![]() Adamy Valuation Case Writing Team |
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![]() EHTC Finance Feud Chair |
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Ashley Gray, |
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![]() Scott Harris Huntington Bank Judge Recruitment Lead |
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![]() Jessica Kuster, Hello West Michigan Valuation Seminar Team |
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![]() Todd McGuire Plante Moran Valuation Seminar Lead |
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![]() Nathan Olberding, Adamy Valuation Valuation Seminar Lead |
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![]() Jeff Weir, BDO LLP USA Networking Reception Lead |
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Heather Edwards, |
Our generous sponsors make it possible to bring outstanding programs and events to you. Click on a sponsor logo to learn more!
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