Stetson’s School of Business Administration is showing its muscle once again. In late February, its Roland George Investments Program won the Florida CFA Research Championship. Then, in early March, the Centurion Sales Competition Team won the prestigious National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC). Both victories add to a significant tally of recent and continued success against other top schools. 

Florida CFA Research Championship

In the Florida CFA Research Championship, the team of Max Miller, Isabella Thomsen, Sugeeth Sathish and Braden Hill finished on top against 18 other teams. Schools included, among others, Barry University, Florida International University, Lynn University, Florida State University, the University of South Florida and the University of Miami. Stetson teams have now won four years in a row. (CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst.)

“Our competition has been improving. So, it’s a big deal that our students won again this year,” said Matthew Imes, PhD, assistant professor of Finance. “The judges and the challenge coordinator were very complimentary of the quality and thoroughness of our presentations and the polish of our students!

“I’m incredibly proud of our students for winning the Florida CFA Institute Research Challenge. This is a testament to their hard work, dedication and the exceptional financial education we offer in the Roland George Investment Program at Stetson University. This win showcases the talent and potential of our students and positions them well for successful careers in the investment management industry.”

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that connects university students with investment professionals from within the CFA Society network. The competition provides students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and ethics and tests participants’ analytical, valuation, reporting writing and presentation skills.

Members of CFA Society, along with a faculty advisor and an industry mentor, work with teams of students to value a stock, write a research report and present their recommendations. Teams then compete with peers from other schools at local-level competitions organized and judged by CFA Society members and volunteers. The winning university team(s) from each local competition then advances to see who will become the sub-regional, regional and global champions. 

National Collegiate Sales Competition

For the Centurion Sales Competition Team, the win comes on the heels of its triumph in the World Cup of Sales during the International Collegiate Sales Competition in 2023.

Founded in 1999, the NCSC is the country’s longest-running university sales role-play competition, dedicated to advancing the practice and professionalism of the sales career. 

Out of a field of hundreds of competitors, Robert ‘Isaac’ Choate showcased exceptional talent by becoming NCSC’s Individual National Champion. Choate’s performance is particularly remarkable, considering he placed 59th at the 2023 NCSC. In addition, Dakota Phillips made an impressive journey to the quarterfinals, showcasing the depth of talent within the Stetson team.

Further, Valen Siddhartha Shankar Brown took home first place in one of his speed sells, in what was his first competition showcase. Also, Simon Choate placed second in his speed sell, and Rosaileen ‘Rosa’ Vega excelled in the networking component of the competition — displaying a high level of interaction and relationship-building skills. 

“To our knowledge, no university sales program has won both the World Cup of Sales and the National Championship in the same year consecutively,” said John Riggs, PhD, professor of Practice in Marketing and director of the Centurion Sales Excellence Program.

Riggs coached the team along with Dena Hale, PhD, assistant professor of Sales and Marketing, and Centurion Sales Delegate Smyrna Peterson ’22 ’23 MBA.