LMU Wins National Consulting Challenge for Third Year in a Row

It's a three-peat! LMU College of Business Administration successfully defended its championship at the IDEAcorps MBA Consulting Challenge at Loyola University New Orleans on March 7-10, 2026, marking LMU's third consecutive win! This annual competition pairs graduate students with small businesses averaging $250,000 in revenue, where over two months they develop real-world solutions and actionable strategies, culminating in a six-minute presentation to a panel of judges.

Coached by Jason D'Mello, Ph.D., associate professor of entrepreneurship, LMU's interdisciplinary team was comprised of MBA students Jaden Schutt and Alyshia Assal, M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Innovation (MSESI) student Lucrezia Baldaccini, and M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) students Marcela Lozano, Wilson Chatham, Dante Shoghanian, and Joseph Barragan.

"I've enjoyed watching students from our CBA graduate programs collaborate in this competition over the past three years," noted D'Mello. "They consistently demonstrate strong dedication, balancing coursework, jobs, and other commitments while delivering high-quality work. The team quickly built trust with the client and exceeded expectations, providing both strategic recommendations and practical assets the client can use to support its go-to-market efforts and improve manufacturing efficiency. Their final presentation was exceptional, especially given the challenge of clearly communicating a complex technology and their consulting insights in just five minutes."

Competing against nine universities nationwide, the team's first-place finish earned $5,000 for LMU and $20,000 for their client, Autodive, a company dedicated to helping domestic oyster farmers stabilize production. The team delivered a comprehensive market launch package that included developing the company's website and social media presence, operational tools and customer calculators, securing letters of intent from initial customers, and designing a go-to-market strategy. The team also revised Autodive's financial statements and built financial models that aligned manufacturing plans with projected cash flows, enabling a launch strategy financed by early customer commitments rather than outside investment.

"When I learned about the client and how hard it is for their business to grow, I thought it would be almost impossible for LMU to three-peat," remarked David Choi, Ph.D., Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Entrepreneurship and director of the Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship. "But Coach D'Mello and his students raised their game and worked hard to perfect their presentation."

For Marcela Lozano '21, M.S. '26, participating in IDEAcorps was "an invaluable opportunity to tackle a real business challenge and collaborate directly with founders while applying strategy and research in an emerging industry."

"This experience pushed me to apply strategy, research, and teamwork in a real-world setting, and I am so thankful to have collaborated with such driven and supportive teammates throughout the journey," added Lucrezia Baldaccini '25, M.S. '26.

This national win highlights the kind of transformative experiences LMU students gain through experiential learning. From late nights refining strategies to delivering high-stakes presentations, the team's success showcases how LMU prepares students to step into the professional world ready to make an immediate impact.