Congratulations to the winner & finalists of Henley Challenge 2015
Monday, 02 March 2015
Dina Ghanma, winner of the Henley Challenge and Professor Ginny Gibson
'I was truly impressed at the confidence and quality of, not only the messages, but the way they were delivered.'
"Short-termism: should we kick the habit?" was the question posed to Henley Business School students at the annual Henley Challenge on Thursday 19 February. Following an evening of diverse and fantastic presentations from finalists, Dina Ghanma, a BSc Finance & Investment Banking student, was crowned the winner and presented with a cheque for £1,000 to share with her chosen charity*.
The Henley Challenge is a competition open to all students across Henley Business School, who are studying in the UK, and encourages the use of knowledge, skill and creativity. The five finalist teams were: Dina Ghanma (BSc Finance & Investment Banking), Paul Carcone (Flexible Executive MBA), Qi Li, Jianlan Zhang, Tanu Sehrawat & Xiaochun Yuan (MSc Business Information Management & MSc Business Technology Consulting), Elaine Falconer (Executive MBA) & Rebecca Windemer (MSc Spatial Planning & Development).
The event saw finalists presenting views from perspectives including real estate and planning, finance, and information systems. Competition winner, Dina, compared short-termism to "hitting the snooze button on your morning alarm" but suggested that short-term demand for information does help in bringing problems to the forefront, for example in the Tesco accounting scandal. Dina believes that it is the most influential investors, pension and mutual funds, who should set an example for others to follow suit.
Dina Ghanma, winner of the Henley Challenge, said:
"I can’t even describe it in words, I am so happy to have won. Thank you to everyone who voted for me, supported me and gave me encouragement, it was just amazing! Because of its anonymous nature, I cannot disclose the name of the charity I am donating to but it is going to a non-profit organisation that helps recovering addicts."
Professor Ginny Gibson, Deputy Dean of the Business School, commented:
"The best quote I have heard from our finalists was 'We are all winners', and that is absolutely right. I was truly impressed at the confidence and quality of, not only the messages, but the way they were delivered. Everyone performed outstandingly well. My view is echoed by other members of the judging panel which included senior representatives from BT and The Economist, providing the latest management input."
The theme, "Short-termism: should we kick the habit?" was chosen as short-termism remains a hot topic following the financial crash of 2008 and the effects of short-term decisions on the environment. Henley Business School believes that success in business is about more than just short-term gains and aims to empower individuals to become responsible professionals by employing business practices and thinking that creates long-term value for society and shareholders.
*£1000 will be shared between the winner (£250) and her chosen charity (£750)