The PECC first-place team. From left: Craig Cannon, Ashton Grewal, Dallen Moore, and Jeffrey Chambers.

More than one hundred BYU students teamed up with private equity and investment banking professionals at the first-ever BYU Private Equity Case Competition, giving students the opportunity to find out what it takes to work in the private equity industry.

Students combined in teams of two to four members to develop a plan to buy an underperforming business and make it more profitable before reselling it. Professionals from around the world served as trainers, mentors, and judges to help the teams make their leveraged buyout proposals. Teams were given three weeks to choose a company and construct summaries of their proposition. Eleven finalists were then given mentors to help them prepare in-depth presentations for a panel of judges.

“Being trained by these professionals was incredible because it took private equity out of an academic setting and into real life,” says James Pierce, one of the lead organizers for the PECC and a recent Marriott School finance graduate. “We took people who didn’t know anything about private equity and trained them through a private equity boot camp, all the way to where they could put together a presentation that could go to a real private equity company.”

The top three teams received cash prizes donated by the Peery Institute of Financial Services. The $1,000 first-place prize went to the Family Dollar team, consisting of Craig Cannon, a recent graduate in accounting from Phoenix; Jeff Chambers, a recent graduate in management from Portland, Oregon; Ashton Grewal, a senior economics major from Burlingame, California; and Dallen Moore, a senior management major from Spring, Texas.

Pierce says they plan to hold the PECC on an annual basis. He also hopes they will be able to expand in the next few years to allow many more students to receive training in private equity. “Private equity is one of the hardest businesses to get into, but it is also one of the most rewarding,” he says. “The potential to spread out is really huge. This could become the annual competition in private equity, including multiple schools across the United States.”


Two Marriott School professors, David Hart and Jeff Dyer, were recently appointed to new positions and began serving 1 July 2008.

Hart was appointed director of the Romney Institute of Public Management. A Marriott School professor since 2000, Hart has served on numerous administrative committees and was chair of the Professional Development Workshops of the public and nonprofit division of the Academy of Management National Committee in 2001. He is a board member of two nonprofits. “Dave has demonstrated his ability to balance key issues while addressing underlying objectives,” says Dean Gary Cornia. “I give him my full support in this new appointment.”

Dyer, the Horace Beesley Professor of Strategy, will serve as chair for the Organizational Leadership and Strategy Department. Dyer has received numerous awards for his teaching and research, including the Business Policy & Strategy Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management in 2004. “Jeff has demonstrated exemplary leadership in both scholarship and teaching,” Cornia says. “I am confident that Jeff will continue his outstanding contribution in his new role.”


A team from BYU’s School of Accountancy won first place at the thirteenth Annual Deloitte National Student Case Study Competition in Scottsdale, Arizona, in April.

BYU will receive a $10,000 prize for the victory, and each team member will receive a $2,000 scholarship. Six schools competed at the national invitational event sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation. In its last three appearances, BYU has earned one second-place and two first-place finishes.

The six students on the winning BYU team—all first-year MAcc students—were Valerie Funk, from Tucson, Arizona; Joanna Jenkins, from La Puente, California; Jen McDonald, from Valencia, California; Kevin Brown, from American Fork, Utah; Jared Lish, from Eagle, Idaho; and Brian Suker, from Brigham City, Utah.

“The win solidifies our standing as one of the top schools in the country,” says Ervin Black, associate professor of accounting and the team’s faculty advisor. “It gives credence to the skills we hope we’re developing in our students.”

Participants were given three weeks to analyze a case study adapted from an actual business scenario in Deloitte’s archives. Each team presented their solution to a panel of active and retired Deloitte partners acting as senior management for a simulated client company. The judges then challenged each team’s solution with a round of questioning. Teams were evaluated on their ability to identify the relevant accounting issues and to effectively present and defend their solutions.

“We had a great experience working with the Deloitte professionals,” McDonald says. “They did a great job of being there to work with and answer any questions. It made the situation feel like real life, allowing us to take a look into what it’s really like in the accounting profession.”

From left: Ned Hill, Michael Flett, and Merrill J. Bateman.

BYU’s Marriott School announced the winners of the 2008 Merrill J. Bateman Awards, the only school-wide awards selected entirely by students.

Christy Hellewell, from Bountiful, Utah, and Michael Flett, from Teresopolis, Brazil, received Merrill J. Bateman Outstanding Student Awards, and J. Michael Pinegar, professor of finance, received the Merrill J. Bateman Student Choice Award.

The Merrill J. Bateman Outstanding Student Award is given annually to one undergraduate and one graduate student in recognition of their support to the Marriott School, service to the community, participation in networking, and professional development.

At the awards presentation Kyle Poll, president of the Marriott School Student Council, said, “As so many nominations for these prestigious awards rolled in, it was amazing to see not only the caliber of students at this school but also the respect their classmates hold for them.”

Undergraduate winner Hellewell, a senior majoring in business marketing, serves as vice president of the Marriott School Undergraduate Student Association, where she helps organize socials, service projects, and other activities. She was one of two students who represented the school at the Undergraduate Leadership Conference at Emory University and was also selected as a student liaison to alumni and donors on the President’s Leadership Council.

Graduate winner Flett, a second-year MBA student with an emphasis in finance, sold nearly everything he owned to come to BYU with his wife and two children. He served on the Marriott School Diversity Board and as president of the International Graduate Student Association, where he worked to improve the experiences of international students and their spouses.

The Student Choice Award is given to a faculty member, staff member, or administrator who mentors students, participates in student activities, and is a personal and professional example to students. Pinegar, the Joel C. Peterson Professor of Finance and this year’s winner, joined the Marriott School faculty in 1988 and has received numerous awards for his teaching and research. His reputation for putting students first stems from his commitment to learn every student’s name and his willingness to devote extra time and attention to help students outside of class.

Merrill J. Bateman, president of BYU from 1996 to 2003 and dean of the College of Business from 1975 to 1979, delivered the keynote address at the awards ceremony.

Gibb Dyer, professor of entrepreneurship and academic director of the BYU Economic Self-Reliance Center, presents Joan Dixon with the 2008 Dyer Distinguished Alumni Award.

The Marriott School’s Department of Organizational Leadership and Strategy presented Joan Dixon with the 2008 William G. Dyer Distinguished Alumni Award. The Dyer Award is presented annually to an alumnus or alumna who makes a significant contribution in the field of organizational behavior.

“Joan’s contributions in the area of addressing issues of poverty and literacy and working internationally with nongovernmental organizations are amazing,” says Kate Kirkham, organizational behavior and human resources faculty group leader. “She has an excellent reputation among people who work in community development and adult education and has been instrumental in developing local, national, and international programs.”

Dixon is an adjunct faculty member at the Marriott School and serves as the practitioner network director for the BYU Economic Self-Reliance Center. She has worked extensively with developing countries as a consultant on adult education and other projects to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life for millions.

“Poverty is complex,” Dixon said at the banquet in her honor. “It cannot be solved in any one discipline by itself. It cannot be solved until we have the courage and skill to redesign our economic and social systems. I’m just beginning to build my network of people who can help me figure this out.”

Dixon’s work has taken her to Nepal, West Africa, and Indonesia. She specializes in leading cross-functional teams to address the complex problems facing Third World countries. While serving as a missionary in Thailand, Dixon spent some of her time helping refugees from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. She said this experience redirected her career aspirations from education to a broader emphasis on changing and improving societies. She earned a master’s degree in organizational behavior at BYU and a doctorate in international development education at the University of Massachusetts.

“I am grateful I discovered in my wanderings the most important rule for change agents: you have to allow yourself to change first, by giving up what you think you love in order to find the better plan,” she said.


The Marriott School honored W. Gibb Dyer with its 2008 Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest faculty distinction given by the school. The award was presented at a banquet 28 March where eleven other individuals and retiring professors were recognized for significant contributions to the school.

Dyer, the O. Leslie Stone Professor of Entrepreneurship, has been part of the Marriott School faculty for more than twenty-three years. He currently serves as academic director of the school’s Economic Self-Reliance Center. As one of the world’s most-cited authors on the topic of family business, Dyer sits on the editorial boards of three journals and has been named a research fellow of the Family-Owned Business Institute and the Raymond Family Business Institute. Dyer’s father, William, is a former Marriott School dean and recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award (1974).

“Lately, the Marriott School has been recognized for its high rankings and achievements. However, we must never forget that much of our recognition is based on a solid foundation—laid by faculty and administrators who have come before us,” Gibb Dyer said. “I am very grateful for the opportunity to build upon that foundation.”

Along with Dyer, other exceptional staff members, administrators, and faculty members were also recognized during the banquet for their contributions in teaching, research, and citizenship.

Marriott School Teaching Excellence Awards were presented to David Hart, associate professor of ethics and public management, and Craig Merrill, professor of finance.

Marriott School Citizenship Awards were presented to Ray Nelson, associate professor of business management, and Boyd Randall, professor of accounting.

Marriott School Distinguished Service Awards were presented to Richard Dalebout, associate professor of business law, and James Stice, professor of accounting.

The Marriott School Research Award was presented to Scott Sampson, professor of business management.

Marriott School Administrative Excellence Awards were presented to Troy Carpenter, researcher and computing specialist for the business management department; Terri Hagler, administrative director of corporate development and career services; and Chadwick Little, public relations and marketing manager.

The Marriott School Staff Excellence Award was presented to Kristen McGregor, program coordinator for undergraduate programs.

In addition to the Marriott School Award recipients, retiring professors were commended for their longtime service to the school. The 2008 Marriott School retirees are: Brooklyn Derr, professor of organizational leadership and strategy; Michael Geurts, professor of business management; Kaye Terry Hanson, assistant professor of organizational leadership and strategy; Kate Kirkham, associate professor of organizational behavior; Roland Koller, associate professor of business management; Dean Longmore, professor of business management; Gordon Mills, professor of organizational leadership and strategy; and Gloria Wheeler, professor of public management.


BYU’s Romney Institute of Public Management named Carolyn Grow Dailey, president and CEO of ASCEND Alliance, as 2008 Administrator of the Year.

The award is given annually to an outstanding man or woman who has achieved distinction after many years of management in the public or nonprofit sector. During her seventeen years as an international humanitarian executive, Dailey led expeditions to a dozen impoverished countries—organizing community development programs and leading internships that now influence thousands of people worldwide.

“Carolyn Dailey is an outstanding example for our students of what a local person can do in the field of international development,” says Gloria Wheeler, assistant director of the Romney Institute. “She’s a great model for our students of someone who is talented, educated, and committed and who finds a way to fulfill her roles as a wife and mother and also to have a large impact on the humanitarian world.”

As president and CEO of ASCEND, Dailey combats poverty in developing countries by implementing programs in education, enterprise, health, and technology. She previously served as CEO of CHOICE Humanitarian, another group committed to sustainable development in impoverished countries.

Published by the Marriott School at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Copyright 2012 by Brigham Young University. All rights reserved. All communications should be sent to Marriott Alumni Magazine, 490 Tanner Building, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. Email: marriottmag@byu.edu. Telephone: (801) 422-5083. Fax: (801) 422-0501. The views expressed are those of the various authors and not necessarily the Marriott School. Change your mailing address here.