ICE is a week-long case study competition that takes place in the winter and spring terms. Started more than 30 years ago, Laurier’s ICE is unique in Canada and gives all third-year students in Laurier’s Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program the opportunity to analyze comprehensive problems faced by real companies.

This year’s case featured Linamar Corporation, a world-class designer and diversified manufacturer of precision metallic components and systems for the automotive industry, energy, and mobile industrial markets. The case was co-authored by David Rose, acting associate Laurier MBA director, and Andre Belisle, Laurier MBA student.

The ICE competition began with groups of five to six students presenting their recommendations in writing and orally to a board of School of Business & Economics faculty. The groups with the best overall performance, before each internal board, were then selected to present before an external board of business executives, including representatives from Linamar – Jim Jarrell, president and chief operating officer; Dale Schneider, chief financial officer; Mark Stoddart, chief technology officer and executive vice president, marketing; Roger Fulton, executive vice president, human resources and general counsel and corporate secretary. 

Through the ICE competition, BBA students have the opportunity to integrate management disciplines into a real-time problem-solving context while experiencing work-world pressures, developing presentation skills, and interacting with business executives.