Rider Student Brian Canner From Barton Places Third in J&J National Business Case Competition

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Front row (L-R): Laura Albright and Puneet Joshi; Middle Row (L-R): Bryan Griffith, Brian Canner, Lauren Doherty, Sebastian Compagnucci; Back row: Stephen Crecco

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ (04/07/2011)(readMedia)-- Brian Canner of Barton, N.Y., a junior Finance and Actuarial Science major,was among the seven students from Rider University's College of Business Administration, who recently placed third in the finals of the Johnson & Johnson Business Case Competition at the corporate headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J. This is Rider's second top-three finish in three years.

Rider competed against nine other universities, including the University of Illinois, which received first place; the University of Florida, which received second place; The Pennsylvania State University; Bucknell University; Florida International University; Seton Hall University; LaSalle University; Rutgers–Newark and Rutgers–New Brunswick.

The teams were required to prepare a financial analysis and marketing strategy for a case involving the launch of a former prescription allergy medicine, Zyrtec, to the over-the-counter marketplace. As in years past, the case represented real-world opportunities encountered by J&J and provided a unique way for students to better understand the financial decision-making process used by one of the world's most successful and admired pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Larry Prober, associate professor of Accounting, and Dr. Cynthia Newman, director of International Partnerships and associate professor of Marketing, served as advisers to the Rider team.

The rest of the Rider team included Laura Albright, a junior Finance and Actuarial Science dual major; Sebastian Compagnucci, a senior Marketing and International Business dual major; Stephen Crecco, a junior Finance major; Lauren Doherty, a sophomore Finance major; Bryan Griffith, a junior Marketing major; and Puneet Joshi, a junior Accounting major.

The team was selected during a preliminary round of the competition, judged by J&J executives, on February 23 on the Lawrenceville campus where four other teams also competed. This year, Rider's College of Business Administration invited about 30 students from a range of business majors to participate in the competition.