Vanderbilt Captures Third Annual Innovation Challenge® Competition; Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management Wins Title of 'Most Innovative MBA Team in the World' in Idea Crossing's Third Annual Competition at Thunderbird

Business Wire, Nov 22, 2005

GLENDALE, Ariz. & LOS ANGELES -- A team from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University captured the title of "Most Innovative MBA Team in the World" at the conclusion of the 2005 Innovation Challenge(R) competition at Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management. The 2005 Innovation Challenge(R) competition, sponsored by Hilton Hotels, the U.S. Postal Service, IBM and American Express, is the world's largest business innovation competition and attracted 321 teams from 83 colleges and universities in 18 countries.

The Vanderbilt team, a runner up in last year's competition, developed a concept for Hilton Hotels on ways to foster a thriving service culture among the hotel chain's employees. The team from Vanderbilt consists of Alejandro Corpeno from Honduras, Bana Shomali from Jordan, Michael Monteforte of the U.S., and Sangram Borkar of India. A panel of judges from business, industry and academia selected the campaign from the Owen School team over proposals from other schools such as the University of Rochester, which finished in second place, and Case Western Reserve, which finished in third place after being a finalist in last year's competition, among others. The Owen School team splits a $20,000 cash prize.

"The challenge of creating unique and winning ideas two years in a row for five different companies addressing six different questions has been one of the most transformational experiences of our lives," said Alejandro Corpeno, in his final year at Owen School of Management, Vanderbilt University. "We could not have made it without the unique and diverse backgrounds of our team members (Honduras, Jordan, India, and USA). Innovation is the soul of successful businesses."

The competition is managed by Idea Crossing, LLC, Los Angeles, the organizer of innovative idea competitions in public and private forums.

"At Hilton, we recognize that successful innovation is an on-going process, requiring continual reflection and self-study, along with a steady infusion of fresh thinking," said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, Hilton brand management, Hilton Hotels Corporation. "We continue to be impressed by the quality, originality and relevance of the ideas presented by the Innovation Challenge teams, many of which have a significant potential to enhance the way we shape the Hilton guest and Hilton team member experience."

"Our heartfelt congratulations go out to the Vanderbilt University team in earning the Most Innovative MBA Team in the World," said U.S. Postal Service Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto. "They proved to be leaders among the many talented students who participated in this year's Innovation Challenge."

Idea Crossing develops software that enables public and private idea competitions such as Innovation Challenge to serve as a forum for tapping into the creative imaginations of employees, consumers, external technical, design and other expert thinkers that can add to an organization's bottom line quickly and efficiently. According to Anil Rathi, president and founder, Idea Crossing, LLC, "Public idea competitions represent a cost-effective way for smart organizations to develop new and imaginative ideas to expand and improve their businesses, products and services. Idea competitions are a forum in which passionate contributors can exercise their creativity in a carefully managed, time-boxed competitive context. Competitions organically identify the most innovative ideas and people that can articulate their value in business and society. We are delighted with the continued growth of this competition and of the value our sponsors derive from our processes."

Idea Crossing's clients include Hilton Hotels, IBM, American Express, Chiquita, Sunbeam, Sprint, and the United States Postal Service.

For a summary of this year's 2005 Innovation Challenge(R) competition or to become a sponsor in 2006, go to http://www.innovationchallenge.com/.> About Idea Crossing, LLC

Based in Los Angeles, Idea Crossing is currently helping corporations and international non-profits to capture fresh ideas from customers, virtual teams, salespeople, suppliers, citizens and community members. Idea Crossing's automated system and competition processes effectively streamline the management of a large-scale competition like Innovation Challenge. By launching a customized idea competition, companies can quickly build communities of passionate consumers that derive new ways of thinking and innovative solutions to a changing business environment. Innovation Challenge is a registered trademark of Idea Crossing, LLC.

For more information on Idea Crossing, go to www.ideacrossing.com.

Innovation Challenge is a registered trademark of Idea Crossing, LLC; all other company, organization and product names are trademarks of their respective holders.