Universities and Colleges

Wharton Leadership Program

Lynn Krage
Director, Wharton Executive Coaching and Feedback Program, Wharton Leadership Program, Lecturer, Management Department

I run the Wharton Leadership Fellows Program. Leadership Fellows are charged with providing every first year student the opportunity to enhance their leadership potential through the development of practical tools and concrete strategies applicable in every area of their lives. The Leadership Fellows act as mentors for the incoming class. It is critical that we recruit the best talent to fill this role.

We engage in a rigorous application and interview process to find the best talent. We brought in Team Business to run a program as part of our selection process. I needed a tool to see how our candidates behaved in a team and pressure cooker environment, so I could understand their leadership and coaching traits and their temperaments. We have been working with Team Business for over 14 years. The energy around teamwork generated by the simulation is electric and I believe that the students have a great deal of fun while also learning valuable insights about how to work together effectively in teams, despite the fact that they are being evaluated.  To me, that is the unique factor that Team Business brings - the students are so engaged that they forget they are being evaluated!

University of Pennsylvania

Jaime L. Davis
Associate Director – The Management and Technology Summer Institute The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology

I manage the Management and Technology Summer Institute (M&TSI). M&TSI is an extremely rigorous, non-stop, fast-paced college course for 60 high school students. The program introduces students to the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for successfully linking technology and management concepts in just three weeks.

Since the program is only three weeks, we needed a tool to help the students bond fast so the rest of the program is more effective and productive.  Another objective is for them to learn about leadership and business in an experiential and hands-on, interactive way.  We have been working with Team Business for over 14 years. Their simulation is an integral part of our program because the students always enjoy it and remark that is a highlight to not only the beginning of the course, but also a healthy introduction to working together in groups. Teamwork is a big part of M&TSI, not to mention their final grade, and the Team Business simulation helps our students get to where they need to be, in the shortest amount of time possible. Plus, working with Lara and André is a delight!

Tuck Business School

Dia Draper
Director of Strategic Initiatives

Team Business and the LEAD program at Tuck Business School worked together for over 5 years. Team Business’ involvement in getting our students the basics of accounting and entrepreneurship has been a game changer for our elite program and what our students take-away with them in terms of business nomenclature and exposure to financial accounting concepts and running a business. Our students use the learning from Accounting Comes Alive and The BOX Game to aid them in their capstone project, at the end of their 3 week program each group of 5 must professionally present or “pitch” an original business idea to a “board” and a winner is chosen based on their presentation, financials and feasibility of the enterprise.

Lara and André are easy colleagues and the students totally dig André’s style and he can connect with that young adult demographic in a way that few people can. Their international experience and cross-cultural exposure allow them to be “real” with our students, the majority of whom are African American, Native American and Latino American high school students.  There’s nothing we’ve asked that they haven’t done for us including being our go-to 4^th and 5^th of July academic programming. Most importantly, their sincere affection for our students is what seals the deal for me.

Denison University’s Organizational Studies Program

David Przybyla, Ph.D.
Director of Strategic Initiatives  

The program includes a four-week summer session designed to help students appreciate the many applications of their liberal arts education to real-world work settings and challenges. For the past several years, the talented people of Team Business have used creative and highly engaging simulations to help our students understand the strategic thinking necessary for managing a business from its inception through divestment.

In the process, students test and develop their skills in negotiation, leadership, and teamwork, and come to appreciate more fully the roles of individuals and teams in effective organizational functioning. The success of Team Business simulations is due in no small part to the wit and wisdom of facilitator Andre van der Bergh. He develops a rapport with students that promotes extensive interaction and active learning. Student evaluations of Andre and his work fall somewhere between awesome and mind-blowing.