BCom Case Competition Finals
2026 Program
The BCom Case Competition continues to celebrate innovation, teamwork and strategic thinking. With over 408 individual registrations and 71 high-quality pre-screening submissions, this year’s competition has once again demonstrated the talent and drive of our Bachelor of Commerce cohort.
Welcome to the 2026 BCom Case Competition Finals!
This year’s case, developed alongside Who Gives A Crap (WGAC), challenged teams to design additional donation streams aligned with the company’s environmentally conscious brand. We have truly been inspired by the overwhelming number and quality of submissions, which have showcased the talent, creativity, and drive within our FBE community.
We extend our sincere gratitude to case client WGAC for their collaboration and support, as well as to our valued sponsors: Strategic Project Partners (SPP), ACCA, Frais Capital, and CFA Society Australia, whose continued commitment made this experience possible. We would also like to thank the Faculty of Business and Economics’ Employability team for their invaluable behind-the-scenes work to ensure a seamless competition experience.
To all participants, your creativity, dedication, and critical thinking have been clear at every stage of the competition. We hope this experience has not only helped you develop relevant career skills but also encouraged you to step outside your comfort zone, build meaningful connections, and extend your learning beyond the classroom.
Finally, to our finalists, we wish you the best of luck! Reaching this stage is an outstanding achievement, and we look forward to seeing you present on stage tonight.
Emily Kawai and Andy Cheng-Chen
BCom Case Competition Co-Chairs 2026
Order of Proceedings
Date: Tuesday 5 May
Venue: Science Gallery Melbourne, Melbourne Connect, 114 Grattan St, Parkville VIC 3052
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5:00pm | Welcome by Associate Professor Sean Pinder |
| 5:10pm | Case introduction |
| 5:20pm | Team presentations: 1. On a Roll Advisory 2. Flow Frontier Consulting 3. TerraVista Consulting 4. Roll Model Advisors |
| 7:00pm | Judges’ deliberation |
| 7:30pm | Lucky door prize draw. Winners announced and closing remarks |
| 7:55pm | Networking |
| 8:15pm | Conclusion of event |
The case challenge provided by Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) focuses on scaling its social impact beyond its existing 50% profit donation model to address the global sanitation crisis. Despite strong brand equity, rapid growth, and over AUD 18M donated to WASH initiatives, WGAC’s impact is inherently capped by its profit-based model. This creates an opportunity to unlock new, incremental donation streams while maintaining its cheeky, purpose-driven identity.
Participants are tasked with developing a brand-aligned initiative for the Australian market that generates additional sanitation donations (targeting $1M+ annually) on top of the existing model. The solution must strengthen WGAC’s brand, deepen customer engagement, and remain financially and operationally feasible for a mid-sized D2C + retail business. Responses will be judged on creativity, feasibility, scalability, and alignment with WGAC’s mission and tone of voice.
The solution should consider:
- Brand-led engagement: Leveraging WGAC’s playful, purpose-driven tone to drive participation and advocacy
- Customer activation: Encouraging subscriptions, repeat purchases, and community involvement
- Omnichannel opportunities: Utilising D2C, retail partners (e.g. supermarkets), and e-commerce platforms
- Donation mechanisms: Transparent, scalable, and easy-to-understand ways to generate incremental funding
- Partnerships and collaborations: Engaging influencers, communities, and organisations to amplify reach
- Cost-effectiveness and scalability: Ensuring the initiative can realistically exceed $1M in annual donations
- Governance and transparency: Maintaining trust through clear reporting and accountability
The overall goals are to:
- Increase total annual sanitation donations beyond the existing 50% profit model
- Build brand equity through authentic engagement and awareness
- Deepen customer participation while protecting margins
The finalists
Who are this year's finalists? Get to know them here.
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Christian Failla, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance
Thu Truong Hoang, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Finance, Management
Damien Wei Hao Toh, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Finance, Management
Nguyen Hoai An Le, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance -
Thisakya Divyani Seneviratne, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Accounting, Finance
Aindri Menaka Vairavanathan, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics
Ammaar Ahmedh Harees Basheer, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Accounting -
Jennifer Khoo, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance
Alexandra Telford, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance
Lara Rumbens, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance -
Jason Yuchen Liang, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance
Minh Tran, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Actuarial Studies
Michael Fang, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance
Matthew Treagus, Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Economics, Finance
Jehan Ratnatunga, Co-Founder, Who Gives A Crap (Case Partner)
Jehan Ratnatunga is passionate about three things: innovation, delight and impact. Oh, and toilets too. Luckily, he’s able to combine these elements in his work as a co-founder of Who Gives A Crap, leading strategy.
Jehan studied Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Melbourne and launched his career at the Boston Consulting Group. From there, he co-founded his first social enterprise – a non-profit search engine called Ripple.org. Through Ripple, Jehan met Melbourne Uni Alumni, Simon Griffiths, who shared his idea for Who Gives A Crap. After helping launch the business, Jehan spent time at Google, working on YouTube strategy. Now, he’s happily back home at Who Gives A Crap, leading the way to a big, impactful future.
David Mackay, Partner Strategic Project Partners (SPP)
David Mackay brings over 30 years of experience across business and technology strategy. At SPP, David leads the Consumer Growth practice, where he has advised household brands, sporting organisations, arts and cultural centres, and private companies on strategy, commercial performance improvement, capital works planning, and partnering and fundraising strategies.
Prior to SPP, David had an extensive career working for Toll, Fujitsu, Atos and Gadens Lawyers.
David holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Digital Systems from Monash University. David is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Vice President of the Sovereign Hill Museum Association.
Fred Alale AM, Fellow of ACCA and Member of CA ANZ
Fred Alale is a public service executive with over two decades of experience in policy, project management, system-wide improvement, and financial systems and processes. A Fellow of ACCA and Member of CA ANZ, he has worked in both the public and private sectors in Australia and the UK, including with management consultancies: EY, KPMG, and Deloitte.
Beyond his professional achievements, Fred is actively involved in the African Australian communities. He is the Co-Founder and Chair of the African Music and Cultural Festival, a successful event now in its thirteenth year, which attracts over 50,000 attendees to Melbourne's Fed Square. Additionally, he holds key roles on various boards, including the National Theatre, Africa Day Australia Inc., and the Victorian Government’s Victorian African Communities Committee.
In 2023, Fred's dedicated service to the community earned him the prestigious Member (AM) of the Order of Australia title and a place on the COVID-19 Honour Roll in the Australia Day Honours.
Fred remains deeply committed to uplifting minority communities, particularly focusing on empowering youths and inspiring the next generation to achieve their potential.
Siobhan Blewitt, Founder & CEO, Frais Capital
Siobhan Blewitt's extensive thirty years of experience includes Partner EL & C Baillieu, Executive Director of Morgan Stanley.
Siobhan is an Honorary Adviser, Chair Investment Committee, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Honorary Member of FCJ and Cottage by the Sea Investment Committees, Mentor to Rising Stars, Women in Banking & Finance and Director of Sid & Fiona Myer Family Foundation.
With deep marketing and macro-economic knowledge, Siobhan provides holistic and tailored investment advice, seeking to understand a client's full financial position, providing advice specific to their needs, while also presenting unique insight and access to the highest quality macro and stock-specific research, translating to actionable investment opportunities.
Dr Christopher Woods, Assistant Lecturer and Case Writer, University of Melbourne
Dr Christopher Woods is a Lecturer in Experiential Learning at the University of Melbourne, where he delivers industry-engaged learning experiences across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. He works closely with a range of corporate partners to develop applied student projects and case-based learning, including collaborations with organisations such as BMW, Grant Thornton and GHD.
Chris has previously taught strategy and international business at the University of Queensland and the University of Liverpool.
Prior to academia, he worked as a project manager in software development, bringing practical commercial experience into the classroom.
The Faculty of Business and Economics extend our gratitude to our sponsors for their continued support and commitment to fostering excellence in business education.
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Partner Strategic Project Partners (SPP) is a high-impact consulting firm that partners with senior executives to overcome complex strategic and operational challenges. Across public and private sectors, we work with clients to deliver transformational change and true impact in key community-shaping sectors: Education & Research, Consumer, Government, Financial Services, Asset-Intensive Industries, and For-Purpose. We ensure that strong rigour is applied to the development of a fact-base, which, in turn, is used to support decision-making. We are committed to the growth of our client services and our people, and we recruit for diversity of skills, experiences, and perspectives. We recruit people who can balance creativity and vision with pragmatism. SPP has been a longstanding partner of the University of Melbourne through sponsorship of University Case Competitions, employment of undergraduates, as well as being a leading recruiter of talent from Melbourne Business School.
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ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is a globally recognised professional accountancy body that provides qualifications and advanced standards in accountancy worldwide. Founded in 1904 to widen access to the accountancy profession, we’ve long championed inclusion and today proudly support a diverse community of over 252,500 members and 526,000 future members in 180 countries. Our forward-looking qualifications, continuous learning and insights are respected and valued by employers in every sector. They equip individuals with the business and finance expertise and ethical judgment to create, protect, and report the sustainable value delivered by organisations and economies. Guided by our purpose and values, our vision is to develop the accountancy profession the world needs. In Australia and New Zealand, we have established a Strategic Alliance with CA ANZ, offering ACCA members a pathway to mutual membership recognition after five years. Additionally, ACCA members can also benefit from a streamlined membership process with CPA Australia.
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Frais Capital provides specific and tailored investment advice to families, individuals, businesses, trustees and not-for-profit organisations, providing a level of service and advice which encompasses discretion and understanding.
Drawing on expert advice across a range of industries, through strategic partnerships, Frais Capital creates a seamless investment and management experience. They provide a tailored, insightful, and educated approach to investing. Institutional rigour, access, analysis and specialist advice are provided with discretion and understanding of individual clients' requirements and their specific needs.
Frais Capital assists clients in aligning their specific and targeted investment goals and values with their investment objectives, with a strong emphasis on governance and an alignment of social, environmental and investment values.
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CFA Society Australia represents the interests of over 900 local members of the investment profession.
Our mission is to serve members of the Society and enhance the reputation of the CFA® designation in Australia by promoting ethics, integrity and professional excellence; and to improve the competency and standards of the investment profession in Australia. Our independent voice aims to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the capital markets that underpin our profession and the broader economy.
Our vision is to make the CFA Society Australia an indispensable part of the investment profession in Australia.