Steele hopes teams from IU Kelley Indianapolis will be invovled in the competition next year.

Press Release

(INDIANAPOLIS) An adjunct faculty member at the IU Kelley School of Business Indianapolis will be among six judges at the Knox Lawrence International Africa Business Plan Competition on Friday (4/10) in New York City.

David Steele, an adjunct faculty member at Kelley Indianapolis for 12 years, is among six scholars chosen to judge this year’s competition at Columbia University. Steele said he considers it an honor to be among those judging the work done some of the future business leaders of the country.

“I believe fundamentally that understanding and working in the global economy is a requirement for business students in this day and age,” Steele said. “With my own international business experience, coupled with my academic background, being able to contribute to the graduate students’ development of how to build business in developing countries is extremely rewarding.”

The second annual event will include business teams from some of the top MBA programs in the country. The topics covered include health care, energy, education, venture financing, agro-processing and other sectors of business with growth potential in Sub-Saharan Africa. The competition is designed to help students gain valuable experience developing business plans for emerging markets.

“Nothing would be more satisfying to me personally than to see a Kelley Indianapolis team involved next year, and I will be working with the school during the summer to get an early start on gathering the advertising and mentoring assistance we as faculty members can provide,” Steele said.

Knox Lawrence International is a private equity firm based in New York. It hosted the inaugural competition last year, targeting second-year MBA students with interests in entrepreneurship, emerging markets and Africa.

The finalists from the competition will travel to New York, all expenses paid, to present their plans to the judges. Prizes include $10,000 for first place, $3,500 for second place and $1,500 for third place. The two principals of KLI are of African descent and stipulate the prize money must be used to implement a business plan in Africa.

Steele serves as the managing principal for The Steele Group, LLC. He previously directed start-up growth ventures, served in a corporate role for a Midwestern utility and ran a regional operation for an American business process outsourcer.

At Kelley, Steele lectures honors students in the fundamentals of free market economics and the business principles applied to create wealth. He serves as the faculty advisor for the Entrepreneurship Club at Indiana-University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

For more information, please visit www.kelley.iupui.edu or contact Dave Hosick, coordinator of communications and media relations with the IU Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, at 274-6856 or dhosick@iupui.edu.

About Kelley School of Business at Indianapolis
The IU Kelley School of Business has been a leader in American business education for more than 80 years. With an enrollment of more than 4,800 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students, it is among the premier business schools in the country. Kelley’s Indianapolis campus, based at IUPUI, is home to the school’s Evening MBA, Master of Science in Accounting, and Master of Science in Taxation programs and a full-time undergraduate program.

Source: IU Kelley School of Business - Indianapolis