Baruch Graduate Students Win Silver in Neuberger Berman Sustainable Investing Challenge

February 20, 2025

A quartet of graduate students from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business recently achieved notable success earning second place for their exceptional skills and strategies at the 2024 Neuberger Berman Sustainable Investing Challenge.

SJ Beaumont, Esq. (MS Finance, ’25), Samuel Pereira Bueno (MBA, ’26), Pankaj Lamkhade (MS Finance, ’25), and Yash Sabhani (MBA, ’26) faced challengers from an array of fancy B-schools—Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, and London Business School—in the final round of the event.

This year’s theme was circular investing (not to be confused with circular reasoning). The first round had required teams to propose a “long” investment in a sustainable public company that offers financial promise. The Zicklin team chose TOMRA, a Norwegian high-tech recycling company that employs innovative solutions like reusable packaging, sensor-based technology for separating plastics and metals, making plastics out of recyclable raw materials, and more.

For the final round, the Zicklin team had to pitch TOMRA virtually to three Neuberger Berman judges, showcasing their research, strategy, and commitment to sustainable finance.

Perhaps it was their global reach—Zicklin’s team members have roots in Great Britain, the Americas, India, and Africa—or the fact that they were the only team to be physically present together in one room. Whatever it was, when the dust had settled, only Columbia Business School scored higher.

The team thanked their academic advisor Alicia Hermida, assistant director of the Full-Time MBA Program, and Justyn Makarewycz, deputy director of employer relations at the Graduate Career Management Center, for support with their presentation.

“We are grateful to Neuberger Berman for including our stellar Zicklin graduate students in this unique case competition for the fourth year,” added Makarewycz. “Huge congrats to SJ, Samuel, Pankaj, and Yash for making it to the finals and for representing Zicklin.”

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