Winnowski Winners Present Industry-Shaping Ideas

Can AI predict what model of car a customer will buy? Can it help the customer narrow down his or her purchase decision?

Jared DeGroff '25 works for the Schenectady-based Mohawk Auto Group and wanted to find out. His paper on the subject was named best in his track at the Ted R. Winnowski '63 Student Conference in Business on May 2 - and could prove very valuable to his employer.

The annual Winnowski conference reflects the mission statement of the School of Business to educate future business leaders dedicated to lifelong learning. The campus-wide event is coordinated by Cheryl Buff Ph.D., professor of marketing, and Ashley Provencher Ph.D., department chair and associate professor of economics. Students representing every department in the School of Business are invited to submit papers and research for consideration; a review panel selects the best work to be presented at the conference.

DeGroff said his winning paper "Transforming Automotive Sales Through Predictive Analytics: A Data-Driven Approach at Mohawk Honda," based on his M.S.B.A. capstone project, has real world potential as a resource for the Mohawk Auto Group. Following the Siena tradition of lifelong learning, DeGroff is pursuing his master of science in business analytics several years after finishing his bachelor's degree.

According to his faculty mentor Necip Doganaksoy, Ph.D., professor and director of the M.S.B.A. program, DeGroff developed "a highly impressive predictive/AI model and a chatbot that showcases strong technical skills and demonstrates tangible and immediate ROI from the employer's perspective."

His paper researched the possibility of predicting what car a customer would buy based on demographic details. His model worked with 80 percent accuracy, giving Mohawk sales consultants a starting point and consumers a place to begin shopping.

"This insight could also help marketers create better, more targeted advertising to reach the right people," DeGroff explained.

After the paper was written, he further developed the prediction model to be embedded in an AI chatbot that anyone could use to help with their vehicle buying process.

DeGroff called the Winnowski conference "a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students that provides a platform to practice professional presentation, writing and research that could be translated to the workplace very easily."

As an increasing number of faculty assign substantive research projects as part of a course requirement and the number of research-based independent studies grow, the conference provides a respected venue for students to present the results of their research, explained Buff.

"The Winnowski presentations are the best of the best," she said. "Our students do great work, and our faculty have great ideas to engage them both in the classroom and out. It's excellent experience for our students to stand in front of an audience of their peers and faculty to present their work, and to be recognized for their efforts."

This year's winners for best papers are:

Business Analytics: Connor Tatro '25, Blake Powers '25 and Koko Kanai '25
Economics: Lauren Brochhagen '25
Management: Bridget Duso '26, Isabelle Lewis '26 and Saira Shirazi '26
Marketing: Leah Memmott '25 and Kaitlyn Ward '25
M.S. in Business Analytics: Jared DeGroff '25
MBA: Maeve Canty '25 and Mary Finnegan '25

A full list of best presentation award winners can be found here.

Lewis, Duso and Shirazi won for the management track with their paper "Improving Health, Community, and Parking Availability on the Siena Campus." They were mentored by Paul Thurston, Ph.D., department chair and professor of management.

"Participating in the Winnowski conference was a valuable opportunity to present a formal proposal in front of both classmates and professionals," said Lewis. "This experience showed me how individuals can create positive change within organizations in many ways, including enhancing wellness and strengthening community at Siena."

Canty and Finnegan won in the MBA track for their paper "The Impact That Music and Other Store Atmospherics Have on Shopping Experience" with Buff as their faculty mentor. Canty said "it is extremely rewarding to present something you've worked on for months," with Finnegan
adding that the Winnowski conference "is a great opportunity for Siena business students to showcase their hard work and gain confidence as future professionals.

"Receiving a best paper award was an honor that validates the dedication and effort we put into our research," she said.

The keynote address was given by Nicholas Stark '15, head of sales analytics for chain accounts for the Diageo Beer Company. Stark works in the New York office of the London-based alcoholic beverage brand builder.

He spoke on "Myth Busting: How to Thrive in the Corporate World," and called the conference "a vital experience to Siena business students" as it provides experiential, hands-on application of many of the skills necessary for success in today's job market: technical research ability, statistics, story-crafting, critical thinking, public speaking, among many others.

"While learning in the classroom is the foundation on which the student education is built, experiential learning, like the Winnowski conference, exponentially upgrades a student's skills and resume, ultimately leading to greater marketability come time for the post-Siena job search," said Stark. "The research I engaged in through CURCA and Winnowski directly led to securing my first post-Siena job with The Nielsen Company."

Dean Rashmi Assudani, Ph.D. said the School of Business's strategic plan calls for high impact practices for student success and learning, and that the Ted Winnowski conference is an excellent opportunity for our students to engage with meaningful learning experiences.

"I am very grateful to Mr. Winnowski for his continued and generous support to the School of Business. I am also thankful to the conference faculty co-chairs, Dr. Cheryl Buff and Dr. Ashley Provencher, for their leadership."

She said compared to two years ago, this conference saw a 112 percent increase in presentations and a 157 percent increase in student participation.

"This is a strong testament to our continued commitment to student success and multi-stakeholder engagement," she said.