The MBA team of Sarah Stair, David Buskirk, Connor Eldredge and Matt Greene worked with executives from KPS Global on the company's sustainability efforts in a real-world case study.

When case studies come to life; Spears MBA students consult for real companies with million-dollar challenges

Friday, June 27, 2025

Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405.744.4363 | stephen.howard@okstate.edu

For more than 75 years, KPS Global has manufactured some of America’s best custom coolers and freezers that keep food fresh at thousands of restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores nationwide.

But when these workhorses reach the end of their 10-year lifespan, they face an inevitable destination — the landfill. The specialized panels that make KPS Global's products so effective also make them difficult to recycle, creating a sustainability challenge that the Dallas-Fort Worth-based firm is eager to address.

Determined to find a solution that won’t compromise their bottom line, KPS Global's leadership turned to an unconventional source — MBA students at Oklahoma State University's Spears School of Business.

Two teams of students in Dr. Steph Phipps' Corporate Strategy class attacked the problem over the final eight weeks of the spring semester, and another four teams worked with another company, NeoInsulation, on a growth strategy for the Oklahoma City-based firm. As all of the groups would tell you, the project quickly became much more complex than any traditional case study they had encountered.

“These students were asked to draw from all their MBA experiences, collaborate with the companies they were working alongside, and each of their team members to come up with quality recommendations. I could not be prouder of the work they delivered,” Phipps said. “I want to express my gratitude to KPS Global and NeoInsulation for the opportunity to be part of their strategic planning initiatives. Their willingness to collaborate with our students allowed them to see how successful companies build for the future. Any opportunity that provides real-world experience is invaluable to our students.”

Solving KPS Global's sustainability dilemma involved creating environmental solutions that could be cost-neutral for the company. That constraint forced the students to think beyond traditional recycling methods and consider the broader value a sustainability program might bring.

The first group included David Buskirk, Sarah Stair, Connor Eldridge and Matt Greene, who tackled challenges ranging from panel recycling and transportation costs to return efficiencies and back-haul logistics. Their comprehensive approach included regional consolidation hubs and an incentivized take-back program. They also thought beyond logistics, proposing marketing partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, homeless shelters and other nonprofits to create storytelling value that would position KPS Global as an industry leader in sustainability and customer-centric environmental solutions.

A team of four MBA students in business attire speaking via video chat with a group of executives from KPS Global in a modern classroom setting. — The second team of Spears Business MBA students consisted of Caroline Kizziar, Corbin Kirkpatrick, Davis Worley and Zac Robbins pitched KPS Global executives on exploring alternative panel materials.

The second group, made up of Caroline Kizziar, Corbin Kirkpatrick, Davis Worley and Zac Robbins, focused on disposal and recycling initiatives for used panels while also exploring the possibility of using alternative materials in panel construction from the start. This approach would allow panels to be separated at the end of their lifespan, with individual components sold for scrap value.

When presentation day arrived, the students found themselves facing actual KPS Global executives rather than classmates — a reality that added both pressure and authenticity to their recommendations.

"It really just shows you that even with all the preparation you'll get in your MBA program, the problems you'll have to solve many times won't be things that you've seen before," said David Buskirk, who recently started as a financial analyst at JP Morgan's Tulsa office. "You're not really going to get to a point where problem solving is out of a textbook, or black and white. It was very humbling because we're all mostly recent undergrads without work experience, and this was unlike a lot of other case studies we had done. We were really out of our element trying to learn something completely new with a real company depending on us."

The partnership represents exactly the kind of experiential learning that sets the Spears Business MBA program apart, connecting classroom theory with real industry challenges in ways that benefit both students and companies.

While it's too early to know whether KPS Global will implement the students' recommendations, the company has expressed interest in continuing to work with Spears Business MBA students on future challenges.

"The MBA students from Oklahoma State’s Spears School of Business brought fresh insight, professionalism, and sharp strategic thinking to our sustainability challenge," KPS Global stated. "Their ability to balance complex environmental and logistical factors with real-world business needs was outstanding. We’re energized by their ideas and look forward to growing this impactful partnership."

For the MBA students who spent eight weeks wrestling with panels, logistics and cost structures, the project delivered something more valuable than any grade — a preview of the complex, creative problem-solving that defines successful business leadership.

Four teams of Spears Business MBA students also partnered with NeoInsulation, a company specializing in advanced insulation solutions for the oil and gas industry. The students tackled the complex challenge of helping NeoInsulation develop a successful "roll-up" acquisition strategy to purchase established electrical contracting companies across their five regional markets, while preserving the company's culture and ensuring seamless integration of new teams and operations.

OSU offers three distinct MBA programs designed to meet the needs of students and professionals worldwide. The Spears Business online MBA is among the nation’s best and skyrocketed to No. 11 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. OSU’s in-person MBA experience is based in Stillwater, and earned a No. 58 national ranking by U.S. News and World Report, while the professional MBA is a flexible, hybrid program based in Tulsa.

MBA Corporate Strategy Capstone Teams

KPS Global
Team 1: David Buskirk, Sarah Stair, Connor Eldridge, Matt Greene
Team 2: Caroline Kizziar, Corbin Kirkpatrick, Davis Worley, Zac Robbins

NeoInsulation
Team 1: Emily Rice, Hayden Faulkner, Joseph Walsh, Landon Leek, Saara Hakanen
Team 2: Bryson Diener, Bryston Sneed, Emily Frantz, Jake LeForce, Lexi Pfeifer
Team 3: Ali Alwakyly, Chase Conkling, Connor Doyle, Grant Plumer, Zach Lamb
Team 4: Brandon Koonce, Jake Sutherland, Reese McGowen, Ty Tetrick