A New Day for ACG

The Association for Corporate Growth is an impactful organization with 14,500 members who provide the expertise, operational resources and capital that make growth possible in the middle market.

As you know, this segment is an engine of economic growth and job creation, something that wouldn’t be possible without you: the private equity firms, investment banks, lenders, attorneys, accountants and others who support middle-market companies.

Part of what attracted me to ACG was the vital ecosystem that it serves. ACG chapters across the globe convene deal-makers and leaders who not only drive M&A, but whose activities ultimately create jobs, fund public pensions and support broader economic growth. This is a powerful network, thanks to ACG’s nearly 60 chapters and the industry volunteers who serve at the local level and on the ACG Global board of directors.

I’m excited to join ACG as president and CEO, and I’m ready to lead the organization into its next phase. My greatest priority is to strengthen its core offerings—increasing the value of membership, supporting chapters and communicating the contributions of the middle market to policymakers, the media and the general public.

I believe in running an association like a growth-oriented business, one that prioritizes its members the way a for-profit company serves its customers. I helped my previous association, the North American Veterinary Community, to double their reach and revenue and develop new offerings. And while I’m coming to ACG from outside the industry, I’ve held roles at financial services associations and I was a founding board member of Heart + Paw, a private equity-backed pet care company.

But even with that experience, I know I have a lot to learn. Since joining ACG, I’ve been getting up to speed on the latest issues and trends impacting middle-market M&A, and I want to hear from you: What are the concerns or challenges you’re facing in your business? What role has ACG played in your work and career, and how can we do it better?

Going forward, expect to see changes at ACG Global in the way that we serve our members, our chapters and the broader middle-market ecosystem.

It’s a new day for ACG, and I’m proud to be part of it.

This letter originally appeared in the January/February 2020 issue of Middle Market Growth.