Middle Market Growth

Two co-founders of Vertical Bridge, Alex Gellman and Bernard Borghei, join the podcast to discuss the pandemic’s impact on telecommunications infrastructure and on their company, which owns and manages 288,000 sites nationwide, including wireless and broadcast towers, rooftops, land parcels and billboards. A privately held company based in Boca Raton, Florida, and the focus of Middle Market Growth...

Kevin Depew, RSM's deputy chief economist and leader of the firm's national industry eminence program, returns to the podcast to discuss the state of the U.S. economic recovery, one that has revealed an underlying K-shaped economy. Depew also explains the impact of recent policy changes from the Federal Reserve, along with the top concerns weighing on middle-market business leaders. He assesses th...

In July, law firm Katten published a report about private equity activity in the animal care sector, based on survey responses from private equity investors and animal care operators. Kimberly Smith, a partner and co-chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity practice at Katten, joins the podcast to walk through those survey findings and what they reveal about how investors' outlook on...

The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 has led many businesses to focus on challenges related to working capital, supply chain, or the accelerated shift from brick-and-mortar to e-commerce. Yet alongside these urgent priorities, talent planning continues to be important, particularly as companies position themselves for the post-pandemic future. Bob Ryan, a partner at Shields Meneley Partners, and...

This episode is brought to you by QBE North America, part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, one of the largest insurers and reinsurers worldwide. *** Tom Fitzgerald, president of QBE North America’s Specialty & Commercial business, joins the podcast to discuss a recent survey that explores the risks and concerns facing midsize companies in 2020. Commissioned by QBE in partnership with the Associatio...

Closing a deal in 2020 can be challenging, particularly when the parties involved operate in different countries. Yet HKW announced in July that its portfolio company Fresh Direct Produce, a fresh produce importer in Western Canada, had acquired Mike & Mike's Organics, a distributor of fresh certified organic fruits and vegetables headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario. On the podcast, HKW Partner J...

The COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on the consumer products industry, prompting apparel and beauty brands to find ways to remain relevant. Meanwhile, many food brands and grocery retailers have seen unprecedented demand from customers who are now eating more meals at home. In this episode of the podcast, Robert von Furth, a managing director in Stout’s Investment Banking group, discusses how...

Fewer than one-third of companies that come to market end up selling successfully. Deal-makers have long sought to improve the odds by adding to their contact lists, but Denise Logan argues that establishing deeper relationships is a better solution. Logan is the author of "The Seller's Journey," a book she wrote based on her work advising business owners and their professional teams as they navig...

Melissa Mounce, a managing director focused on leadership talent at private equity firm GTCR, discusses human capital management and recruitment strategies, and why this is an area where more and more private equity firms are focusing. During the conversation, Mounce describes GTCR's approach to talent within its portfolio, and she points to the attributes that make a portfolio company leader succ...

This episode is brought to you by RSM US LLP, a leading accounting, tax and advisory firm dedicated to the middle market. Last week, the Labor Department published a jobs report that showed stronger employment numbers than expected. Yet soon after the report's release, it became clear that the unemployment rate was likely much higher than official figures suggested. Kevin Depew, RSM's deputy chief...

This episode is brought to you by RSM US LLP, a leading accounting, tax and advisory firm dedicated to the middle market. It features an extended interview with Anthony DeCandido, a partner in RSM's financial services practice, and Michael Fanelli, a transaction advisory services partner with RSM. Originally broadcast as a video interview on ACG's GrowthTV, the interview addresses the state of M&A...

Mitch Cahn, president of Unionwear, a maker of custom branded accessories, spoke with ACG Global CEO Tom Bohn about the new sales strategy that prompted ACG New Jersey to honor Unionwear with a Corporate Growth Award. Unionwear's business, like many others, has changed over the past few months, including a shift to producing personal protective equipment, and Cahn describes how they were able to p...

Tyler Brennan, founder and CEO of RaceDayQuads, spoke with Middle Market Growth about how he started his e-commerce business, which sells components for drones, with a focus on the first-person-view drone racing market. Brennan founded the company five years ago while he was a 21-year-old college student, and he's managed its warehouse in Florida remotely for most of that time. He continues to lea...

This week's podcast episode features Jane Miller, CEO of Lily's, a maker of sugar-free chocolate. Originally broadcast on ACG's GrowthTV, Miller speaks with ACG CEO Tom Bohn about leading Lily's through the disruption caused by COVID-19 and the support the business has received from its private equity backer, VMG Partners. Although the company is in a strong financial position, Miller says Lily's...

Terry Graunke, chairman and CEO of Erie Street, an independent advisory firm based in Chicago, spoke with Middle Market Growth last week about how he's leading his firm through the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Graunke launched his first business in college. He has gone on to found 11 startups and has been involved with 43 separate operating businesses over the course of...

Today's episode is brought to you by RSM US LLP, a provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market. It features Kevin Depew, RSM's deputy chief economist and leader of the firm's national industry eminence program. Depew provides an overview of the monetary and fiscal policy response to the coronavirus outbreak, and how it compares to the stimulus package implemented du...

After the ACG Chicago Middle Market Manufacturing Conference, Middle Market Growth sat down with Craig Smith, an enterprise executive with Plex Systems, to talk about cloud-based systems, leveraging data and the skills gap facing midsize manufacturers today. In this episode, Smith describes how Plex’s solutions can help manufacturers cope with supply chain disruptions, something that’s especially...

During the ACG Chicago Middle Market Manufacturing Conference, Middle Market Growth sat down with Jon Walker, business development manager at EOS North America, a provider of 3D printing solutions that include systems, software, materials and services. Walker explains how 3D printing and additive manufacturing differ from traditional manufacturing techniques, and how they can be used in applicatio...

Jennifer Fondrevay, founder and chief humanity officer of Day1 Ready, describes her research into why so many mergers and acquisitions fail, and how acquirers and investors can address workforce considerations earlier in the M&A process. Fondrevay has interviewed a number of C-level leaders, HR professionals and PE investors, and she's written on the topic for Harvard Business Review. In late 2019...

This week's episode features Chris Voss, the FBI's former lead international hostage negotiator and CEO of The Black Swan Group, which advises Fortune 500 companies on performing complex negotiations. Voss addressed the key elements that all negotiations share, from a middle-market M&A transaction to a high-stakes hostage crisis. He also suggested strategies for setting up a negotiation for succes...

During the Toronto ACG Capital Connection, Middle Market Growth sat down with Elmer Kim, who has spent more than 25 years working with family offices. He currently serves as chief investment officer for the Hyatt Bangia Family Office. In this episode, Kim describes how he works with families to craft their investment strategy. He also spoke about how the family office model in Canada has evolved a...

Kevin Depew, deputy chief economist and industry eminence program leader for RSM US LLP, spoke with Middle Market Growth about recent trade developments and the underlying issues impacting U.S. economic growth. The U.S. recently agreed to a "phase one" trade deal with China and signed the USMCA with Canada and Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Depew explained what those de...

Jim Owen, a managing director and head of engineering and construction in Stout’s Investment Banking group, recently sat down with Middle Market Growth to discuss industry trends. Owen outlined three primary areas driving interest from buyers in the construction and engineering space: aging infrastructure, demand for resilient construction that can withstand severe weather events, and green initia...

During the Association for Corporate Growth's Strategic Acquirer Summit, Middle Market Growth sat down with two corporate development leads to talk about their roles and how they approach M&A. The first interview explores corporate development in the tech space and features Kate Anissimov, who recently joined Google, having previously worked in corporate development and strategy at Twitter. Anissi...

Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is trying to repair his reputation after two suspensions that cost him valuable sponsorship endorsements and hurt his chances of qualifying for what would be his fifth Olympic games in 2020. To try to fix the damage, the 35-year-old swimmer signed on to CNBC's "Back in the Game," in which former baseball player Alex Rodriguez helps athletes repair their finances and rep...