ACG Cleveland Special Editorial 2021 - Letter from the President

It has been commonplace over the past year to attribute the occurrence of an unexpected event or unfortunate outcome as being par for the course in 2020. During the pandemic, businesses have had to shift away from existing strategic plans and acquisition strategies and alter the way they operate. The past year was no different for the Cleveland Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and its approximately 500 members engaged in middle-market mergers and acquisitions and finance transactions. We have missed the in-person networking and nationally recognized ACG Cleveland events to which we have become accustomed, a prime example of which was the cancellation of the 2021 ACG Cleveland Deal Maker Awards. But as we enter this new year with optimism for normalcy on the horizon, I would like to reflect on the accomplishments of ACG Cleveland over the past year in furtherance of our mission to drive middle-market growth.  

Pivoting to virtual events, we hosted more than 30 events in 2020, including panels, happy hours and networking events, highlights of which included:

• Our ACG Cleveland Women in Transactions (WIT) Group’s virtual roundtable titled “Post-Pandemic Recovery:  Surviving and Thriving Despite Uncertainty;”
• A virtual golf event for ACG members, followed by a fireside chat with PGA Tour Professional, Henrik Stenson;
• 2020 Deal Maker Award winner Edgewater Capital Partners serving as keynote panelist to discuss their success with “carve-out” transactions; and
• Our annual ACG Cup competition for college students with M&A aspirations.

When you combine all of our past and upcoming events, our special interest groups such as Women in Transactions (WIT) and Young ACG, and other ACG membership benefits, ACG continues to deliver value to its members and remains the premier organization for middle-market transactional professionals.  I encourage prospective members to attend an event and consider the benefits of ACG membership.  

I would like to thank our corporate sponsors for their continued support during 2020 and for adapting alongside of us with respect to our programming schedule. Further, I would like to thank ACG Cleveland’s board of directors and committee members for their efforts and contributions this year. It has been my pleasure to have worked alongside all of you as current president of ACG Cleveland.  

In closing, although we will not be celebrating our deal makers in person this year, I would like to congratulate all of the deal makers in Northeast Ohio who were successful in completing a deal in 2020 despite the pandemic. This is our largest group of ACG Cleveland Deal Maker Award winners yet! I look forward to seeing all of you in person soon.