ACG DETROIT RECOGNIZES MIDDLE-MARKET INNOVATORS AHEAD OF INSPIRE & IGNITE LUNCHEON

DETROIT, Jan. 30, 2025 — ACG Detroit, a nearly 400-member organization of middle-market M&A professionals, recently announced the award recipients of its 2025 Igniting Inspiration and Inspiring Impact Awards — Alison Todak of Plymouth Growth and Carrie Schochet of Purple Squirrel Advisors, respectively. Both accolades recognize and celebrate women making inspirational moves and driving positive growth in their communities, companies and industries.

“This year’s winners are influential trailblazers in the community, driving change and inspiring those around them to reach new heights in their careers”, said Danielle Bass, president of ACG Detroit. “We look forward to recognizing Alison and Carrie’s extraordinary achievements at our upcoming luncheon. The event promises to be inspirational with a special address from our keynote speaker, Stephanie Bickel who will leverage her decades-long career in communications and training to share strategies that help dealmakers and investors command rooms, inspire trust and drive decisions.”

2025 Igniting Inspiration Award - Recognizing the Next Generation

The Igniting Inspiration Award celebrates the achievements of women in Michigan's middle-market community early in their careers. The award honors those who display remarkable determination, progress and professionalism while driving their companies and industries forward, particularly within the past year.

Alison Todak, director of platform at Plymouth Growth is the 2025 recipient of the Igniting Inspiration Award. In her role, Todak specializes in providing essential support and critical resources to Plymouth’s portfolio companies, with a focus on talent development and community building within growth-stage tech businesses. Her work is critical in nurturing companies, enhancing their value and driving revenue growth.

2025 Inspiring Impact Award - Honoring Visionary Leadership

The Inspiring Impact Award pays tribute to women who have dedicated their careers to making remarkable contributions to the Detroit middle-market community. These esteemed professionals have not only achieved outstanding career accomplishments but have shown a steadfast dedication to fostering growth and mentorship within their companies and across the industry.

Carrie Schochet, founder and CEO of boutique executive search firm Purple Squirrel Advisors, is the 2025 recipient of the Inspiring Impact Award. With two decades of experience identifying top senior-level talent for small to mid-sized businesses—particularly private equity-backed companies—Schochet has helped build high-performing leadership teams across industries, placing executives in key functions such as finance, accounting, human resources, operations, sales, and marketing.

The winners of the Igniting Inspiration and Inspiring Impact awards will be honored at the Inspire & Ignite Luncheon, presented by ACG Detroit’s Women’s Forum, on March 7, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Book Tower in downtown Detroit. Open to both men and women, the event will honor the contributions and achievements of women in the M&A community with a champagne lunch and special remarks from keynote speaker, Stephanie Bickel, founder and CEO of Speak by Design. With more than 20 years of experience coaching companies, brands and leaders across the globe, Bickel will speak on the art of influential communication, educating on the skills and techniques necessary to build confidence, develop vocal presence and create actionable outcomes in the workplace.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the Inspire & Ignite Luncheon, presented by the Women’s Forum, visit https://www.acg.org/detroit/events/acg-detroit-inspire-ignite-2025-womens-forum-luncheon.

###

About ACG Detroit

Founded in 1954, ACG is the premier M&A dealmaking community with 59 chapters worldwide. ACG’s global network comprises more than 100,000 middle-market professionals who invest, own and advise growing companies. ACG’s mission is to drive middle-market growth. ACG reaches its audience through its content-rich media channels, including its award-winning flagship publication Middle Market Growth®, which dives into emerging trends, GrowthTV which brings those stories to life and its podcasts which provide in-depth conversations with industry thought leaders. ACG’s content reaches an average daily audience of 30,000 and receives 1 million impressions monthly. ACG’s 13,000 members leverage an array of exclusive benefits rich in dealmaking and networking opportunities and extend to its partnerships with Insperity, Cambridge FX, Grata, Founders Card, CLEAR and more. Learn more about ACG membership at www.acg.org.

Established in 1984, ACG Detroit facilitates a variety of business meetings and networking events for members across the metro Detroit area to drive middle-market growth. ACG Detroit was named Chapter of the Year in 2015 and 2016. To learn more, visit www.acg.org/detroit.