On Wednesday, October 29, the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) hosted the fourth annual "Leading from the Middle" Summit, along with The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and GE Capital, and released the 3Q14 Middle Market Indicator (MMI).
2014 Summit
The evening before the Summit, GE CEO Jeff Immelt hosted a fireside chat with former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney.
"The most critical key to success for any leader is building a great team," said Romney. "It's about putting the right people in the right positions, getting to know them on a personal level, and understanding how their combined strengths can make you and the organization stronger. That's true in business, it's true in politics, it's true in anything you do."
The following day, Executive Director of the NCMM Thomas A. Stewart kicked the morning off with a report of the results from the MMI. He highlighted the 3.5 percent employment growth that the sector reported. Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, followed Stewart. He talked about creating jobs, not just wealth, and the importance of entrepreneurship in meeting that goal. "It starts with an idea that can change the world — animated by a passionate entrepreneur," said Case.
MSNBC's Morning Joe broadcasted live from the Summit and interviewed speakers on their presentations; full coverage can be found at msnbc.com/topics/middle-market. NBC4 Columbus featured the event on their morning segment and highlighted the opportunity for OSU students to interact with top-level business executives and thought leaders.
3Q14 MMI Release
Top-tier national and regional publications covered the release of this quarter's MMI. The report found that mid-market companies have seen accelerating revenue growth for four consecutive quarters. Below are some highlights of coverage:
"According to a third-quarter survey of about 1,000 senior executives of midmarket US companies, private-equity-backed businesses generated a mean revenue growth rate of 9.2 percent over the trailing twelve months, compared with 6.5 percent for non-PE-backed companies and 7.5 percent for the respondents' businesses as a whole."
Shasha Dai, The Wall Street Journal
"Middle market firms saw solid revenue growth in Q3 for the third straight quarter, according to the National Center for the Middle Market."
Andrea Riquier, Investor's Business Daily
"A new survey sheds light on middle market companies' confidence in the economy and why they're continuing to hold onto their cash. Like startups, middle market companies have something extremely important to say about the economy. Namely, these businesses acknowledge that their national growth prospects are good, but they have a great deal of trepidation about how the shaky global economy will affect them."
Jeremy Quittner, Inc.
"Recent data shows that mid-sized companies — those with annual revenue of $10 million to $1 billion — provide an outsized economic boost to Texas from robust revenue and employment growth."
Sheryl Jean, The Dallas Morning News
"Middle market executives have reported accelerating revenue growth for four consecutive quarters. Within the sector, the construction industry is seeing among the highest revenue growth."
Ben White, POLITICO
"Here's some good economic news: middle market companies report revenue was up 7.5 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago."
Kent Hoover, Washington Bureau
"A new poll finds executives at midsized businesses are losing confidence in the economy, with nearly one in five believing economic conditions will worsen."
Kevin Cirilli, The Hill