On January 10, 2007 members and guests will be converging on the Queen City Club at 11:30 a.m. to listen to Peter A. Sorrentino, CFA with Huntington Investment Advisors speak about The State of the Economy: What to Expect in 2007.  Prior to Mr. Sorrentino becoming the Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager with Huntington Investment Advisors he was the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer with Bartlett & Co.  

Mr. Sorrentino is well known in the Cincinnati area as a guest lecturer and instructor and will discuss the current economic situation and what professionals involved with corporate growth and success can expect as we enter the new year. 

The luncheon is $30 for members and $40 for non-members. To register for the January 10th luncheon, click here or call (866) 500-ACGC.

The luncheon is being sponsored by Baker & Hostetler.  For more than 90 years Baker & Hostetler has helped businesses achieve, maintain and defend market-leading positions across the United States and around the world.  The Firm offers clients the strength of 600 lawyers in a full range of practices, and a unique geographic platform including both coasts and the center of the country.  Baker & Hostetler's business lawyers have the skill to handle multi-billion dollar transactions for global market leaders, and the insight to help small but growing companies become the market leaders of tomorrow.

REGISTER NOW

Peter Kubasek, ACG Cincinnati President, welcomed everyone and thanked Decosimo Corporate Finance for its sponsorship.  He reviewed the ACG Cincinnati meeting schedule for the next few months and emphasized the joint meeting with members of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association (GCVA) schedule for March 14 at the Hilton's Hall of Mirrors. The speaker will be Eddie Lehner of SeverCorr Steel who will discuss "Raising $900 Million to Build a New Mature Market Business."

Mr. Kubasek then introduced Bob Winget, ProFill Holdings, LLC who is the chairperson of the association's membership committee.  Mr. Winget introduced the members of the committee and encouraged feedback and comments:

Andrew Quinn, ILSCO
Todd Pfister, Benefits Network Insurance
Liz Stites, GAJ Services
Dick Schmalzl, Graydon Head & Ritchey
Cindy Mustard, Summit Financial Services
Effrain Torres, The Payne Firm
David Yarborough, National City Bank

The afternoon's guest speaker, Fernando Aquirre, CEO of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. was introduced by Brad East of Decosimo Corporate Finance. Mr. Aguirre said he believes the essential qualities of a leader in today's corporate world are summarized by the acronym BAHG: brains, attitude, heart and guts. An effective leader must be a good listener who also sends understandable messages.

Because of today's technology, a leader needs to communicate in concise messages. Attitude is more important than skill. A good attitude about meeting the goals of an organization is essential to success. He cited examples in the personalities of Pete Rose and Tiger Woods as individuals whose attitudes and passion for their work is amazing. A leader needs to introduce change with enthusiasm to improve the organization. Self motivation does not need to be obvious. If a leader believes in himself or herself and has a positive attitude, changes he or she introduces will be more easily accepted and implemented.

Mr. Aguirre described his experiences as General Manager of Proctor & Gamble Brazil. He described himself as "gutsy" in making decisions. He enjoyed this assignment, because his immediate superior was the farthest away. His decisions were not always accepted by other management.  He explained a leader must be willing to take risks.  Typically good decisions feel good.  He quoted a statement by Margaret Thatcher, who said that being in the "middle of the road" is always dangerous. You always run the risk of being hit by traffic from both directions. 

He stated decisions need to be made and that "procrastination is the enemy" of good decision making. Emotions are also a key quality of a good leader. The definition of a hard good leader is to be "warm-hearted" and tough-minded.  Firing and laying off people are the hardest decisions a leader must make. A leader must also have a sense of humor and show it once in awhile. Mr. Aguirre then took questions from the audience.  He mentioned he is an avid reader of Jack Welch and recommended the book The Power of Now as a good read. 

He is currently trying to change the culture of his company to reflect more diversity in marketing with emphasis on more professionally run programs and a more consumer driven approach. He would like to make more products more accessible in more markets. He expects Chiquita Brands revenues to exceed $4 billion by 2010.

Thank you to Mr. Aguirre and Decosimo Corporate Finance for their contributions to our successful event.

If you missed the December luncheon you will not want to miss the January luncheon on January 10th with Peter Sorrentino.

For a small annual investment, you can join the premier national organization focused on corporate growth and development.
Becoming a member of ACG Cincinnati earns you discounts to events; access to and listing in the Member Directory; access to members-only events and unlimited networking opportunities.  Join the more than 10,000 members representing Fortune 500, Fortune 1000, FTSE 100, and mid-market companies in building success and growth.

If you would like more information about becoming a member, click here or contact Fred Young at the ACG Cincinnati office at (866) 500-ACGC.

Mark your calendar for upcoming ACG Cincinnati events including . . . 

February 14, 2007
Deal Maker Panel Luncheon
Queen City Club
Featuring Frank (Bo) Wood with Secret Communications, Pat Harlow with Contech and Dave Williams with Chemed Corporation. 
To register, click here. 

March 14, 2007
Luncheon Meeting
Held in conjunction with the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association
Hilton Netherland Plaza - Hall of Mirrors
Raising $900 Million to Build a New Mature Market Business presented by Eddie Lehner with SeverCorr
Sponsored by Barr Corporate Success and Cincy Tech
To register, click here. 

April 11, 2007
CEO Focus Event Luncheon
Queen City Club
What Private Equity Funds Look for in Making Their Investment Decisions
Sponsored by The Malibu Group
Check the website for updates.

May 10, 2007
Deal Maker Dinner
Hilton Netherland Plaza - Hall of Mirrors
Check the website for updates.

July 23, 2007
Golf Outing Triple Crown Country
Check the website for updates.

The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) announced in mid-November the election of Paul A. Stewart of PS Capital Partner, LLC, a private equity firm, and member of ACG Wisconsin as ACG Chairman for a one year term.  Eight new directors were elected while several existing directors assumed new positions and 13 directors were re-elected including Cincinnati's Ron Moss of Sweney Cartwright & Co. and Don Feldmann of Winton Associates, Inc.

SourceMedia's Mergers & Acquisitions, a leading monthly magazine on M&A activity, and the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), the leading authority on corporate growth, have joined forces to launch Merger Mogul, a weekly e-newsletter focused primarily on middle market M&A, private equity and corporate growth activity.  The first issue debuted in late October and was distributed to 12,000 readers.  The e-newsletter combines authoritative commentary from SourceMedia's experienced editorial team with news highlights presented in three categories: deals, firms and people.

If you have not been receiving this ACG member benefit, contact the ACG Cincinnati office at (866) 500-ACGC to verify contact information and subscribe!

A benefit of ACG membership!