The National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) named Thomas A. Stewart as its new Executive Director. The NCMM -- a partnership of GE Capital and The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business -- is the nation's leading research institution dedicated to helping middle market companies be more competitive through impactful research, thoughtful advocacy, and educational programs. Representing nearly 200,000 companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, the middle market is an economic growth engine driving the U.S. recovery, contributing one-third of non-government GDP and one-third of total employment.
Stewart is recognized as one of America's leading business and management thinkers. He most recently served as Chief Marketing and Knowledge Officer for the global management consulting firm Booz & Company. Prior to that, he spent six years as the Editor and Managing Director of Harvard Business Review. His extensive experience as a publishing executive and business journalist also includes leadership roles as Editorial Director for Business 2.0 and a member of Fortune's Board of Editors. A summa cum laude graduate in English literature from Harvard College, Stewart is also the well-respected author of Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations and The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the 21st Century Organization. A fellow of the World Economic Forum, he is also the recipient of an honorary degree from the Cass Business School, City University, London. Click here to watch an interview with Stewart to learn about his previous experience and vision for the NCMM.
"The Center was established to create a national dialogue around the middle market," said Christine A. Poon, dean and John W. Berry Sr. Chair in Business at Fisher. "By combining the best thought leadership from academics with highly relevant insights from midsized businesses across industries and throughout the nation, we have elevated the voice of this critical economic segment -- and look forward to adding Tom's proven leadership to our mission."
"Tom brings to the Center a deep level of insight about how businesses thrive as well as a distinguished editorial background," said William Cary, President and Chief Operating Officer for GE Capital. "This combined expertise fuels the Center's mission to promote the middle market's critical economic contributions and accelerate job creation and growth across the country."
"The Center fills a critical knowledge gap for middle market executives, policy makers, and others," said Stewart. "It has already developed an extensive body of research addressing middle market issues and specialized education and training for mid-market business leaders. I'm looking forward to building on that foundation to help these important companies reach their fullest potential as job creators, innovators, and fixtures in our communities."
Stewart succeeds Dr. Anil Makhija, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Finance at Fisher, who has served as the NCMM's Academic Director since its inception in 2011. Under his leadership, Dr. Makhija drove the NCMM's research agenda by partnering with internationally-recognized academic institutions and practitioner organizations, and established mid-market education and training for business executives and students. He will continue to serve as academic adviser to the NCMM.
On April 30, the NCMM will release its quarterly Middle Market Indicator (MMI), a survey of 1,000 middle market executives that examines revenue and employment growth and projections. The most recent MMI, released in January, indicated that revenue and employment growth among mid-sized firms continues to outpace the national average. In 2013, middle market companies grew revenue at a rate of five percent, which was five times faster than the S&P 500. Mid-sized businesses also grew employment by 2.5 percent, which accounted for 70 percent of all new jobs in the U.S. last year.
The National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) was founded in 2011 in partnership with GE Capital and is located at the Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. The Center is the leading source of research on the U.S. middle market economy, which represent one-third of non-government U.S. GDP and generates $10 trillion in combined revenues annually. Between 2007 and 2010, U.S. middle market firms created 2.2 million jobs while businesses with revenues over $1 billion cut jobs.
On a quarterly basis, NCMM releases the Middle Market Indicator (MMI), a survey of 1,000 C-suite executives that focuses on key growth challenges and opportunities. This year's Q1 survey explored how concerns about increased cost of doing business - particularly related to health care, taxes and workforce development - are impacting growth potential in this key sector.