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2021 CEO Survey
Mid-Market Companies
When COVID-19 struck, Leaders Who Leaned in were Rewarded
Much like businesses across the globe, the pandemic has had a profound impact on those operating mid-market enterprises in the United States. Amidst a year of upheaval and uncertainty, the most agile mid-market leaders employed a cross-section of tactics to survive and, in some cases, thrive.
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Executive Summary
In early 2021, Newport asked almost 100 mid-market CEOs, across multiple industries throughout the United States, to share their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.
We surveyed them across a variety of topics – from impacts on their business to current priorities. Our study confirmed that, as our traditional life ground to a halt in almost every region of the world, mid-market businesses were hit hard.
But entrepreneurship, flexibility and creativity are second nature to mid-market leaders. While the pandemic created an incredibly challenging business environment, many of them rose to the challenge – quickly making operational adjustments and deploying an array of incremental changes, that in many cases, resulted in growing their business.
In Newport’s report, we examine how mid-market leaders have navigated the business environment created by the pandemic, the impacts on growth, profitability and transactions (M&A) activity, and the way forward in the post-pandemic business environment.
Key Findings
- While a majority (68%) of the companies surveyed experienced negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, a smaller group (15%) bucked the trend and reported positive results in 2020 - achieving both top and bottom line growth.
- While most of the companies reported making concrete changes to how they operate, those that were more aggressive in employing multiple tactics were rewarded with stronger performance.
- CEOs report that their current top 3 priorities are revenue growth, customer experience, and employee wellness.
- Of those businesses contemplating a transaction (M&A), more than half indicated that COVID had delayed their plans.
- Businesses whose CEOs utilized experienced executive advisors or advisory panels outperformed those that did not.
For the purposes of this report, the mid-market is defined as private, growth stage companies with revenues between US$10-150M.
The more aggressive companies who employed multiple tactics were rewarded with
Stronger Performance
Top 3
Business Priorities
Revenue Growth
Customer Experience
Employee Wellness
OVER 50% M&A
TRANSACTIONS DELAYED
57%
DELAYED
13%
ACCELERATED
COVID Business Impact
15%
Positive
- Negative
- Neutral
- Positive
Businesses whose CEOs utilized
Experienced Executive Advisors or Advisory Panels
Outperformed those that did not
How Newport can help
Newport is a strategic business advisory firm, working with founders and CEOs of privately held, growth-stage companies to accelerate growth, improve performance, and successfully exit their businesses.
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