Funding, Talent & Economy Top Priorities for CEOs in 2015

Funding, talent, and economic issues top the list of biggest priorities for middle market CEOs in 2015.

These issues came into focus on Axial’s Middle Market Monday, the first annual holiday celebrating middle market companies across the U.S. Over 100 CEOs, Vistage members included, participated, sharing their unique perspective on how they will achieve growth this coming year.

Here are some of the other key insights we learned about business owners’ priorities in 2015:

Closing the Talent Gap

Over one-third of businesses said their top concern in 2014 was talent-related, including talent acquisition, training and staff development and retention. 18% are aiming to “close the talent gap” in 2015, citing specific targets such as doubling headcount, expanding into talent-rich markets and acquiring companies for their employees.

Craving Capital

Just under 40% cited the availability of funding as a major concern in 2014. 22% described funding as an external factor – something outside their control – that would continue to impact growth. As such 27% list completing a financing process or finding the right financial partner to help them grow a top priority in 2015.

Relying on Economic Growth

While concern around the impact of economic and regulatory factors are a constant across all respondents (66% said so), specific concerns seems to vary by region and industry. Businesses in the Midwest (93%) and south (82%) are more concerned with the potential impact of these factors on their business growth than those in the Northeast (50%). 12% of all respondents cite oil & gas prices as an external factor that could impact growth next year. 45% of these businesses come from the Manufacturing and Energy & Utilities sectors. 38% of respondents who cited the regulatory environment as a top concern came from the Manufacturing sector.

More information: https://www.middlemarketmonday.com/

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