Members of Massachusetts Board Forum® CEO Roundtable remain optimistic about 2009 business opportunities

Pointing to growth in their businesses in 2008 and changes within company infrastructure to ensure continued gains, several members of one of the Massachusetts chapters of The Board Forum® CEO Roundtables, created by veteran business advisor Laurie Kirk to provide CEOs a sounding board on top management-level issues, are optimistic about the 2009 business climate.

“We finished 2008 with $6.61 million in revenue, up 13% from the previous year,” according to Michael McMahon, President and co-founder of Hill & Partners, a 12-year-old trade show exhibit design firm located in Quincy, MA, specializing in design, build and program management.  “Our plan for 2008 was to continue to focus on our customers, while deliberately improving our ability to add value.  One of the ways we accomplished that goal was by investing heavily in our custom exhibit rental inventory, to better serve the growing market for turnkey rental solutions.”

While 2008 was “not an easy one, it was a great year nonetheless,” said McMahon, noting that in November, Hill & Partners enjoyed its “largest and most comprehensive turnkey rental property/exhibit in the history of the company.”

“Our success with each client opportunity, across a number of industries, has lead to annual program activities at events throughout the U.S. and abroad,” said McMahon. 

Saying he is optimistic about 2009, McMahon added, “it will be difficult, we know, but the current business climate will present plenty of project opportunities for companies, like us, who are well prepared.”

“We don’t envision huge growth at Hill & Partners in 2009, but we have the unique opportunity to compete on more complex projects where resources are limited; we are happy to consider a $250,000 project that may have warranted a $400,000 budget in the past,” said McMahon.

Barbara McKenna, a principal with Longfellow Investments, a Boston-based investment management firm with an all institutional client base, said the company’s fixed income assets under management grew by 28% to $1.6 billion with total assets increasing by 19%.

“We broadened our client base, adding, among others Amazon.com, Equinix, Inc. and Miami Children’s Hospital and we also won our first sub-advisory mandate in addition to increasing the number of our pension and foundations clients,” said McKenna.  “Our growth in 2008 is attributed to several factors, but in particular our solid performance over the past several years, our investment approach and the close relationships we can build with clients as a small, employee owned firm.”

McKenna noted that Longfellow Investments has “been investing in both personnel and infrastructure” by adding two seasoned professionals to its analyst ranks and by making “significant investments in our accounting, analytics and reporting systems.”

“Our business model has always been lean as we are conscious of how we spend our clients’ fees; I do not see that changing,” said McKenna, expressing great optimism for the current business year.

“We have several ‘wins’ from last year giving us a bit of a head start,” she said.  “And we continue to produce very competitive returns.”

Said McKenna, “Historically we have seen the best growth during and following periods of market chaos as firms look for managers who can perform well in good and poor markets – that is why it’s important for us to grow now for when things settle down we will see fewer opportunities.”

Ken Cochrane, President and CEO of ADAMS, Advertising, Design And Marketing Strategy, said the year 2008 brought “modest gains” for the strategic branding firm based in Concord, MA.

“We were up around 10%, a number we’re pleased with as most firms in  our industry retracted,” said Cochrane, noting that the past year brought several new names onto his firm’s client roster, including insurance giant ING.

“In addition to new clients, we continued to be active in health care, medical devices and financial services sectors,” he said.  “And while we did restructure somewhat with a small reduction in staff, we have a number of talented people who can be brought in to assist with projects – we cut overhead as a defensive measure while maintaining the quality and service our clients expect and deserve.”

Cochrane said his hopes for 2009 are high and that ADAMS will “stick to our core work.”

“We’ll continue to keep our focus on helping firms with branding, marketing strategies and implementation of programs,” he said.  “The key to our success and to the success of every business is to stay with the areas you know and where you can deliver the most value.”