Advice for CEOs

Understanding the mindset and buying preferences of Millennial consumers is a key issue for marketers in companies across the economy—and in no industry more than apparel. Newport Board Group partner Helen Bulwik is a nationally recognized expert on retail and the consumer sector. In a recent piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, Helen commented on the rise of a number of new apparel companies, including American Giant, Modern Citizen and Cuyana, startups that have come out of the San Francisco area with “their own unique spin on standard-issue wardrobe basics.” They seek to take advantage of Millennials’ Internet savvy and their interest in behind-the-brand stories.

The emerging growth and middle market companies our firm serves are typically U.S. companies that initially see their opportunity in domestic markets and customers. As they prove themselves and grow, many come to see compelling opportunities in global markets—but they also see risks in trying to penetrate markets abroad and aren’t sure what approach to take. We asked some of our partners about situations they’ve seen in which companies miss out on opportunities for international expansion. What holds these companies back? Their responses are below.

Taking an organization into the future should not rest solely on the shoulders of a CEO. It requires the entire organization. To help make that happen, the CEO can shape the mindset of their team. Newport partners have helped organizations to navigate their way into the future. Here are their suggestions.

To be the CEO of an emerging business—a company that our firm helps get past No Man’s Land so it can grow to scale and create wealth for you—is to grapple every day with many issues that clamor for your attention. Finding and selling to new customers; keeping existing customers in the fold; dealing with investors and vendors; overseeing finances.

With the holidays over and winter upon us, what better time to settle in with a good book—especially a book that challenges your thinking as a CEO and entrepreneur, possibly inspiring some new directions for your company in 2016. We asked our partners for some recommendations of books about business that have made a difference in their leadership and management thinking. Here are the some of their responses.

Entrepreneurs tend to be optimistic by nature. As a new year begins there is ample ground for many entrepreneurs to feel good. The latest signs of an improving economy were strong enough to help persuade the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates recently--for the first time in nearly a decade. A boom in valuation of technology-based companies, private as well as public, is driving expansive optimism in that sector.