Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/06/2010 -- The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), the premier professional organization focused on corporate growth, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions, has named Charles W. Downer recipient of ACG’s highest award, the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Downer was honored at a dinner on May 5, 2010 during ACG InterGrowth at the Fontainebleau Hotel in South Beach, Miami, FL.

Mr. Downer is the founder of C.W. Downer & Co.—a leading middle-market cross-border investment bank based in Boston with offices in Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Shanghai and Sydney—and has spent his entire professional career in the field of corporate development.

“The award is given infrequently and is given only to those who have distinguished themselves in their professional lives, in community service and in service to ACG,” said Gary A. LaBranche, ACG President & CEO. “The ACG leadership unanimously agrees that Charlie’s record of achievement and service to ACG is without peer on every level. His pioneering efforts have helped to make our field what it is today, and he is legendary for both his integrity and professionalism. Role models like Mr. Downer are important to our field and are as cherished as they are rare,” he concluded.

“For those of us who have had the privilege of working with Charlie, this honor comes as no surprise,” said Arthur Gottlieb, Managing Director of C.W. Downer. “His integrity and professionalism have inspired all of us and many of us owe our careers to his leadership. We congratulate Charlie on his legendary career and thank him for founding the firm that we all call home today.”

Mr. Downer was among the first to recognize the existence of a significant market for specialized investment banking services in the field of international mergers and acquisitions. Having spent nearly forty-five years providing such services to a wide variety of corporate clients, he ranks as one of the most experienced international corporate development professionals anywhere.

Middle-Market Pioneer
In 1966, when Mr. Downer founded a buy-side firm right out of the Harvard Business School, bulge-bracket firms handled large acquisitions for major clients but had no interest in smaller deals. Internal corporate development officers looked after the medium-sized purchases. Few third parties offered middle-market services to large companies, but Charles Downer saw the need and filled this gap.

Trailblazer in Cross-Border Transactions
Mr. Downer recognized the value of expanding international mid-market deal-making to large corporate clients. Schooled in Switzerland, and fluent in French, Mr. Downer was one of the first to realize that regulatory and cultural challenges in cross-border transactions—particularly true in a pre-EU Europe—offered opportunities to assist businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. C.W. Downer & Co. has had an office in Paris since 1980.

Charles Downer was also an early activist as opportunities opened up in the Pacific Rim. Placing an office in Sydney, Australia, not only gave entry into the abundant M&A opportunities in Australia and New Zealand, but also provided a foothold for deal-making across Asia prior to the establishment of C.W. Downer & Co’s Shanghai office in early 2008.

Mr. Downer dealt extensively with medium-sized European and American companies on behalf of large international corporations, which has led to a particularly detailed knowledge of the problems, opportunities, and needs of the owners and managers of such companies.

Process Innovator
In 1966, when Dun & Bradstreet introduced “Dun’s Market Identifiers”—IBM computer punched-hole cards—as a way for sales teams to identify possible customers, Mr. Downer and his partners saw a perfect way to easily sift for potential acquisition targets. By the late 1960s, their firm was the nation’s largest customer of D&B’s IBM punched cards. The process of searching and screening for potential acquisitions had been automated.

Charles Downer also pioneered the concept of retainer fees for providing middle-market M&A services. At that time, investment banks worked almost purely on speculation, but his argument was that a retainer would serve clients best by removing the pressure to make recommendations influenced by a financial outcome from a transaction. Soon his new contract language was being copied nationwide.

Industry Champion
Mr. Downer served as President of the Association for Corporate Growth International in 2003. He spearheaded a global branding initiative that elevated the standing of ACG with business leaders and media alike. He championed global ACG outreach and established new chapters in Europe, Mexico, and the Far East. And his push for better and stronger mechanisms for connecting ACG members strengthened the organization and bolstered the economic role of dealmakers everywhere

Mr. Downer holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He is a Director of the Boston Fulbright Scholarship Committee and a former Trustee of the Joslin Diabetes Center. He is also a former Director of the Boston Big Brother Association, a former member of the Harvard University Art Museums' Board of Overseers Visiting Committee, and a former member of the Young Presidents Organization.

About ACG
Founded in 1954, the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) is the leading global association for professionals involved in corporate growth, corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions. Today ACG stands at nearly 13,000 members from corporations, private equity, finance, and professional service firms representing Fortune 500, Fortune 1000, FTSE 100, and mid-market companies in 53 chapters in North America and Europe. For more information about ACG or the ACG InterGrowth conference, please visit: www.acg.org .

About C.W. Downer & Co.
C.W. Downer & Co. is an independent, global investment bank offering middle-market clients a high level of personal attention coupled with more than 30 years of international execution experience. We provide insight, not just information. We generate value, not just transactions. With offices in six countries and on four continents, we consistently identify the most appropriate strategic buyer and uncover “hidden” acquisition targets. C.W. Downer & Co. delivers the reach of a bulge-bracket investment bank with the senior level focus of a boutique. For more information, visit http://www.cwdowner.com.

For Further Information:
Patti Allan, Marketing Director
pallan@cwdowner.com
C.W. Downer & Co.
+1 617 482 6200