Diligence

There are many reasons why an owner sells their business. Before talking to an actual buyer, potential sellers need to prepare their business in order to maximize value. This is the first of a 2-part article of “Sell-Side Behind-the-Scenes'' where Frederic Lebourg, CEO & Managing Director at Redlands Farm Holding, Inc., discusses how to prepare a company for acquisition.

Interview with:

Frederic Lebourg

CEO & Managing Director at Redlands Farm Holding, Corp.- a Subsidiary of the Bollore Group

The M&A auction process creates competition among potential buyers and drives prices up. In most cases, proactive acquirers tend to avoid these types of transactions, but buyers can also initiate and create their own auction process. In this article, Atul Tiwary, Vice President of Corporate Development at Barracuda, talks about the reverse auction process in M&A.

Interview with:

Atul Tiwary

Vice President of Corporate Development at Barracuda (NYSE: CUDA)

When acquiring another company, there is always the potential that layoffs will need to take place to streamline the new organization. Of course, letting people go is never easy, but there are ways to do it properly to minimize damage to the individuals and the company's reputation. In this article, Evelyn De la Cruz, Head of North America Administrative Operations at Spencer Stuart, discusses how to properly lay off people during an acquisition.

Interview with:

Evelyn De la Cruz

Head of North America Administrative Operations at Spencer Stuart

Proactive M&A is not easy. Proactive M&A requires keeping tabs on multiple companies, reaching out to them directly, and convincing owners to sell their businesses to strangers.Yet, the ability to tackle all of these actions are what make a great corporate development team. In this article, Andrew Whitcomb, Sr Director, Strategy, Corporate Development, M&A at Builders FirstSource, shares how to approach deal targets.

Interview with:

Andrew Whitcomb

Sr Director, Strategy, Corporate Development, M&A at Builders FirstSource

When two companies merge together, there will be overlaps that result in winding down functions. But what happens when there are two functions that perfectly complement each other? This article will talk about how AMD acquired Xilinx and how to introduce M&A to a large company, featuring Jeff Henig, Vice President, Corporate Development at AMD, and Dan Menge, Head of M&A Integration at AMD.

Interview with:

Jeff Hennig

Vice President, Corporate Development at AMD

Dan Menge

Head of M&A Integration at AMD

Corporate carve-outs are one of the most challenging transactions to execute. Yet, with all of its complexities, Sam French, M&A integrations and Separation Specialist, managed to pull off three carve-outs simultaneously. This article will discuss her experience and best practices.

Interview with:

Sam French

M&A Integrations and Separations Specialist at The Virtual Services Company

Carve-outs are incredibly complex. Buying a small part of a target company brings many challenges and can be even more complicated if the acquirer is carving out a public company. In this article, Liz Lockhart, Senior Director (PMO) and Training at Smarsh, shares her first experience and lessons learned in carving out a competitor.

Interview with:

Liz Lockhart

Sr. Director, PMO, Training and Business Applications

Mergers and acquisitions are a critical part of any business, yet they can be very risky. Therefore, a clear strategy is necessary for deal success. A well-planned deal strategy enables companies to proactively source deals rather than be reactive. Without the right target, what is the point of M&A? In this article, Mike Kryza, Head of Corporate Development at the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, discusses formulating an M&A strategy for proactive sourcing.

Interview with:

Mike Kryza

Head of Corporate Development at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

M&A doesn't end at closing the deal. The deal's success relies heavily on how well the acquirer can integrate the target company. Revenue synergies are one of the most important - but also one of the hardest - things to achieve during integration. When two companies come together, their products and services often overlap, and it can be challenging to figure out how to market them as one company. This article discusses how to realize go-to-market synergies featuring Karen Ashley, Vice President, Corporate Development Integration at Cisco.

Interview with:

Karen Ashley

Vice President, Corporate Development Integration at Cisco

M&A is one of the fastest ways to grow a company. However, first-time acquirers often find it difficult to buy companies due to a lack of experience and reputation. In this article, Willy Walker, Chairman, and CEO of Walker & Dunlop, Inc, discusses how to convince people to sell their business.

Interview with:

Willy Walker

Chairman and CEO of Walker & Dunlop, Inc (NYSE: WD)

Culture is one of the biggest M&A killers of all time. Bringing culture to the forefront of transactions can help increase deal success. Let’s learn proactive deal sourcing with culture in mind from Lisa Marchese, Head of Corporate Development at American Express.

Interview with:

Lisa Marchese

Head of Corporate Development at American Express

The sales operation is the cornerstone of every business. Without it, companies would not have revenue. In this article, Richard Dunkel, Global Head of Field Enablement at Celonis, discusses how to improve the sales function during integration.

Interview with:

Richard Dunkel

Global Head of Field Enablement at Celonis

An effective M&A onboarding process post-close can dictate employee retention. But what's even more important is retaining the acquired company's leadership. This article will discuss lessons learned from leadership onboarding with Kim Jones, HR Director M&A at Microsoft.

Interview with:

Kim Jones

SR. HR M&A Manager and SR. HR Manager XBOX at Microsoft

The best time to plan an exit is when times are good, not in a desperate situation. The longer the prep time, the higher chances of success. This article talks about how to build an exit strategy featuring Touraj Parang, President & COO of Serve Robotics.

Interview with:

Touraj Parang

President & COO of Serve Robotics

Every company wants to evolve and grow its business, and M&A is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to do it. If done correctly, it can transform an organization overnight. But it all starts with a sound M&A thesis. Without it, acquirers could waste time, money, and opportunities. In this article, Siran Tanielyan, SVP, Corporate Development at Paramount, will discuss developing an M&A thesis

Interview with:

Siran Tanielyan

SVP Corporate Development at Paramount

Leadership alignment is one of the most underrated aspects of M&A. But without leadership alignment, there will be confusion regarding what the company will represent post-close and what needs to be integrated. The company will be left with an inconsistent narrative and messaging, which leads to retention issues. This article discusses leadership alignment and creating a GTM strategy for successful deals, featuring Cole Breidenbach, VP, M&A Integration & Strategic Initiatives at Okta.

Interview with:

Cole Breidenbach

Head of M&A Integration, Corporate Development and Director, Business Value Consulting at Okta

Corporate development is more than just doing M&A. Sometimes, acquiring a company isn't the best way to achieve the organization's growth strategy. There are a variety of approaches to accelerating a business that requires extra analysis and planning. This article will discuss growing beyond M&A with Christina Ungaro, VP, Head of Corporate Development at Wind River.

Interview with:

Christina Ungaro

VP, Head of Strategic Alliances & Corporate Development at Wind River

Integration is one of the most challenging and crucial parts of M&A. It requires a complete understanding of the parent company and the newly acquired business. If done right, it will allow acquirers to capture intended synergies and maximize the value of their transaction. It is why having a dedicated integration function can be extremely valuable to an organization. Let's all learn how to stand up an IMO function with​​ Joshua Zatkin-Steres, Head of M&A Integration at Zuora.

Interview with:

Joshua Zatkin-Steres

Head of M&A Integration at Zuora

M&A is one of the most powerful tools to transform your business instantly. If done right, your organization will reach new heights that otherwise would not have been possible. Before you can reap its benefits, you must build a good M&A function. In this article, Bani Bedi, SVP, Head of Corporate Development, Strategy, and Monetization at Smartsheet, shares the secrets to building an M&A function.

Interview with:

Bani Bedi

Senior Vice President at Smartsheet

Finance is arguably the most critical part of the due diligence process. Almost every transaction comes down to the numbers unless it's a pure IP deal. Conducting effective financial diligence in M&A is crucial to every acquisition's success. This article tackles the basics of financial diligence featuring Amr Abdelaziz, Senior Director, M&A Finance at Equinix.

Interview with:

Amr Abdelaziz

Senior Director - Global M&A & Strategy Finance at Equinix

Strategy is a crucial part of a M&A. Without it, acquirers may end up purchasing companies that compromise their time and resources. This article will discuss developing strategy with business leaders, featuring Michael McDonald, Director, Strategy at Koch Engineered Solutions.

Interview with:

Michael McDonald

Director, Strategy at Koch Engineered Solutions

In M&A, most acquirers don't like a competitive process. However, competitive processes are almost inevitable as sellers are looking to maximize the value of their company. This article will discuss how to engage in a competitive M&A market, featuring Tyler Rodewald, VP, M&A at EIS Holdings.

Interview with:

Tyler Rodewald

CPA - VP, Mergers and Acquisitions, EIS Holdings

Revenue synergies are one of the most challenging metrics to achieve during integration, but are also the primary reason companies buy businesses. In this article, Joe Heel, Chief Revenue Officer at Zebra Technologies, talks about capturing revenue synergies.

Interview with:

Joachim Heel

Chief Revenue Officer at Zebra Technologies

Deal failure can often be tied back to a lack of communication and collaboration. Let's discuss architecting communications for successful integration featuring Emma Barton, Director, Alliance and Integration Management at AstraZeneca.

Interview with:

Emma Barton

Director, Alliance and Integration Management at AstraZeneca

Culture and employee retention are two of the most important aspects of any transaction. But for some reason, many teams often ignore the importance of the HR team. Failure to understand the target company's people and culture will result in a higher likelihood of failure. This article will explore HR's partnership with corporate development in M&A with Jeremy Segal, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at Progress.

Interview with:

Jeremy Segal

Senior Vice President Corporate Development at Progress

In M&A, time is the enemy. The longer a deal takes to close, the more risks it poses for both parties. This article talks about risk allocation between signing and closing an M&A deal with the help of Brett Shawn, Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Warburg Pincus LLC.

Interview with:

Brett Shawn

Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Warburg Pincus LLC

How early should M&A lawyers become involved in a transaction? Understanding what they do is crucial to answering this question. In this article, Felipe Heiderich, Senior Counsel at Moderna, discusses the importance of lawyers in M&A and their role throughout the deal lifecycle. 

Interview with:

Felipe Heiderich

Senior Counsel at Moderna

Go-to-market integration is more than just combining the sales and marketing teams. In this article, Dustin Delewski, Director of M&A Integration Management at Cardinal Health, gives a comprehensive view of how you can dissect your GTM for successful integration.

Interview with:

Dustin Delewski

Director of M&A Integration Management at Cardinal Health

More often than not, M&A involves go-to-market integration. After all, companies are bought to achieve revenue synergies in new markets. In this article, Massimo Malizia, Director of Corporate Development Integration at Cisco Systems, talks about overcoming the challenges of go-to-market integration.

Interview with:

Massimo Malizia

Director Corporate Development Integration at Cisco Systems

The more activity, the bigger the corporate development function should be. In this article, learn how to scale a corporate development function. Saurabh Tejwani, Vice President, Corporate Development and Business Operations at GoPuff.

Interview with:

Saurabh Tejwani

Vice President, Corporate Development and Business Operations at Gopuff

Acquiring a public company is easier and better than acquiring a private company. This article will discuss the nuances of buying public companies featuring Pranjal Gambhir and Doretta Mistras, Managing Director - Global Investment Banking, Healthcare at Citi.

Interview with:

Pranjal Gambhir

Managing Director, Global Investment Banking, Healthcare at Citi

Doretta Mistras

Managing Director, Global Investment Banking, Healthcare at Citi

How well an acquired business is integrated will determine the transaction's success. In this article, Gene Hugh, Chief Financial Officer at Procure Analytics, and John Morada, COO at M&A Science + DealRoom, will discuss how to successfully execute an integration plan.

Interview with:

Gene Hugh

Chief Financial Officer at Procure Analytics

John Morada

COO at M&A Science + DealRoom

Change management is one of the most crucial parts of M&A. When you don't plan for it; value creation is in jeopardy. Helping us understand how to deliver effective change management in M&A is Michael DeVita, Business Value Advisor at Salesforce.

Interview with:

Michael DeVita

Success Strategy Lead at Salesforce

Corp dev plays a huge role in selling a business, but the legal team also plays a crucial role. In this article, Andrew Gratz, Chief Privacy Officer, and Associate General Counsel at LyondellBasell, talks about what a divestiture looks like from a legal perspective.

Interview with:

Andrew Gratz

Associate General Counsel at LyondelBasell

Companies have been dressed up for sale and are under-invested for profit maximization and growth. According to Rishabh Mishra, Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Infostretch, buying companies that are not for sale is the most lucrative acquisition you can do.

Interview with:

Rishabh Mishra

Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Infostretch

In order for M&A to be effective, you have to be proactive. It is a great tool and should be a part of your growth strategy. Sabeeh Khan, Director of Corporate Development at Infoblox, talks about effective deal sourcing through market mapping in this article.

Interview with:

Sabeeh Khan

Director, Corporate Development at Infoblox

Selling your business is the most significant transaction of your life, and it is vital that you know what you're doing before you put your company up for sale. Proper preparation is key to selling a business. In this article, Adam Coffey, Founding Partner of CEO Advisory Guru LLC, discusses the basics of sell-side M&A.

Interview with:

Adam Coffey

Founding Partner CEO Advisory Guru LLC

M&A deals don’t just fall from the sky. Proactively sourcing deals is the best way to approach M&A, and in this article, Jeremy Segal, EVP, Corporate Development at Progress, teaches us how to source deals and build your pipeline.

Interview with:

Jeremy Segal

Senior Vice President Corporate Development at Progress

Online education is not new. But because of the pandemic, the entire educational sector was forced to shift in this direction, increasing competition. In this article, Tom Horton, SVP of Corporate Development at Kaplan, Inc., will talk about how M&A strategy evolves in education technology.

Interview with:

Tom Horton

Senior Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at Kaplan, Inc.

M&A is a fascinating industry with no clear blueprint on how to get in. Kayla Davis, Vice President, Head of M&A at ABM Industries, came from accounting to an M&A Career, and in this article, she will share her journey and key lessons learned along the way.

Interview with:

Kayla Davis

Vice President, Head of M&A at ABM Industries

Traditionally, corporate development professionals come from banking roles. And while nothing is wrong with that, it is always fascinating to hear other ways that professionals start their careers in M&A. Sharing his career development in M&A is Caleb Shafer, Corporate Development Associate at RS Group plc.

Interview with:

Caleb Shafer

Corporate Development Associate at RS Group plc

Implementing your GTM Strategy is one of the most crucial parts of integration. Learn all the challenges of implementation featuring Hannah Leung, Senior Manager, M&A at Salesforce.

Interview with:

Hannah Leung

Senior Manager, M&A at Salesforce

While some companies bring the integration team in the diligence process, some take it even further. In this article, Jim Buckley, Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions Integration at VMware, talks about how to run an integration-led confirmatory diligence process.

Interview with:

Jim Buckley

Vice President, Mergers, Acquisitions Integration at VMware

Too many times, we've seen M&A used as a strategy to grow businesses. But in fact, M&A is not a strategy, it's a tool that organizations should use to achieve their corporate strategy. And once you understand your true north, having an M&A strategy is just as important. In this article, we will learn how to formulate an M&A strategy with Matt Arsenault, VP of Corporate Development at Jamf.

Interview with:

Matt Arsenault

VP of Corporate Development at Jamf

The importance of integration has never been more prevalent. And standing up a dedicated function to oversee integration is becoming more of a necessity as a company grows more prominent. Having an integration management office (IMO) might be a good idea for your company. But how do you stand up to such a function? Shedding light on this matter is Ian Burk, EVP of integration at Upland Software, as he talks about how to stand up an IMO.

Interview with:

Ian Burk

EVP of Integration at Upland Software

From zero revenue to a billion-dollar market capitalization, Upland Software has been able to grow its business through M&A acquisitions exponentially. Learn from Austin Woody, Senior Vice President of M&A and Corporate Development at Upland Software.

Interview with:

Austin Woody

SVP | M&A and Corporate Development at Upland Software

With so many companies out there, how do you know who to approach as your M&A targets? Helping us how to tie deal origination to strategy development is Scott Hile, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Enviva.

Interview with:

Scott Hile

Vice President - Corporate Development at Enviva (NYSE: EVA)

An M&A transaction can be an expensive mistake, but a solid strategy allows you to pick the right targets and pursue them proactively. Learn from Sreepathy Viswanathan, Chief Corporate Development Officer, HGS Healthcare, on how to build a great M&A strategy.

Interview with:

Sreepathy Viswanathan

Chief Corporate Development Officer at HGS Healthcare

In a highly fragmented industry, roll-ups are one of the most effective ways to grow a business. Daniel Burseth, Vice President at Eckhart, Inc., has bought and integrated six companies in the last few years. In this article, he will be sharing how they roll-up small manufacturing companies.

Interview with:

Daniel Burseth

Vice President at Eckhart, Inc.

During any M&A transaction, disagreements between the buyer and the seller are quite common, especially regarding the purchase price. The seller usually expects a higher price with their best interest in mind, and the buyer normally wants to pay a lower price.

Interview with:

Edward Hamilton

Managing Director - VRC

Integration is arguably the most important part of any acquisition. The ROI of your deal is purely based on how well you integrate the acquired company into your organization. And while that is true, integration is also the most challenging part. You need to combine two different companies and make it into one big company.

Interview with:

John Morada

COO at M&A Science + DealRoom

Are you looking to pivot into an M&A integration career? Over the past decade, the importance of integration has become more prevalent. Practitioners have realized a well-planned integration is how value is achieved. However, the role and the skills needed for integration leaders remain the same. In this article, John Morada, COO at M&A Science, will be sharing how to begin an M&A integration career, and the essential skills needed for the role.

Interview with:

John Morada

COO at M&A Science + DealRoom

How you approach negotiations can determine the success of the overall transaction and your future relationship with the other party. In this article, Larry Forman, Senior Manager at Deloitte, helps us understand how to approach M&A negotiations to increase deal success.

Interview with:

Larry Forman

Senior Manager and Head of the Ecosystem for Deloitte’s New Venture Accelerator

Is your company’s M&A process out of date? Learn from Naomi O’Brien, Head of M&A Integration at Honeywell, as she talks about modernizing a process-based company.

Interview with:

Naomi O’Brien

M&A Integration Leader

The majority of Corporate Development involves their integration team a couple of weeks before closing the deal. And while this is good practice, it’s not the best. According to Kerry Perez, Head of M&A at AMN Healthcare, there is a real benefit in involving your integration team earlier than that.

Interview with:

Kerry Perez

Vice President, Enterprise Strategy at AMN Healthcare

Acquiring additional capabilities is one of the best ways to do M&A. You can improve your existing offers to your customers and gain access to new markets and demographics. Zoominfo is the go-to-market intelligence platform that helps organizations identify and connect with consumers. In this article, Zoominfo’s founder and CEO Henry Schuck, will help us learn how to acquire additional capabilities.

Interview with:

Henry Schuck

CEO & Founder at ZoomInfo

In a typical M&A transaction, two different people are leading the deal team and the integration efforts. But what happens when one person is tasked to do end-to-end M&A? Tomer Stavitsky, Corporate Development, M&A Lead at Intuitive Surgical, leads diligence and integration in his organization. In this article, he discusses how he ensures his acquisitions are successful from start to finish with the right governance structure.

Interview with:

Tomer Stavitsky

Corporate Development, Head of M&A

In December 2018, Cigna bought Express Script for $67 Billion, ranked as the 35th largest M&A deal of all time. So what made the deal so successful? Let's find out in this interview.

Interview with:

Tim Wentworth

Retire CEO, Evernorth

Selling your business is not always easy. The longer it has been a part of your life, the more attachment you have with it and the people. The decision to pull the trigger comes with a lot of complexities, especially for most entrepreneurs, as it could be the biggest transaction of their lives. Sharing his experience and the intricacies of sell-side M&A is Noah Waisberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Zuva, as Litera just acquired his company Kira Systems.

Interview with:

Noah Waisberg

Co-Founder & CEO - Zuva; Author of "AI for Lawyers"

More and more companies are starting to look at inorganic growth to ramp up their companies immediately. M&A is a tool to achieve your strategy and it starts with hiring your head of corporate development. With the help of Charles Breed, VP of Corporate Development at Corel Corporation, let's all learn how to hire your corporate development that fits into your M&A strategy.

Interview with:

Charles Breed

VP Corporate Development at Corel Corporation (NASDAQ: CREL)

After over 100 podcast interviews, we have collected over 40 lessons learned from top practitioners worldwide. And in those lessons, we saw a recurring theme , creating a better people experience in M&A is key to a successful transaction. So how do we do it? Let’s all learn from the HR expert, Klint Kendrick, Chair of the HR M&A Round Table.

Interview with:

Klint Kendrick

Chair of the HR M&A Roundtable and Former HR M&A Leader at Oracle & Boeing

Creating a go-to-market plan is one of the first things to do during an acquisition. When you don't have a clear GTM strategy before the deal is closed, you won't know what systems you need in place, and what people skills are required to make your combined product work. In this interview, Gwen Pope, Head of Global Product M&A at eBay, will help us understand how to make an M&A GTM successful.

Interview with:

Gwen Pope

Head of Global Product M&A, Strategic Partnerships at Ebay

The markets change all the time, and the M&A industry is no exception. Especially with COVID-19, changes in the market have been crazy these past years. Helping us understand the M&A market trends from a banker's perspective is Kunal Jain, Director, at William Blair Health Care Investment Banking.

Interview with:

Kunal Jain

Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy at GCX

With all the fear and uncertainties in an M&A deal, employees need a strong leader. Harry Kraemer, Jr, Professor of Management and Strategy at Kellogg school of management, believes that effective leadership can overcome change management challenges.

Interview with:

Harry Kraemer Jr.

Professor of Management and Strategy at Kellogg School of Management

M&A practitioners love to go into details. And while that could be beneficial, it doesn’t often help with team alignment. According to Jim Buckley, Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions Integration at VMware, keeping integration simple is the real key to success.

Interview with:

Jim Buckley

Vice President, Mergers, Acquisitions Integration at VMware

Integration is all about capturing value. In this episode, Jim Buckley, Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions Integration at VMware, talks about creating a successful integration plan and measuring success post-close.

Interview with:

Jim Buckley

Vice President, Mergers, Acquisitions Integration at VMware

Every company that does M&A has varying team sizes and many attributing factors as to how their deal team is currently constructed.

Interview with:

Ken Bond

Head of Corporate Development at Cetera Financial Group

An NDA is not a routine document in an M&A deal. It is vital in setting up the relationship of both parties as they move forward. Discussing in-depth how to negotiate and structure NDAs in an M&A deal is Mark Khavkin, CFO at Pantheon Platform.

Interview with:

Mark Khavkin

CFO at Pantheon Platform

Before you start making any acquisition, buy or build considerations should always be a part of your decision. In this interview, Cameron Weiner, VP of Strategic Development, Head of M&A at Shopko Optical, shares how he determines if you should buy or build.

Interview with:

Cameron Weiner

Vice President of Strategic Development and Head of M&A at Shopko Optical

M&A deals are never easy and require rigorous planning. But despite its complexities. There is a way to increase your chances of success. According to Punit Micocha, EVP, Corporate Development at Zscaler, it's all about planning what the end state would look like right from the start.

Interview with:

Punit Minocha

Executive Vice President, Business and Corporate Development at Zscaler

A GTM strategy is one of the most critical parts of an integration plan. In this episode, Pragnya Kashinath, Director of M&A at Cognizant, talks about how to create a successful GTM strategy from the very beginning of the transaction and the challenges that go with it.

Interview with:

Pragnya Kashinath

Director of M&A at Cognizant

Managing an entire acquisition is pretty daunting, especially if you are new to the process. This is probably why two people are leading the charge in any M&A deal; a deal lead and an integration lead. Each has its own roles and responsibilities but are equally important. Let's all learn how to manage sourcing, diligence, and integration from two of the industry's top minds: Sabeeh Khan, Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Syniti, and Aaron Whiting, M&A Integration and Strategic Programs at ContinuumCloud.

Interview with:

Aaron Whiting

Chief of Staff and Transformation at Crownoeak

Sabeeh Khan

Director, Corporate Development at Infoblox

Culture can kill a deal, and Trish Mosconi, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer & Corporate Development at Synchrony, proves it. They walked away from a deal due to massive cultural differences and could not see a way to integrate the business in their organization.

Interview with:

Trish Mosconi

Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer & Corporate Development at Synchrony

Fully committing to integration starts with a deep partnership between corp dev and integration. Learn all about it, featuring Karen Ashley, Vice President of Corporate Development Integration at Cisco.

Interview with:

Karen Ashley

Vice President, Corporate Development Integration at Cisco

We all know that M&A can transform a business overnight if the deal is done correctly. However, not everyone knows how to make transformative M&A successful. In this article, Duncan Painter, CEO at Ascential Plc, talks about transformational deals for their company and how they make it successful.

Interview with:

Duncan Painter

Chief Executive at Ascential Plc

Peter Linas, CPO & EVP Corporate Development at Bullhorn, talks about how his corporate development team looks like in an infrequent acquisition environment and how they hire external consultants to make their deals successful.

Interview with:

Peter Linas

CPO and EVP of Corporate Development at Bullhorn

Regardless of popular belief, a company can execute divestitures without a bank with the right amount of dedication and resources. Having done it multiple times, Russ Hartz, VP Corp Dev at Ansys, will be helping us understand the process and some of the best practices during this transaction.

Interview with:

Russ Hartz

VP of Corporate Development at ANSYS, Inc.

Finding the right deals is hard, especially if you're looking for companies that don't want to be found. In this episode, Dustin Intihar, Director, M&A, and Strategic Alliances at Lubrizol, talks about how to hunt deals in M&A the right way.

Interview with:

Dustin Intihar

Director, M&A and Strategic Alliances at Lubrizol (NYSE: LZ, acquired by Berkshire Hathaway NYSE: BRK.A 409,989)

Value often gets destroyed in M&A. Jay Dettling, CEO of Ansira, has been on both sides of the deal. In this episode, we're talking about preserving value post-acquisition, and his advice to CEOs getting acquired for the first time.

Interview with:

Jay Dettling

Chief Executive Officer at Ansira

PE firms have a very short term holding period and need to grow businesses fast. Adam Coffey, CEO at CoolSys, Refrigeration and HVAC Systems, is an expert on growing these companies using the buy and build strategy. In this article, he will share what it is and how to create sustainable success.

Interview with:

Adam Coffey

Founding Partner CEO Advisory Guru LLC

Transitioning to fully remote M&A transactions is not easy but very doable. With the proper tools and proper techniques to manage your people across these technologies, your M&A process can run smoothly.

Interview with:

Christina Amiry

Head of M&A Strategic Operations at Atlassian

Integration is where you realize deal value and you need to focus on it from the very start. In this episode, Michael Devita, Success Strategy Lead at Salesforce, is going to talk about lessons that he learned from executing successful integration and how to successfully realize deal value in M&A.

Interview with:

Michael DeVita

Success Strategy Lead at Salesforce

Reliance Retail is one of the fastest-growing retailers in the world. Learn how they manage multiple deal structures to make their partnerships successful directly from their President and CEO, Darshan Mehta.

Interview with:

Darshan Mehta

President and CEO at Reliance Brands Limited

Divestiture is not the reverse of an acquisition, and it takes more work and preparation. In this episode, Rhonda Rein, Director, Corporate Development at Thomson Reuters, helps us understand where divestiture starts, how TSA work and what happens after close.

Interview with:

Rhonda Rein

Director of Corporate Development at Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI)

Preserving the value of the acquired company should be the number one priority in any deal. Of course, any buyer would want to get what they paid for in the first place. But more often than not, value leaks post-close. Even though there are many reasons why this is happening, one could argue that it is mostly about people.

Interview with:

Christian von Bogdandy

Global Lead M&A - Managing Director, Slalom

Managing a multi-vertical M&A strategy requires a high performing team, full of perpetual learners and with a strong appetite for risk taking. In this episode, Ailene Holderness, Head of M&A at IAC, talks about how they manage their multi-vertical strategy and how to build a high performing M&A team.

Interview with:

Ailene Holderness

Head of M&A at IAC (NASDAQ: IAC)

Managing M&A on a high scale takes good governance and clear strategy. In this episode, Jeff Bender, CEO at Harris, explains their entire M&A process on how they are able to do massive volumes of deals every year.

Interview with:

Jeff Bender

CEO at Harris Computer Systems (TSX: CNSFW)

You don't need a huge M&A team to do deals successfully. With the right strategy in a specialized industry, you can make your process more efficient. In this episode, Jason Lippert, CEO of LCI Industries, shares how they successfully execute deals with a small team.

Interview with:

Jason Lippert

CEO of LCI Industries (NYSE: LCII)

One of the most critical roles as head of corporate development is managing your internal team and dynamics. In this episode, Randy Tinsley, Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development at Synopsys, breaks down how to get internal alignment, build your team, and set them up for success.

Interview with:

Randy Tinsley

Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development at Synopsys (NASDAQ: SNPS)

When conducting due diligence, you want to be as thorough as possible. But it can also take a lot of time, money and resources to complete. James Harris, Principal of Corporate Development Integration at Google shares why we need to take a different approach to due diligence and how it can help your company in the long run.

Interview with:

James Harris

Principal, Corporate Development Integration at Google

Most companies hire banks to help them prepare for the sale, but it's not a requirement. Russ Hartz, VP of Corporate Development at Ansys talks about the pros and cons here.

Interview with:

Russ Hartz

VP of Corporate Development at ANSYS, Inc.

PE firms source deals differently from strategic buyers. Jay Jester, Partner at Plexus Capital, LLC, breaks it down into three categories; Brand Building Exercise, Customer Focus, and Setting up a System.

Interview with:

Jay Jester

Partner at Plexus Capital, LLC

Due Diligence is a crucial process that sets the tone for an acquisition. But how do you perform due diligence? Before we can understand how diligence gets done, we have to understand the goals associated with due diligence. 

Interview with:

Ben Sutton

Director of M&A and Business Development at gain servicing

Negotiating is part of our daily lives. In this episode, we will be discussing how to effectively negotiate like a pro by determining how much leverage we have with the other party. Also, what skills are required for you to improve your negotiation skills.

Interview with:

Mladen Kresic

CEO at K&R Negotiations LLC

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a dedicated M&A team to execute successful transactions. With proper team alignment and motivation, getting deals done is very much possible. In this episode, Alexi Venneri, founder and CEO of Digital Air Strike, shares her process as to why she thinks not having a dedicated team is actually better.

Interview with:

Alexi Venneri

Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Air Strike

Every acquirer has different strategies for their acquisitions. In this episode, we look at SS&C's system on how they look at deals, how they approach integration, and how they preserve the target company's value.

Interview with:

William Stone

Founder, Chairman, and CEO of SS&C Technologies

Building out a brand new corporate development function can be challenging, especially if you don't know where to start.

Interview with:

Scott Kaeser

Owner / Head Of Corporate Development at First Choice Dental Lab

Why is it that some acquisitions are successful and some are not? Acquisitions can fail for reasons of strategy or execution. While no one can predict the future regarding market changes, an acquiring company can control how they execute on integrating the acquired company.

Interview with:

John DeRusso

Director of Acquisition Integration at Cisco

A strategic alliance can be a powerful tool that can help companies achieve specific goals. But what exactly is an alliance? And why do companies do it? To help us understand more about alliances, we've asked the expert Emma Barton, Director, Alliance and Integration Management at AstraZeneca, to help us in this discussion.

Interview with:

Emma Barton

Director, Alliance and Integration Management at AstraZeneca

Joint ventures are typically more complicated than traditional M&A because there are more parties involved, and everyone has to agree on many items. But with the right approach and model, a joint venture can run smoothly.

Interview with:

Clayton Stanley

Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at AmeriVet Veterinary Partners