Integration-Led Diligence: Cisco's M&A Approach pt. 2

Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco

Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco

‍Johanna Jaakola, Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team, and Tesia Hostetler, Leader of Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, continue their deep dive into Cisco's integration-led M&A framework. In Part 2, they reveal how integration planning shapes diligence, how value drivers guide surgical execution, and what it takes to coordinate a 180-person M&A community. From day one employee experience to go-to-market complexity and the Splunk mega-deal, this episode delivers practical frameworks for M&A professionals looking to accelerate value creation while protecting what matters most.

Things you will learn:

Learn how Cisco tests integration strategy during diligence and adjusts execution plans based on findings without losing sight of deal thesis
Discover how Cisco structures functional integration leaders, maintains alignment through recurring touchpoints, and tracks everything in a centralized M&A hub
Understand how to validate customer stories, align partner ecosystems, and make surgical decisions about when to integrate sales motions versus protecting existing revenue engines

‍

Johanna Jaakola

Johanna Jaakola is an Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team with 10 years at Cisco across finance leadership and acquisition integration roles. A former management consultant and senior finance leader for AppDynamics (a Cisco acquisition), Johanna brings deep operational expertise to deal execution. She partners with deal leads from the earliest phases to shape integration strategy, coordinate cross-functional diligence, and drive execution through full integration.

Tesia Hostetler

Tesia Hostetler leads Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, owning the company's end-to-end M&A methodology, playbooks, tooling, and compliance frameworks. Starting in internal audit before transitioning to acquisition integration, Tesia has touched 40-50 deals over the past decade. She focuses on enabling integration leads to succeed by building standardized processes, clear roles and responsibilities, and proven frameworks—including the approach used for Cisco's transformational acquisitions like Splunk.