The M&A Science Podcast

Brought to you by DealRoom
Hosted by Kison Patel
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Featuring guests from leading companies

Learn from leading M&A practitioners

Join Kison Patel, Founder and CEO of DealRoom and Chief Scientist at M&A Science for weekly episodes where he explores the complex world of M&A with industry leaders and practitioners. Here's to the deal.

"There’s nothing harder than letting the wrong one in. Culture fit isn’t negotiable—you’ve got to know who you’re doing business with."
Michael Belluomini
Senior Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions, Carson Group
LISTEN NOW
“Adjusted EBITDA just means deferred lawsuit. Negotiate at the jump to make sure that everyone's on the same page.”
Tina Kassangana
Corporate & M&A Lawyer, Associate at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP
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“You’re not really ever done assessing culture until the day you close. It’s the most important thing in professional services where your people are your product.”
Rob Brown
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All Episodes

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Podcast
Dec 17, 2020

Evolving Your Corporate Development Function

Michael Palumbo
, 
Director of Corporate Development at Halo Branded Solutions
Strategy
Podcast
Dec 17, 2020
How do you start building your corp dev function from scratch? Where would you start when you are the very first person in your department?
Live Podcast
Dec 4, 2020

How to Evolve Your M&A Workflow Using Agile Principles

Gina Sandon
, 
Director, Corporate Development, Merger & Acquisitions Synergy & Integration at IBM
Strategy
Live Podcast
Dec 4, 2020
Kison interviews Gina Sandon, Director, Corporate Development, Merger & Acquisitions Synergy, Integration and Transition at IBM, about how to evolve your M&A workflow using Agile principles.
Live Podcast
Nov 11, 2020

Building a Partnership Between the Investment Sponsor and Operating Sponsor

Sean Alford
, 
SVP, Corporate Development at J2 Global
Live Podcast
Nov 11, 2020
The partnership between the investment sponsor and the operating sponsor needs to be symbiotic to fully align both sides and help each other make the right decisions on deals. Learn how do these sponsors support each other through a transaction in this episode.
Podcast
Nov 5, 2020

How Proactive Integration Engagement Can Differentiate Value in Deals

Johanna Tseng
, 
Corporate Development, M&A Integration at Coinbase
Integration
Podcast
Nov 5, 2020
In this episode of M&A Science, Kison speaks with Johanna Tseng, former M&A Integration Leader at Coinbase. Learn how early your integration team should get involved in a transaction and how you can optimize integration planning.
Podcast
Oct 16, 2020

How to Build an M&A Center of Excellence from Scratch

Philip Pratt
, 
Director, Acquisition Integration at Corning Incorporated
General
Podcast
Oct 16, 2020
Building an M&A center of excellence comes with both challenges and benefits. Hear from an industry professional at Corning what steps you should take to build one, challenges you may encounter, and how to gain buy-in from leadership.
Podcast
Oct 13, 2020

Aligning People in M&A for a Better Outcome

Carlos Cesta
, 
Vice President Corporate Development at Presidio
Integration
Podcast
Oct 13, 2020
In this episode, Kison speaks with Carlos Cesta, Vice President of Corporate Development at Presidio, about aligning leadership for greater deal success. Together they discuss leveraging employees to ensure deal success, when to start thinking about integration, and developing a joint integration plan.
Podcast
Oct 12, 2020

Building a Corporate Development Team with Contingencies

Jeremy Segal
, 
Executive Vice President Corporate Development at Progress
Strategy
Podcast
Oct 12, 2020
Building a corporate development team is hard. Building one to include joint ventures and strategic partnerships is even harder. Learn from an industry professional how you can align your team with multiple mandates to ensure success.
Podcast
Oct 5, 2020

Structuring Talent Focused Acquisitions

Christina Ungaro
, 
VP, Head of Strategic Alliances & Corporate Development at Wind River
Diligence
Podcast
Oct 5, 2020
On this episode of M&A Science, Kison interviews Christina Ungaro, former Head of Corporate Development at JLL. Together they discuss how companies should structure talent-focused acquisitions, breaking down exactly what that kind of transaction requires and entails, the necessary diligence, and how to make these deals successful.
Live Podcast
Sep 21, 2020

Working with Private Sellers

Isaac Lund
, 
VP Corporate Development and M&A at National Express LLC
Divestiture
Live Podcast
Sep 21, 2020
On this episode on M&A Science, Kison speaks with Isaac Lund, VP Corporate Development and M&A at National Express LLC. The topic is all about learning how to work with a private seller to get the best outcome.
Podcast
Sep 15, 2020

The HR Practitioner’s Guide to M&A Due Diligence

Klint Kendrick
, 
Chair of the HR M&A Roundtable and Former HR M&A Leader at Oracle & Boeing
Diligence
Podcast
Sep 15, 2020
On this episode of M&A Science, Kison Patel speaks with Dr. Klint Kendrick, Chair of HR, M&A roundtable. Together they discuss the HR practitioner's guide to M&A and due diligence, covering topics such as when to bring HR in, major HR risks, and how to weigh risks.
Podcast
Aug 31, 2020

What You Need to Wind Down Your Business

Ajit Sane
, 
Director IT M&A at Agilent Technologies
Divestiture
Podcast
Aug 31, 2020
This episode of M&A Science is an interview with Ajit Sane, Director IT M&A at Agilent Technologies. The topic of discussion is how to wind a business down with minimal customer and people disruption.
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 27, 2020

How to Modernize IMO / Building a Synergy Plan that Actually Delivers

Jonathan Shiery
, 
Director at Guidehouse
Bill Clarkin
, 
VP, Head of Data & Analytics at Fiserv
Integration
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 27, 2020
Teams are trying to figure out how to modernize IMO, and how to build a synergy plan that actually delivers. In this session, Jonathan and Bill discuss bench strength, creating the right IMO team, tips for modernizing, and more.
Podcast
Aug 25, 2020

How To Plan a Divestiture From an Accounting Perspective

Neal McNamara
, 
Co-Founder, Virtas Partners
Divestiture
Podcast
Aug 25, 2020
Joining Kison in this interview is Neal McNamara, Co-founder of Virtas Partners, an advisory firm specializing in preparing companies financially and operationally for M&A.
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 21, 2020

Aligning Strategy with Your M&A Process

Scott Kaeser
, 
Owner / Head Of Corporate Development at First Choice Dental Lab
Sean Corcoran
, 
SVP of Corporate Development & M&A at Neustar, Inc.
Ben Sutton
, 
Director of M&A and Business Development at gain servicing
Strategy
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 21, 2020
M&A is not a strategy, rather a tool that can achieve a company's objectives. Learn how to differentiate between using M&A as a tool rather than a strategy, and upon doing that, how to create an appropriate strategy for your process.
Podcast
Aug 18, 2020

Making Joint Ventures Successful - Top Secrets Revealed

Ivan Golubic
, 
CFO, FastLap
Strategy
Podcast
Aug 18, 2020
This interview was with Ivan Golubic, former VP Corporate Development at Goodyear. The topic of discussion is how to make joint ventures more successful. Kison and Ivan discuss the three reasons JVs fail and the keys to making them more successful.
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 12, 2020

Avoiding Valuation Surprises and Accounting for M&A Transactions

Brian Buchert
, 
Vice President, Corporate Strategy and M&A at Church & Dwight
PJ Patel
, 
Co-CEO, Valuation Research Corporation (VRC)
Valuation
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 12, 2020
Not every company uses the same method for valuation. In this session, Brian Buchert gives some insight to his team's valuation "secret sauce".
Podcast
Aug 11, 2020

How to Cultivate Relationships with Deal Targets

Michael Frankel
, 
Founder and Managing Partner of Trajectory Capital
Bruce Bowden
, 
CFO of Interactions LLC
Strategy
Podcast
Aug 11, 2020
Relationships with deal targets are extremely important as they can help shape the entire deal process. Learn how you can form those relationships and avoid common pitfalls along the way to increase your chances of getting the deal done.
Live Podcast
Aug 10, 2020

How Successful Diligence and Integration Planning Frames Successful M&A and Valuation

Erik Levy
, 
DMGT Group Head Corporate Development and M&A
Diligence
Valuation
Live Podcast
Aug 10, 2020
Kison Patel sits down with Erik Levy, Group Head Corporate Development and M&A at DMGT plc, to discuss how the approach to valuation sets the precedent for integration and diligence. He has completed over 150 acquisitions, minority and venture investments and strategic partnerships.
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 7, 2020

Virtualizing the People Experience During Integration

Dawn White
, 
Manager of M&A Center of Excellence - Corporate Development, Program Manager / Change Management Lead (Temporary Special Assignment) at Corning Incorporated
Kimberly Baird
, 
Principal and Founder, Maximize M&A LLC
Integration
M&A Science Summit Videos
Aug 7, 2020
In this webinar, you will learn how to update the integration process by taking a people-first approach, even during a time of remote working. Learn vital lessons on how to adapt to a virtual work environment by utilizing tech and other communication tools available.
Podcast
Aug 5, 2020

How to Identify and Deal with Issues During Diligence in M&A

Jeff Desroches
, 
Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development at VAT GROUP
Diligence
Podcast
Aug 5, 2020
Together, Jeff and Kison discuss approaches to take for deal negotiations, how to present an offer and prepare yourself for any responses you may get, and what the main priorities of diligence are.
Podcast
Aug 3, 2020

Navigating International Deals

Jeff Baker
, 
EVP Mergers & Acquisitions, at Incomm
Strategy
Podcast
Aug 3, 2020
Kison speaks with Jeff Baker, EVP, Mergers, and Acquisitions at InComm to discuss the complex world of international deals. Jeff talks about how to handle culture clash, why asking questions goes a long way, making sure you watch out for illegal activities, and more.
Podcast
Jul 29, 2020

Assimilating Unique Cultures in M&A

Kim Jones
, 
SR. HR M&A Manager and SR. HR Manager XBOX at Microsoft
Integration
Podcast
Jul 29, 2020
Kison speaks with Kim Jones, Senior HR M&A Manager at Microsoft. Together they discuss what company culture is, at what of the deal to consider it, and how to assess the company culture.
Podcast
Jul 24, 2020

How to Develop International Joint Ventures Successfully

Ritch Schaafsma
, 
Vice President of Corporate Development, Global Mergers and Acquisitions at General Motors China
General
Podcast
Jul 24, 2020
On this episode, Kison and Ritch Schaafsma, VP of Corporate Development, Global Mergers and Acquisitions at General Motors, discuss the ins and outs of international joint ventures.
Live Podcast
Jul 24, 2020

COVID-19's Impact on M&A

Toby Tester
, 
Senior Consultant & Project Manager at BTD
Kevin Robbins
, 
Serial entrepreneur and federal market SME
Strategy
Live Podcast
Jul 24, 2020
COVID-19 has made a significant impact on M&A. What are the actual views and responses from executives, dealmakers and board members?
Live Podcast
Jul 10, 2020

What the rebadging process looks like and how to do it well

Sachin Kumar
, 
Senior Director - Mergers & Acquisitions, People Practices (Global) at Conduent
Strategy
Live Podcast
Jul 10, 2020
This interview features Sachin Kumar, Senior Director - M&A and Regional Lead for HR North America at Conduent. Our topic of discussion is the not so famous process of Rebadging.
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