Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast M&A Science
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why PE Rollups Fail the People Who Built the Business | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:48:05 | |
A rollup can look attractive at signing: cash today, equity in a larger platform, and the promise of participating in what gets built next. But sellers rarely spend as much time understanding what sits above that equity, what has to happen before it becomes liquid, or whose economics take priority when the platform eventually exits. Bill Johnson, Founder, Chairman & CEO of The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers, has completed roughly 50 acquisitions while building Liberty without PE equity capital. He joins Kison Patel to challenge some of the assumptions behind acquisition-led growth and explore what buyers and sellers often discover only after the deal is done. What You'll Learn
--- You can do fifty deals and still run into something you've never seen before. DealPilot , powered by M&A Science, gives you practitioner-built guidance from 400+ interviews and thousands of real acquisitions. When the playbook stops working, know what to do next. | |||
| Why M&A Integration Fails Without Leadership Enablement | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:54:05 | |
Integration problems often get blamed on culture after close. The real issue may have started earlier, when leaders were never given enough clarity on how to operate inside the new company. Kim Jones is an HR Director of M&A with more than a decade of people-integration experience across deals ranging from single-employee acqui-hires to acquisitions involving thousands of people. In this episode, Kim shares how to avoid integration debt, what to do when trust and operating rhythms start to break down, and the stories that shaped her approach, including a CEO who delayed his own close and a butterscotch Life Savers incident that sparked an employee uprising. What You'll Learn
If you're planning an integration and trying to get leadership aligned before close, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, gives you practitioner-built guidance for the decisions that shape Day One and what comes after. | |||
| The Seller's Power Shift: How to Defend Valuation After the LOI | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:56:42 | |
Praveen Ghanta, Founder and CEO of DevHawk Signing the LOI can feel like you've won. For the seller, it may actually be the moment when the balance of power starts moving the other way. Praveen Ghanta learned that firsthand while selling HiddenLevers. A key enterprise contract slipped during diligence, the valuation story changed, and just before the diligence period expired, the buyer came back asking to reprice the deal by nearly 50%. What followed was a tense negotiation over how much to concede, what to protect, and when walking away becomes the better option. What You'll Learn
When diligence changes the deal, the hardest question is knowing what to defend and what to give up. DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has the deal frameworks and negotiation playbooks practitioners have used to make that call themselves. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. 51% of corp dev teams are already using AI in their deals. We surveyed 230+ practitioners on where AI is showing up across sourcing, diligence, integration, and internal workflows, what's working, what's holding teams back, and where the biggest opportunity is over the next 12 to 24 months. Grab your free copy of the full report: https://hubs.ly/Q04sM2m30 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [03:04] Two Decades of Bootstrapped Exits [04:07] Lesson From an Early Failure [07:38] Building Hidden Levers From Scratch [14:49] The Road to Ten Million ARR [18:48] Picking a Banker Without a Bake-off [22:43] When the Anchor Deal Collapsed [34:41] Power Shifts After the LOI [36:46] Strategic Buyers Beat Private Equity [32:05] How IRR Misleads Retail Investors [35:03] Why Secondaries Data Can't Be Trusted [40:07] What Belongs in the LOI [43:04] The Sales Tax Surprise [47:03] Two Diligence Teams, One Model [48:21] Integration Wins and Losses [50:15] What the Buyer Should Have Done [53:16] Staying Sane Through Renegotiation | |||
| The Discount Is the Wrong Question in Private Equity Secondaries | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:54:31 | |
Richard Chow, Partner at PJT Partners (NYSE: PJT) Secondary deals are often judged by a single metric: the discount. Richard Chow thinks that's the wrong place to start. After spending most of his career investing in and advising on secondaries, Richard has seen what happens when investors focus too heavily on price and miss what is actually driving the transaction. Richard and Kison walk through the decisions behind LP-led deals, continuation vehicles, private-market liquidity, and some of the assumptions buyers routinely get wrong. They also get into Richard's own investing mistakes, including a SpaceX opportunity he passed on, and what it taught him about underwriting assets whose real upside may sit well beyond the typical investment horizon. What You'll Learn
If you're evaluating a secondary opportunity and defaulting to "what's the discount," DealPilot's Buyer-Led M&A™ Certification is built on that instinct: stop taking the other side's framing and drive your own evaluation instead. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. 51% of corp dev teams are already using AI in their deals. We surveyed 230+ practitioners surveyed on where AI is showing up across sourcing, diligence, integration, and internal workflows, what's working, what's holding teams back, and where the biggest opportunity is over the next 12 to 24 months. Grab your free copy of the full report: https://hubs.ly/Q04sM2m30 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [03:23] Career Path Into Secondaries [05:49] Why the Secondary Market Exists [07:10] LP Interests vs Continuation Vehicles [14:28] LP Versus GP-Led Deal Flow [15:52] Endowments Face a China Problem [18:19] Why the Discount Is Wrong [21:50] Marketing a Deal, Finding Buyers [30:34] Employee Option Secondaries Explained [32:05] How IRR Misleads Retail Investors [35:03] Why Secondaries Data Can't Be Trusted [42:50] Private Credit Secondaries Explained [45:16] The SpaceX Valuation Lesson [47:24] Diligence on Complex Cap Tables [50:21] The Most Common Buyer Mistake | |||
| How to Finance Acquisitions Without Giving Up Equity | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:57:42 | |
Bill Stone, Founder and CEO of SS&C How do you keep buying companies without eventually losing control of the company you built? SS&C Technologies founder and CEO Bill Stone has spent four decades avoiding exactly that. Rather than treating each acquisition as an isolated transaction, SS&C built a system around protecting ownership, using debt when the economics make sense, paying it down quickly, and creating enough value after close to preserve capacity for the next deal. Bill walks through the decisions behind acquisitions including FMC, GlobeOp, and Blue Prism, his experience taking SS&C private with Carlyle, and the discipline that has allowed the company to keep acquiring across changing markets. What You'll Learn
Every financing decision changes what you can do on the next deal. If you're financing an acquisition and don't have a hard leverage ceiling you actually stick to, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has the deal guidance layer to help you set one before you're over-levered on the next deal. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom is the AI-powered operating system for Buyer-Led M&A™ — one connected system for pipeline, diligence, integration, and reporting. No tool-switching, no manual updates, no data gaps. See how it works: https://hubs.ly/Q04mcGKy0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro and Guest Bio Check [04:27] Protecting Ownership From Bankers [07:32] Pivoting to the Buy Side [12:12] Cutting a Client's Cost 91% [12:32] Technology Cycles From Excel to AI [15:14] First Acquisition and Going Public [16:26] Balancing Investors and Founder Control [20:08] The Carlyle Take-Private Story [27:23] Screening Deals and Cutting Costs Fast [32:02] Reading a Seller's True Motivation [35:29] Winning FMC Under Canadian Rules [42:10] Beating TPG for GlobeOp [45:22] The Leverage Ceiling and Debt Paydown [49:06] Topping Vista for Blue Prism [53:17] Walking Away From a Lying Seller [54:23] Diligence Speed and Trust But Verify [54:58] Valuations and Capital Abundance | |||
| Where AI Actually Helps and Fails in M&A Legal Work | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:47:01 | |
Aaron Binstock, Partner, Co-Head of Private Equity Practice at Cooley LLP AI can now draft, review, and benchmark deal documents in a fraction of the time it used to take, but knowing when to trust the output is a different skill entirely. Aaron Binstock, a partner at Cooley with nearly 20 years of transactional experience, has seen both sides of that tradeoff firsthand. Where does AI actually save time on a deal, and where does it create false confidence? What happened when a client's AI-generated tax step chart was built on the wrong assumption? How does reverse prompting produce a better first draft than a single one-shot prompt? And what's changing about how junior lawyers build judgment, and how firms bill for their time? What You'll Learn
If you're dealing with AI tools that sound confident but don't actually know M&A, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science experiential data, has guidance built from practitioners who've actually run the deal to help you catch what AI can't see coming. ____________________ The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back August 18th, free and virtual. We're releasing the State of AI in M&A 2026 report live at the event before it goes public. Benchmark your program, hear from practitioners across the industry, and leave with a clearer picture of where dealmaking is headed. Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04kBhzV0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [03:12] Aaron's Path Into M&A [05:12] Cooley's Public AI Commitment [07:22] Where AI Fits On A Deal [11:37] Quality Control And AI Playbooks [16:33] The Tax Step Chart Mistake [18:41] How Reverse Prompting Works [22:19] Benchmarking Past Deals With AI [23:13] Lockbox Pricing And Prompt Quality [25:33] When Clients Say No To AI [33:06] AI's Impact On Legal Billing [35:44] Training Lawyers In The AI Era [42:20] Why AI Can't Own The Deal [44:07] Craziest Moments In M&A Deals | |||
| The Back-Office Surprises Nobody Warned You About When Going Global | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:53:04 | |
Jennifer Lipschultz, Sr. Director Merger & Acquisition Integration and Corporate Project Management Jennifer Lipschultz has led integration on more than 20 acquisitions across the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and India for ECI Software Solutions, a PE-backed SMB software company operating in 80 countries. If your next acquisition involves operating somewhere new, this is the walkthrough to have ready before you find yourself improvising in real time. What You'll Learn
If you're dealing with a cross-border acquisition where the back office keeps breaking in ways diligence never caught, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has integration playbooks pulled from practitioners running 20-plus deals, to help you build your pre-close checklist before the surprises hit instead of after. ____________________ The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back August 18th, free and virtual. We're releasing the State of AI in M&A 2026 report live at the event before it goes public. Benchmark your program, hear from practitioners across the industry, and leave with a clearer picture of where dealmaking is headed. Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04kBhzV0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Introduction and Guest Background [03:05] From Engineering to Global Integration [06:20] What Full Absorption Really Means [08:17] The Pre-Close Integration Playbook [13:41] What Breaks First Abroad [15:49] When English Fluency Is Assumed [20:21] A Same-Day Language Rollout [22:07] Locked Out of a Bank Account [24:35] Sweden's Expense Reporting Maze [27:59] Harmonizing Benefits Across Borders [34:09] Running a Change Engagement Session [42:30] Earning Trust With Senior Leadership [44:19] Finding Risk in the Data Room [46:36] A Pre-Close Global Checklist [48:56] Lessons From Walking the Floor | |||
| How to Structure an Acquihire Deal in the AI Talent Race | 29 Jul 2026 | 01:00:06 | |
Derek Liu, M&A Partner at Baker McKenzie AI talent deals are no longer small acquihires built around a simple price per engineer. Some now carry billion-dollar price tags, forcing buyers to rethink deal structure, diligence, tax exposure, and retention. Baker McKenzie's M&A Partner Derek Liu has personally signed over $110 billion in transactions from both sides of the table. That mismatch, old tools built for a different kind of deal, is what's forcing corp dev and legal teams to rework their playbook, and it's the throughline of this conversation. What You'll Learn
If you're structuring retention for a talent-driven acquisition, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has the deal guidance layer to help you get the revesting schedule and non-solicit right before you sign. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back. August 18th, free and virtual. We're releasing the State of AI in M&A 2026 report live at the event before it goes public. Benchmark your program, hear from practitioners across the industry, and leave with a clearer picture of where dealmaking is headed. Register here. ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Introduction [00:03:03] From New York to Silicon Valley [00:11:58] Why Acquihire Prices Exploded [00:15:19] Defining an Acquihire Deal [00:25:20] Winding Down the Acquihire Business [00:31:35] Acquihire Due Diligence on Talent [00:34:10] Why Not Just Poach Talent [00:38:34] RSUs, Revesting, and Rollover Equity [00:46:37] Valuing the Biggest Acquihire Deals [00:47:35] An Acquihire Deal Timeline [00:56:22] The Craziest Deal in M&A | |||
| What Buyers Want from Bankers and Founders | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:50:41 | |
Andrew Morbitzer, VP of Corporate Development, Life360 (ASX: 360) Your standard teaser tells a buyer everything about your company and nothing about why you fit their strategy right now. When sellers expect the buyer to figure out that alignment, the deal dies on the desk. Andrew Morbitzer has led more than $2 billion in acquisitions at Intuit and GoDaddy, worked on the sell-side as an M&A advisor, and returned to the buy-side as VP of Corporate Development at Life360. What You'll Learn
If you're advising on deals and want a framework for how buyers actually evaluate fit, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has Buyer-Led M&A™ frameworks to help you pitch into the buyer's strategy instead of handing them a data sheet. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just launched the only MCP server built for Buyer-Led M&A™ — so your AI and your deal data finally work together. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot directly to DealRoom and let your AI read your pipeline, analyze due diligence documents, and automatically write findings back. See for yourself: dealroom.net/mcp ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Introduction [07:12] Why Inbound Deals Rarely Fit [09:40] Rationalization Over Strategy [10:01] The Inbound Problem Is Not Just About Bankers [15:43] When a Bank Actually Does the Work [18:12] The Banker's Incentive Problem [20:51] How to Actually Land the Pitch [22:12] Cash Flow and Finance Partnership [24:53] First-Hand Research on the Buyer [29:42] How Detailed to Get on Value Creation [34:30] What a Misaligned Banker Actually Costs You [37:50] Cold Outreach vs. Warm Relationships [40:45] Moves That Accelerate Trust [43:07] Applying Buyer-Led M&A on the Sell Side [42:48] The Year One Mistake That Bit Us [46:12] Assessing Culture Fit Before Close | |||
| 220 Deals. One Playbook. How to Scale M&A Without Losing Control | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:48:21 | |
Shawn Rodricks, Head of M&A - Independent Consultant If you scale the deal flow without the operating infrastructure to match it, things break fast. The playbook is a document nobody opens, closing weeks turn into fire drills, and the returns you modeled start to slip. Shawn Rodricks, Head of M&A - Independent Consultant, built the infrastructure before the volume hit. He closed 220 acquisitions across two organizations, 37 at Rexall in pharmacy and 183 at Amerivet Veterinary Partners, by wiring in the operating system from the start. What You'll Learn
If you're scaling a deal function and want the operating framework behind Shawn's approach, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has the Buyer-Led M&A™ Certification, built from 400+ practitioner interviews into a framework you can actually run. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just automated Pipeline Management with AI so you can spend less time updating deals, and more time working them. Automatically push deal context from Outlook to DealRoom Pipeline and use AI to keep deal target data and tasks updated, so follow-ups never slip through the cracks. No manual logging. No stale pipeline data. See for yourself: https://hubs.ly/Q045fXp50 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [03:33] From Biochemistry to 220 Acquisitions [06:02] The Operating Model for Serial Acquisitions [09:40] Hiring: Biz Dev vs. Corp Dev [13:03] Staffing as Deal Volume Scales [15:08] What a Playbook Actually Is [18:43] Managing Ebbs and Flows in Deal Volume [22:12] Cash Flow and Finance Partnership [23:44] The Underestimated Side of Diligence [27:25] Key Person Risk and Pre-Close Retention [31:41] Post-Close Monitoring and the First 90 Days [35:17] Pre- vs. Post-Close Integration Priorities [37:53] What Roll-Ups Mistake for Strategy [39:21] Integration as the Conversion Engine [42:48] The Year One Mistake That Bit Us [44:12] When Deals Get Strange | |||
| How to Build a Deal Model That Beats PE on Price | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:53:08 | |
Jeremy Segal, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) Buyers who mistake a high LOI bid for a winning strategy are easy prey for sellers who know the growth equity playbook. Jeremy Segal's position: precision at the LOI stage is a stronger differentiator than price. Jeremy Segal is EVP of Corporate Development at Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS), a publicly traded software company that has nearly doubled revenue through M&A, from under $400 million to nearly $1 billion. He has closed roughly 50 acquisitions across his career at Progress, LogMeIn, and Akamai. How do you build a cost-optimization model before LOI for lines you know you can execute? How do you win a competitive process against PE without the highest headline number? When a seller restricts access during the announce-to-close window, how do you decide whether to escalate or walk? And how do you handle a workforce that expected an IPO and got an acquisition instead? Jeremy answers each one. What You'll Learn
If you're building deal models before LOI and want a framework for translating those assumptions into an operational plan you can actually execute, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has Buyer-Led M&A™ frameworks to help you close the gap between what you modeled and what you deliver. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just launched the only MCP server built for Buyer-Led M&A™ — so your AI and your deal data finally work together. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot directly to DealRoom and let your AI read your pipeline, analyze due diligence documents, and automatically write findings back. See for yourself: dealroom.net/mcp ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [05:07] Why M&A has to be the growth engine [07:36] Deal cadence and financial discipline [09:42] Pipeline strategy and the five-year roadmap [12:46] How the synergy model works before LOI [17:15] The no-retrade commitment [17:48] Chef: beating PE on a competitive deal [24:56] ShareFile: carve-out from Cloud Software Group [28:07] What to look for in a carve-out diligence [33:48] MarkLogic: when the seller restricts access [38:48] When seller motivation becomes an orange flag [40:09] What counts as a material change warranting a retrade [41:12] How public market cycles affect the deal pipeline [48:09] Advice for a first-time acquirer [49:46] The craziest thing in M&A [53:02] Early Warning Signs in Diligence | |||
| The People You Lose in M&A: Key Talent Retention Before Close | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:58:41 | |
Haseeb Jawad, VP and Head of Corporate Development, Commvault (NASDAQ: CVLT) The people who leave post-close are usually the ones the deal depended on. Which means the problem starts with how you read culture before LOI and whether financial incentives are the only retention tool you are building with. Haseeb Jawad heads corporate development at Commvault, running a lean team with full accountability from sourcing through integration. He has led two to three acquisitions per year across multiple companies, sat on both sides of a transaction, and serves as his own IMO lead. The signals that tell you a deal will lose people are visible from the first founder conversation, if you know what to look for. What You'll Learn
If you're managing a post-close retention risk and financial incentives are the only lever you're pulling, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has Buyer-Led M&A™ frameworks to help you build the full retention model. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom is the AI-powered operating system for Buyer-Led M&A™ — one connected system for pipeline, diligence, integration, and reporting. No tool-switching, no manual updates, no data gaps. See how it works: https://hubs.ly/Q04mcGKy0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [03:05] Engineer Turned Corp Dev Leader [07:45] How to Pick the Right M&A Deals [10:26] What Most Buyers Miss in Deal Criteria [15:44] Getting Founders to the Table [20:18] AI Washing and Valuation Reality [23:09] The TRUST Framework Explained [26:19] When Leadership Alignment Breaks Down [32:03] 3 Tiers of Culture Diligence Before LOI [35:40] The Retention Framework [38:31] Why Money Alone Won't Keep Your Key Talent [41:13] Structuring Retention Plans by Person [43:02] Why the Deal Team Should Stay [49:32] Making Minority Investments Work [51:57] Preserving Culture After Close [53:02] Early Warning Signs in Diligence [53:37] What Breaks First at High Deal Volume [54:02] Walking Away Post-LOI | |||
| How to Buy Companies That Aren't Profitable Yet | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:54:53 | |
Matt Arsenault, VP of Corporate Development & Strategic Alliances at Jamf Venture-backed companies are priced at their future state, not their current revenue. When growth stalls and another fundraising round stops making sense, the gap between VC valuation and what a strategic buyer will pay becomes the hardest conversation in any deal process. Matt Arsenault, VP of Corporate Development & Strategic Alliances at Jamf, has run this play across hundreds of targets. His work starts before the deal does, with the founder relationship, the cap table, and a clear-eyed conversation about risk tolerance that most corp dev teams never have. What You'll Learn
If you're working a deal where the founder's VC valuation is the first thing they said and the last thing they'll let go of, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, gives you the guidance to close the gap without overpaying. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just launched the only MCP server built for Buyer-Led M&A™ — so your AI and your deal data finally work together. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot directly to DealRoom and let your AI read your pipeline, analyze due diligence documents, and automatically write findings back. See for yourself: dealroom.net/mcp ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:01:14] Introduction and Kison's overview [00:03:32] Matt Arsenault's background and path into M&A [00:05:17] How VCs actually value companies: the two major components [00:06:52] Where VC and strategic buyer valuations diverge, and why [00:09:29] The current market for VC-backed acquisition targets [00:10:39] Rule of 40, profitable growth, and what AI is changing [00:25:01] The liquidation preference math: $25M today vs. $125M later [00:31:38] Cap table dynamics, voting power, and co-founder alignment [00:33:10] How to have the valuation conversation with a founder [00:35:35] How to structure deals when a company is underwater [00:36:45] Stakeholder management: severance, retention, and employee equity [00:44:03] Structural tools for bridging valuation gaps [00:49:21] What entrepreneurs should know before taking their first VC check [00:51:03] Due diligence war stories: what a code scan revealed | |||
| When Deals Get Weird: Stories You Don't See in the CIM | 18 Jun 2026 | 01:00:38 | |
Nathan Rust, Lutz Lehmann, Troy Pospisil, Jeremy Segal, Patrick Mumman, Tej Brahmbhatt, George Helock, and Angie Astle Eight deal professionals share the M&A moments that never make the CIM. A birthday cake in a management presentation that confirmed a culture fit and influenced a bid. A buyer who died before close, forcing a nine-month restart from scratch. Eight years of customer revenue data on a 1980s IBM that management claimed did not exist. A target quietly heading toward Chapter 11 while diligence was underway. Unexpected events mid-deal are not exceptions. They are the deal. How you read them is what separates experienced practitioners from everyone else. What You'll Learn:
If you're running deals and want pattern recognition built from thousands of real M&A situations to back your judgment, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, gives you the deal guidance and advisor access to know which surprises you push through and which ones mean walk away. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just automated Pipeline Management with AI so you can spend less time updating deals, and more time working them. Automatically push deal context from Outlook to DealRoom Pipeline and use AI to keep deal target data and tasks updated, so follow-ups never slip through the cracks. No manual logging. No stale pipeline data. See for yourself: https://hubs.ly/Q045fXp50 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [04:11] Birthday cake in the management presentation [07:10] Recruiting bankers from the sell side [09:04] Culture fit as a bid decision factor [10:03] When the buyer dies before close [11:46] Nine-month restart from scratch [17:04] Management says the data does not exist [18:39] Finding Susie and the 1980s IBM [22:25] IP ownership surprise at signing [24:43] Bootstrap founders and commitment signals [27:43] When bankers favor PE over strategics [30:40] 78-year-old seller, a fistfight, and an earn-out [32:25] The 12-year sales cycle [35:23] Teaching a CEO to speak like an investor [43:14] Aviation IPO pulled mid-road show [45:52] Background check kills the deal a week before close [50:03] Forever corporation: how Chugach approaches M&A [54:47] HVAC target heads toward bankruptcy mid-diligence [55:59] Becoming the secured creditor to save the deal | |||
| The Real Work Behind the Close: When Judgment Beats the Checklist | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:57:10 | |
Brent Baxter, Sam Delestienne, Steve Hoffman, John Strenger, and Matt Melsen Winning a banker-run auction at 5% under the highest bid. Closing a deal when co-sellers have not spoken in months. Getting through 22 countries of employment complexity with a client who refused to work with EOR providers. Acquiring a Netherlands-based public company and discovering the due diligence documents were in Dutch. These are the problems that no playbook prepares you for. Four corp dev professionals share how they handled them, and what it cost when they got it wrong. What You'll Learn
If you're running deals where the numbers are right but the relationship isn't, or you're in a market you haven't operated in before, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, connects you with advisors who have closed deals in exactly that situation. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just launched the only MCP server built for Buyer-Led M&A™ — so your AI and your deal data finally work together. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot directly to DealRoom and let your AI read your pipeline, analyze due diligence documents, and automatically write findings back. See for yourself: dealroom.net/mcp ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Intro [03:12] Partners who came to blows over valuation [03:37] The closing table walkout [05:47] Every deal craters on Friday [07:54] Why managing emotions is the hardest job after LOI [13:30] A door blows off an Alaska Airlines jet mid-process [16:00] Winning at $15M under the highest bid [18:23] Trust and reputation as deal currency [23:09] The "baby ugly" lesson [25:06] Preempting banker processes [32:14] What EOR is and when it works [33:52] Permanent establishment risk with C-level hires [34:48] CBA compliance across 22 countries [40:38] First European cross-border acquisition [42:38] Dutch documents and data residency surprises [46:20] Why in-person matters more in Europe [50:38] The $100M tax exposure that was not real [55:57] Outro | |||
| The Nordic Compounder Playbook: How Jörgen Wigh Runs 85 Companies With 22 HQ Staff and No Integration | 04 Jun 2026 | 00:40:10 | |
Jörgen Wigh, CEO of Lagercrantz Group Lagercrantz Group has completed 90+ acquisitions over 20 years and never sold one. CEO Jörgen Wigh runs 85 niche B2B companies under a 22-person headquarters with no integration, no exits, and no value realization targets. This is Part 2 of 2. Part 1 covers the deal model, while Part 2 is the operating culture. Jörgen gets into how 85 autonomous companies are governed without a matrix structure, why this model exists almost exclusively in the Nordics, what makes a founder walk away from a signed deal twice, why Lagercrantz deliberately targets a 10% failure rate, and what he would do differently starting from scratch today. What You'll Learn
If you want to know how your team stacks up against the discipline Jörgen described across both episodes, take the M&A Competency Assessment. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just launched the only MCP server built for Buyer-Led M&A™ — so your AI and your deal data finally work together. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot directly to DealRoom and let your AI read your pipeline, analyze due diligence documents, and automatically write findings back. See for yourself: dealroom.net/mcp ____________________ Episode Chapters[01:14] Introduction and Part 1 recap [03:54] Deal governance: go/no-go process and board sign-off [04:31] No handoffs: why the deal sourcer stays on the board post-close [04:59] HQ structure: 22 people distributed across geographies [07:05] Why so many compounder platforms come from the Nordics [07:23] The cultural reasons: flat hierarchy, financial transparency, equality [09:19] Nordic management style versus US hierarchy [13:53] Cross-border deal friction: SPA length and legal complexity [24:43] Programmatic serial acquirer versus roll-up [25:18] The 100-day plan question: when Lagercrantz uses one and when it doesn't [25:59] The Bergman & Beving spinout ecosystem: six listed companies [26:45] Jörgen's role at Bergman & Beving and how conflicts are managed [29:57] Geographic expansion: Germany, Netherlands, DACH, Northern Italy [31:30] Starting from scratch today: why programmatic takes 10 years [33:01] EPS as the true long-term performance driver, not stock price [33:52] The perpetual ownership model and why it attracts certain sellers [34:17] The founder who backed out twice, patience won the deal [35:36] Failure rate: targeting 10%, what drives deals off course | |||
| The Nordic Compounder Playbook: How Lagercrantz Bought 90 Companies and Never Sold One | 28 May 2026 | 00:42:52 | |
Jörgen Wigh, CEO of Lagercrantz Group Jörgen Wigh has been CEO of Lagercrantz Group (STO: LAGR-B) for over 20 years. In that time he completed 90+ acquisitions, built a portfolio of 85 niche B2B companies, and delivered 15 consecutive years of record earnings per share. No capital raises. No forced integration. No exits. The Nordic compounder model has quietly outperformed global markets for decades, and Lagercrantz is one of the longest-running, most disciplined examples of it in operation. In Part 1 of 2, Jörgen walks through the deal model behind that track record. What You'll Learn
If you are holding pricing discipline against private equity and want to know whether your team would do the same, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, runs the M&A Competency Assessment so you can benchmark deal judgment before the next term sheet. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. DealRoom just automated Pipeline Management with AI so you can spend less time updating deals, and more time working them. Automatically push deal context from Outlook to DealRoom Pipeline and use AI to keep deal target data and tasks updated, so follow-ups never slip through the cracks. No manual logging. No stale pipeline data. See for yourself at dealroom.net/pipelineai ____________________ [00:00] Introduction [05:48] Jörgen's path: analyst, McKinsey, and the Bergman & Beving spinout [07:00] Coming back as CEO in 2006 and rebuilding from scratch [09:21] Buy and hold, forever: how the model actually works [11:21] What makes a company worth buying (and what kills it) [12:28] A real deal: helicopter deck safety systems [13:52] Who sells to Lagercrantz, and why [15:44] The only two things Lagercrantz adds: energy and structure [20:17] Finding companies that are not for sale [22:36] When the banker shows up: getting exclusivity early [23:55] Holding the line at 4-8x EBITDA when PE bids 11x [25:09] The legacy preservation pitch that wins without matching price [33:38] Earnouts that keep founders motivated for three years [36:17] Running 85 companies with 22 people at HQ [36:46] The only three functions Lagercrantz centralizes [37:57] The annual MD conference and the peer network behind it [40:13] 8 to 12 deals a year, one a month | |||
| M&A Integration Technology: What Actually Works | 21 May 2026 | 00:50:55 | |
Jim Buckley, VP M&A Integration at Coursera | Todd Manley, VP of Corp Dev Integration at Intel | Carey Pugh is Sr. Director, M&A Corporate Integration at Ansys | Mahesh Ganesan, Sr. Director, M&A Integration at UKG What You'll Learn
If you're running integration without a clear line between your workstreams and the original deal thesis, DealPilot has structured integration planning frameworks built on how practitioners at Intel, Microsoft, and UKG actually run it, so you stop rebuilding from scratch every deal. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom Get Insights from 100+ M&A Practitioners See where M&A execution is evolving and where the competitive advantages are forming. Compare your approach to what's working for other teams. Download the report: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZxRvD0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[04:16] Introductions: Todd Manley, Jim Buckley, Carey Pugh, Mahesh Ganesan [07:20] Integration philosophy: look back-to-forward, value drivers, keep it simple [09:16] Culture as the foundation and what "walking the walk" actually means [14:50] What separates teams that execute from teams that don't [17:30] The diligence handoff problem: what gets lost and why [23:56] Where integration technology helps and where it gets in the way [24:39] AI in integration: real use cases vs. early innings [31:02] The single source of truth problem [32:38] Non-tech tools: simplicity as a method (5 slides, 5 bullets, 5 words) [34:23] Audience Q&A: right-sizing diligence across 25 simultaneous deals [40:22] Audience Q&A: managing post-close autonomy flips in integration [43:03] Audience Q&A: sudden integration direction changes from leadership [45:59] Biggest value leaks in M&A integration [48:11] The case for pre-mortems and post-mortems | |||
| Partner Before You Buy: The Pre-Acquisition Strategy Corp Dev Teams Skip | 14 May 2026 | 00:52:57 | |
Tomer Stavitsky is SVP and Chief Corporate Development Officer at Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) Corp dev teams treat M&A and partnerships as separate tracks, but Tomer Stavitsky looks at them holistically. In this episode, he breaks down the partner-first approach: an acquisition framework for situations where the target isn't ready, the PE owner isn't selling, or your integration capacity isn't there. He walks us through structuring the partnership, keeping the acquisition thesis alive through execution, negotiating and defending a right of first refusal, and managing the three-way stakeholder dynamic without signaling the wrong things at the wrong time.
What You'll Learn
If you're working through a partner-first deal, the M&A Science membership has frameworks and tools built for exactly this kind of situation. Learn more at mascience.com/membership. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom DealRoom's Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is Back! Join me at the summit on May 20, a free virtual event hosted by DealRoom covering AI, pipeline, diligence, and integration across the deal lifecycle. Sessions run 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM ET. Register here. ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00] Introduction: Tomer Stavitsky's Background and the End-to-End Corp Dev View [08:04] Building or Rebuilding a Corp Dev Function [16:01] What Is the Partner-First Approach and When Does It Apply [21:10] Mapping the Market and Deciding Who Stays on the Watch List [24:13] Managing Multiple Targets Without Over-Committing [27:48] Using Exclusivity as a Strategic and Protective Tool [35:00] Managing the Three-Party Dynamic: Target Leadership, PE Owner, and Your Own Org [37:58] The Real Story: How a Partnership Became an Acquisition (Including the Competitive ROFR Moment) [42:41] The Most Common Mistake in Converting a Partnership to an Acquisition [44:32] Applying Partner-First to AI-Era Targets [49:21] What's the Craziest Thing You've Seen in M&A? | |||
| How M&A Turns a Chemical Company Into a Tech Business | 07 May 2026 | 00:53:55 | |
Chandradev Mehta, SVP Strategy and Business Development at Hexion Inc. Chandradev Mehta, SVP Strategy and Business Development at Hexion Inc., breaks down how a commodity chemical company uses M&A to transform into a technology-enabled, chemistry-as-a-service business. He covers the acquisition of an AI and MarTech company, the build vs. buy vs. partner decision framework, integration planning discipline, banker selection, small deal execution, and JV governance. What You'll Learn
____________________ If you're building an M&A capability from scratch or trying to get your team aligned on deal fundamentals, the M&A Fundamentals Track on DealPilot covers the full deal life cycle in roughly five hours, including vocabulary, process, and both sides of the table. Access it when you become an M&A Science member. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom DealRoom's Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is Back! Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q0496h-s0 ____________________ [00:00] Introduction [04:41] From Investment Banking to the Principal Side [10:24] Using M&A to Transform Hexion [11:01] Build vs. Buy vs. Partner Framework [16:42] What Chemistry as a Service Actually Means [23:43] Sourcing Deals: Push and Pull Model [26:24] What Makes a Banker Actually Useful [29:12] Valuation Discipline and Must-Believes [36:21] Environmental Risk in Chemical Deals [36:46] Why Small Deals Are Harder Than They Look [41:21] Joint Ventures: Negotiate the Divorce First [43:25] Execution Principles and Stakeholder Alignment [47:08] Getting Deals Actionable | |||
| CPG Exit Strategy: How to Build a Consumer Brand Strategics Will Acquire | Keith Levy Part 2 | 30 Apr 2026 | 00:57:36 | |
Keith Levy, Operating Partner at Sonoma Brands Capital Most consumer brand founders think about exit as an event. Keith Levy thinks about it as a design requirement. In the second of two episodes, Keith walks through what exit-ready actually looks like in CPG: the revenue and EBITDA thresholds that matter, why you have to get beyond the corp dev team to the operators who actually need what you're building, how capital gets wasted at every stage of a brand's lifecycle, and what the investments that produce exits have in common versus the ones that don't. If you missed the first episode, it covers Keith's five-pillar CPG diligence framework and the Touchland and Bachan's case studies. Start there. What You'll Learn
____________________ If you're building a consumer brand toward exit or evaluating one for acquisition, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has the practitioner playbook for CPG exit positioning. Join at mascience.com/membership. Already a member? The bonus conversation with Keith is live now: boards, earnouts, and the hardest lessons from six years backing consumer brands. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom DealRoom's Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is Back! Join me at the summit on May 20, a free virtual event hosted by DealRoom covering AI, pipeline, diligence, and integration across the deal lifecycle. Sessions run 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM ET. Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q0496h-s0 ____________________ [00:00:01] Intro [00:04:19] Day-to-day across 20+ portfolio companies [00:05:43] When to lean in and when to stay out [00:09:28] Pre-LOI landmines that kill deals early [00:13:26] The CPG brand lifecycle: from first check to exit [00:16:04] How capital needs change as a brand grows [00:20:15] Execution is why most investments fail [00:21:26] Capital allocation as the real test of a founder [00:23:00] What it takes to position a CPG brand for strategic exit [00:25:13] Big companies can't incubate brands — why that's your edge [00:26:23] Why you have to get beyond the corp dev team [00:29:48] What the investments that worked had in common [00:33:43] Why investments fall apart after you cut the check [00:35:16] The celebrity founder trap [00:39:16] How the Sonoma deal funnel actually works [00:45:22] What kills a deal at the investment committee stage | |||
| CPG Due Diligence: The Operator Framework Behind a $1B Exit | Keith Levy Part 1 | 23 Apr 2026 | 00:53:53 | |
Keith Levy, Operating Partner at Sonoma Brands Capital Keith Levy backed an exit of just under $1B and a $400M exit using the same five-pillar framework, and he starts with the founder every time. Finance comes last. As Operating Partner at Sonoma Brands Capital, Keith has spent six years evaluating consumer brands across food, beverage, pet food, snacks, and cosmetics. Before that he was CMO at Anheuser-Busch through the $52B InBev deal, president of Royal Canin USA for Mars, and the strategic acquirer who led the Kind acquisition at Mars Wrigley. He knows what the data room doesn't show you, and this conversation is built around that gap. The first of two episodes covers the full five-pillar CPG diligence framework and the Touchland and Boon's case studies. The second episode, out the following week, covers CPG brand lifecycle, exit positioning, and capital allocation. What You'll Learn
____________________ If you evaluate consumer brand investments and want a framework for the risks the model won't surface, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has the practitioner playbook. Join at mascience.com/membership.
Already a member? The bonus conversation with Keith is live now: boards, earnouts, and the hardest lessons from six years backing consumer brands, exclusively for M&A Science members. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom DealMax starts Monday. ____________________ [00:00:00] Intro [00:02:02] Keith's background overview (24 years at AB, $52B InBev deal – narrated) [00:05:40] Running Royal Canin and joining Mars / Mars Wrigley [00:08:45] Why Mars acquired Kind [00:09:15] What is Sonoma Brands and how Keith got there [00:10:17] The Budweiser CMO era & favorite ads [00:15:12] The Mars / Wrigley China integration [00:23:15] How Sonoma Brands evolved from venture to growth equity [00:25:11] Why deals don't work and what Sonoma changed [00:27:12] The Keith Levy CPG diligence framework [00:30:04] How to evaluate a founder [00:35:40] What product‑market fit actually looks like [00:38:32] Touchland: under $1B exit in two years [00:39:05] Go‑to‑market: sequencing channels & steady growth [00:41:10] Why TAM is just a sniff test [00:43:31] Why how you make the product matters more than you think [00:47:08] The real value an operating partner brings
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| 400 Acquisitions and a Failed Process: What Happens When You Don't Integrate | 16 Apr 2026 | 00:58:01 | |
Matt James, EVP, CFO & Chief Acquisition Officer at Oakbridge Insurance Roll-up platforms that skipped real integration are getting exposed when they go to market. Buyers want proof of organic growth, clean data, and a platform that actually functions as one. A lot of processes are breaking down because those proof points aren't there. Matt James co-founded Oakbridge Insurance in 2020 and has since closed 60+ acquisitions, integrating 100% from day of close. This conversation covers how he built that system, what went wrong with billion-dollar competitors, and what he would fix first if he walked into a revenue-aggregating roll-up right now. What You'll Learn
If you're evaluating targets and want to know if they're integration-ready pre-LOI, the Intelligence Hub can help you score cultural fit, data readiness, and technology maturity. Join the professional membership at mascience.com/membership. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom DealRoom's State of M&A Report gives you data to back up your M&A priorities. ____________________ Episode Chapters [00:03:00] Introduction & Matt's Background [00:05:00] How Buyer Diligence Has Shifted [00:06:00] Organic vs. Inorganic Growth and Why It Matters [00:11:00] The Four-Criteria Deal Evaluation Framework [00:14:00] Validating Cultural Fit Before LOI [00:17:00] Deal Structure: Equity, Earnouts, and Alignment [00:20:00] What Billion-Dollar Platforms Got Wrong [00:26:00]Building the Integration System at Oakbridge [00:31:00] Bridging Diligence and Integration [00:38:00] Data Infrastructure: Databricks, Power BI, and Why It's Worth It [00:45:00] Building Proprietary Deal Flow [00:52:00] First Moves When Integration Is Broken
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| M&A Roll-Up Playbook: The IRR Framework That Replaced Budgets at Zayo | Dan Caruso (Part 2) | 09 Apr 2026 | 01:05:29 | |
Dan Caruso, Managing Director, Caruso Ventures; Founding CEO of Zayo Group This is Part 2 of our conversation with Dan Caruso, founder and former CEO of Zayo Group. Be sure to start with Part 1. It covers the Zayo thesis, deal sourcing, structure, and the negotiation playbook, whereas this episode picks up at the execution. Part 2 is about the equity value-creation framework Dan built at Zayo, applying the same IRR math PE firms use for their portfolio companies to daily operating decisions. It replaced budgets and tied every compensation decision to a single equation. It ends with the exit and how Dan put together a competing bid after a buyer consortium locked up the debt market. What You'll Learn
Want to apply Dan's framework to your own business? The Intelligence Hub has the Equity Value Creation Operating Model, a step-by-step guide to replacing budget-based management with IRR as your operating compass. Access here. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom M&A Science is heading to ACG DealMax in Las Vegas, April 27–29 and we'd love to see you there. Stop by the booth for a book signing, swag, and a look at what the M&A Science and DealRoom teams have been building. ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:28] Public company vs. private: what changed about deal execution. [00:03:40] Negotiation tactics: countering lower, manufacturing urgency, the CEO-investor wedge. [00:08:15] Integration maturity: how execution evolved across 45+ deals. [00:18:43] Culture: join us or don't. [00:20:35] Going public: super voting shares, activist investors, and the PR game Dan skipped. [00:24:40] Post-IPO talent drain and what Dan would restructure in management equity. [00:29:26] When to sell: reading value compression. [00:33:03] The sell process: competing bid against a cornered debt market. [00:39:18] The equity value creation model: replacing budgets with IRR. [00:43:29] IRR as a real-time operating metric. [00:49:50] Cruso Ventures, quantum, space, and Boulder Roots Music Fest. [01:01:06] The ICG deal: $8.7M in, $250M out | |||
| M&A Roll-Up Playbook: How Zayo Did 45 Acquisitions and Sold for $14B | Dan Caruso (Part 1) | 02 Apr 2026 | 01:07:37 | |
Dan Caruso, Managing Director, Caruso Ventures; Founding CEO of Zayo Group Dan Caruso built Zayo from a startup into a $14B+ bandwidth infrastructure platform through 45 acquisitions. In Part 1, he walks through the full buyer-led playbook: how the thesis was built on a contrarian bet that everyone else got wrong, how proprietary deals were sourced through early relationship-building, and why fast integration wasn't a reputation problem — it was a competitive advantage. He also breaks down the metric trap most roll-up operators fall into: mistaking EBITDA growth for true value creation. If your board is tracking acquisitions individually or your deal structure is loaded with earnouts, this conversation will challenge how you're running the program. What you'll learn:
Dan's approach to thesis validation, investor alignment, and platform value creation is documented in the Roll-Up Readiness Assessment inside the Intelligence Hub, a stage-gated guide built directly from this conversation. Access inside the Intelligence Hub — → Access inside the M&A Science Hub — members only. ____________________ This episode of M&A Science is presented by DealRoom. ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:00] Introduction: Dan Caruso and the Zayo Story [00:03:51] Background: From Ma Bell to MFS to Level Three [00:08:58] Lessons from WorldCom: What Fake Value Creation Looks Like [00:10:35] What First-Time Acquirers Get Wrong [00:12:39] Building the Zayo Thesis: Fiber Orphans and Accidental Owners [00:17:20] Raising Capital When You Have a Track Record [00:23:50] What Must Be True for the Thesis to Work [00:26:54] Why EBITDA Doesn't Measure Value Creation [00:29:15] The Danger of Tracking Acquisitions Individually [00:31:17] What Actually Drove Zayo's Success [00:36:10] Convincing Sellers: Proprietary Sourcing and Relationship Strategy [00:45:30] The Above Net Acquisition: Unsolicited, Fully Funded, at a Conference [00:51:02] Negotiation Tactics: Unpredictability, Silence, and Team Play [01:02:16] Deal Structure: Why Zayo Avoided Earnouts [01:03:56] Clean Cash Offers and Certainty of Close | |||
| Cross-Border M&A: Doing Deals in Latin America | 26 Mar 2026 | 01:00:02 | |
Rodrigo Dominguez Sotomayor, Partner at White & Case LLP Most US buyers approach Latin America M&A the same way they do a domestic deal — optimize the process, close fast, move on. That approach gets deals killed. Rodrigo Dominguez Sotomayor, Partner at White & Case LLP, has spent 25 years closing transactions across every major Latin America market. In this episode, he walks through what actually determines outcomes: antitrust consent timelines, labor regimes that make post-close restructuring expensive, and the relationship dynamics that can unwind a billion-dollar deal a week before signing. What You'll Learn In This Episode:
Your standard diligence process will miss things that kill LatAm deals — statutory severance you didn't model, title searches that go back a hundred years, antitrust consent timelines that block close for months, auctions where R&W insurance is already expected. Running diligence on a LatAm target right now? The M&A Science Hub has two resources built directly from this episode — the LATAM Diligence Delta Checklist and the Latin America M&A Entry Playbook — plus an AI tutor trained on 400+ practitioner conversations you can pressure-test your current deal against. Members get access before the episode goes public. → Access inside the Intelligence Hub — members only. ____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom Stop juggling six different tools to run one deal. DealRoom brings pipeline management, diligence tracking, document sharing, and team collaboration into one platform. Purpose-built for M&A teams who need to move fast without losing control. request your demo today: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:04:26] Rodrigo's background: 25 years across Latin America M&A [00:06:57] How a cross-border acquisition actually starts [00:10:17] Bilateral deals and family-owned businesses [00:12:52] Reading the room: when not to push on numbers [00:14:12] The billion-dollar deal that fell apart over 2% [00:20:02] Antitrust consent regimes across LatAm [00:29:49] The union leader story [00:27:14] Labor, employment, and statutory severance [00:34:04] Reps & warranties insurance: now standard in LatAm [00:38:44] Auction vs. bilateral: the 80/20 split [00:44:01] FinTech opportunity in Latin America [00:48:05] NVCA forms and deal documentation [00:52:48] Post-close integration: what actually determines success [00:55:51] Craziest Thing in M&A | |||
| Partnering Before Purchasing: How Booz Allen Wins Proprietary Deals Early | 19 Mar 2026 | 00:53:24 | |
Chrissy Cox, VP & Head of Corporate Development, Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton didn't build one of the most active acquisition programs in federal tech by waiting for banker inbounds. They built it by showing up years before anyone else. Chrissy Cox has built Booz Allen's corporate development function from scratch and done it twice. Her team was named Deal Team of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth, and under her leadership, roughly 80% of their acquisitions come from companies they already have a relationship with. That's not luck, it's a system. In this episode, she breaks down exactly how that system works — from pipeline development to cultural diligence to integration ownership — and what most corp dev teams get wrong before they ever get to LOI. What You'll Learn in This Episode
This episode is sponsored by M&A Science Intelligence Hub If you're trying to move from cold outreach to genuine relationship-building with targets, the Intelligence Hub has the Partner-First Acquisition Evaluation Playbook — a practitioner-built framework for structuring pre-acquisition partnerships, evaluating targets through the lens of existing relationships, and moving from partner to acquirer with conviction. Become an M&A Scientist at www.mascience.com/membership _____________________ This episode is also sponsored by DealRoom The best M&A teams close deals faster...not because they work harder, but because they have better systems. DealRoom helps you manage your entire deal lifecycle from target identification through close. No more hunting for documents or wondering what's blocking progress. Request a Demo today: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:00:00] Intro [00:04:20] Chrissy Cox's path into M&A [00:05:04] Building Booz Allen's corp dev function [00:10:32] How Booz Allen builds a proprietary deal pipeline [00:15:08] The partner-first approach to acquisitions [00:20:31] When founders should consider selling [00:23:49] Why culture can kill a great deal [00:29:40] Carve-out lessons from the PAR Government deal [00:33:24] Why founders should hire bankers [00:43:43] Integration: protect the secret sauce [00:48:01] The biggest mistakes in corporate development [00:49:33] The craziest thing about M&A | |||
| Cultural Fit Over EBITDA: How Salas O'Brien Built a 30-Merger Program Without a Single Failure | 12 Mar 2026 | 01:01:20 | |
Nathan Rust, Senior VP of Corporate Development, Salas O'Brien Salas O'Brien has completed 30+ mergers with a 100% success rate and 93% cumulative leadership retention. That doesn't happen by accident. Nathan Rust, Senior VP of Corp Dev, explains the system behind those numbers. He shares how they screen bad fits on the first call, why their CEO meets every employee from acquired firms, and how a founder-driven sourcing flywheel attracts inbound deals. In this episode: You'll learn how they screen 200+ opportunities a year down to the ones worth closing, why their initial diligence list is 10 questions, how reverse due diligence works as a real screening tool, and what CEO-led integration meetings mean for retention. The core argument: Cultural fit isn't a soft metric. Believe it or not, it's the primary filter for deals. EBITDA tells you what you're buying, but people tell you whether it survives. If you run corp dev at a people-intensive business and wonder why your post-close retention doesn't match your pre-close promises, this episode is for you. What You'll Learn in This Episode
____________________ This episode is sponsored by M&A Science If you're struggling to retain founder-led leadership teams post-close, the Hub has frameworks for cultural integration and leadership retention to help you actually deliver on what you promised at signing. Get access at www.mascience.com/membership _____________________ This episode is also sponsored by DealRoom The best M&A teams close deals faster...not because they work harder, but because they have better systems. DealRoom helps you manage your entire deal lifecycle from target identification through close. No more hunting for documents or wondering what's blocking progress. Request a Demo today: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:04:40] Nathan's Background & How It Shaped His M&A Philosophy [00:09:25] Why People Are the Primary Deal Filter [00:11:23] The Three Screening Criteria on Every First Call [00:16:51] Earnouts, Equity Rollover, and Employee Ownership [00:21:21] Deal Sourcing: Employee Referrals, Buy-Side Reps, Direct Outreach [00:33:37] How Introductory Calls Actually Run (And Why They're 90% Personal) [00:42:10] The 10-Question Diligence List & Reverse Due Diligence [00:47:50] Valuation Philosophy — Fair Offers, No Retrading [00:51:10] ESOP Deal Complexity & The Charlotte Deal Story [00:55:00] Integration: Why the CEO Meets Every Employee [00:57:44] The Craziest Thing in M&A | |||
| Cross-Border M&A: How to Do Deals in Italy with Mauro Sambati and Donato Romano | 05 Mar 2026 | 01:08:28 | |
Mauro Sambati, Partner – Gianni & Origoni Donato Romano, Partner – Gianni & Origoni Italy remains one of Europe's most attractive markets for foreign investment. But cross-border deals in Italy are shaped by regulatory scrutiny, strict labor laws, and unique cultural dynamics that many investors underestimate. In this episode, Mauro Sambati and Donato Romano, Partners at Gianni & Origoni, explain what it truly takes to structure and close successful transactions in Italy. What You'll Learn in This Episode
This episode offers a practical perspective for M&A leaders navigating complex decisions where clarity and conviction matter as much as valuation. Listen to the full episode to learn how strategic focus can define billion-dollar outcomes. _____________________ If you're structuring a cross-border deal in Europe, the Hub has practitioner-built playbooks and AI-assisted deal guidance to help you navigate regulatory clearance sequencing, minority governance, and founder transition dynamics. Become an M&A Scientist at www.mascience.com/membership _____________________ This episode is also sponsored by DealRoom DealRoom's State of M&A Report gives you data to back up your M&A priorities. The State of M&A Report reveals the gap between what teams think matters and where the real bottlenecks are. Download it now to get expert insights: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZxRvD0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:59] Guest Backgrounds & Italian Legal Market – Introduction to the partners at GOP and how Italy's full-service law firms support cross-border buyers. [00:08:47] Lessons from Early Cross-Border Deals – Why negotiation strategy, communication, and cultural awareness matter more than technical drafting. [00:11:03] Golden Power Regulations Explained – How Italy's FDI regime works, what sectors trigger review, and how geopolitical shifts expanded scrutiny. [00:17:40] Managing Regulatory Risk & Deal Timing – Practical steps for foreign buyers to navigate filings, conditions precedent, and approval timelines. [00:21:54] Cultural Differences in Buyer Behavior – How Japanese, Korean, UK, and US acquirers differ in speed, hierarchy, and decision-making. [00:29:46] Common Pitfalls for US Buyers in Italy – Employment law constraints, founder influence, and the risks of moving too fast post-acquisition. [00:35:40] Deal Sourcing in Italy – The shift from investment bank–led processes to lawyer-driven origination and evolving private equity activity. [00:42:20] Lockbox vs. Closing Accounts – How Italian deal structures have evolved, why private equity favors lockbox, and the mechanics behind each method. [00:48:50] Earnouts & Governance Tensions – Structuring short-term earnouts, aligning incentives, and balancing control with seller protections. [00:57:35] Labor Law & Retention Realities – Why layoffs are complex in Italy, union consultation requirements, and the cultural importance of employee continuity. [01:03:08] The Craziest Thing in M&A – An Italian founder let employees vote on the preferred buyer, choosing cultural fit over a higher private equity offer.
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| Four Questions That Defined a $1 Billion Deal with Robert Lovegrove | 26 Feb 2026 | 01:03:37 | |
When it comes to billion-dollar deals, success depends less on how much analysis is done and more on how clearly the organization aligns around what truly matters. In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Robert Lovegrove, President & CEO of The ChemQuest Group. Previously, as VP of Corporate Strategy at Milliken & Company, shares how one of the company's largest acquisitions was shaped by focus, discipline, and internal alignment. Rather than overwhelming the process with more diligence, leadership centered the decision around four core questions that clarified risk, built conviction, and guided a confident go / no-go decision. Robert also explains how adjacency-based M&A reduced execution risk, why trust mattered more than price in winning the deal, and how treating culture as a deal consideration—rather than an integration afterthought—helped unlock long-term growth. What You'll Learn in This Episode
This episode offers a practical perspective for M&A leaders navigating complex decisions where clarity and conviction matter as much as valuation. Listen to the full episode to learn how strategic focus can define billion-dollar outcomes. _____________________ This episode is brought to you by the M&A Science Intelligence Hub. You know that feeling when you're deep in a deal and something doesn't sit right, but you've already invested weeks into it? The Intelligence Hub helps you think like someone who's walked away from bad deals before — because they have. Pattern recognition from 400+ practitioner interviews, with citations back to the exact conversation. Join the professional membership at mascience.com/membership. _____________________ This episode is also sponsored by DealRoom Stop juggling six different tools to run one deal. DealRoom brings pipeline management, diligence tracking, document sharing, and team collaboration into one platform. Purpose-built for M&A teams who need to move fast without losing control. Request your demo today:https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:04:24] From Engineer to Strategy Chief – Robert Lovegrove's path from mechanical engineer to VP of Corporate Strategy at a 160-year-old family-owned industrial. [00:05:23] Designing for Dividends – Reorienting corporate strategy around stable dividend growth instead of pure enterprise value expansion. [00:09:24] Portfolio Surgery – Using market attractiveness vs. competitive position to rebalance cyclicality and reshape capital allocation. [00:10:26] The Adjacency Map Framework – Defining "right-to-win" expansion zones across technology, geography, business model, and customer verticals. [00:13:38] Tollgates Before IOI – Aligning board approval and capital allocation early to enter deals with conviction and certainty. [00:15:56] Day Two Strategy Integration – Building 7-year strategic plans with acquired teams to create solution co-ownership post-close. [00:21:07] Soft vs. Hard Synergies – Prioritizing growth conviction and scalable models over traditional cost-cutting synergies. [00:30:27] Winning with Emotional Alignment – Provoking sellers with vision-led conversations that secure management support—even without the highest bid. [00:38:09] Four Questions Behind a Billion-Dollar Deal – Testing technology defensibility, customer concentration risk, growth durability, and talent retention. [00:45:37] Capital Allocation Battles – How M&A competes with organic investments across 20 SBUs and dozens of profit centers. [00:51:16] Customer Awareness as Risk Control – Using third-party market interviews to prevent post-close revenue surprises. [00:58:50] The Craziest Thing in M&A – An 11th-hour closing crisis triggered by a messy divorce and disputed property title nearly derailing the deal
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| Stop Falling in Love with the Deal: Guardrails for High-Volume Acquisitions with Birgitta and Lars Elfversson | 19 Feb 2026 | 01:07:34 | |
Birgitta Elfversson, Non-executive director at Netlight Consulting AB Lars Elfversson, VP/Co-Founder, Netlight Consulting AB In fragmented industries, roll-ups are one of the most powerful strategies available. But high-volume acquisition programs come with hidden risks. Without discipline, complexity can quickly overwhelm value creation. In this episode, Birgitta Elfversson, Non-executive director at Netlight Consulting AB, and Lars Elfversson, VP/Co-Founder, Netlight Consulting AB, share hard-won lessons from building and governing multiple roll-up platforms. Drawing on their experience as operators, board members, and investors, they outline the structural guardrails required to execute consolidation strategies successfully. The conversation goes beyond sourcing and valuation to issues that determine long-term success. What you'll learn:
They also discuss governance discipline, board oversight, founder psychology, and the realities of market timing and exit decisions. If you're building or advising a roll-up platform, this episode is a practical guide to avoiding deal fever and installing the guardrails that protect strategy. _____________________ This episode is sponsored by DealRoom The best M&A teams close deals faster...not because they work harder, but because they have better systems. DealRoom helps you manage your entire deal lifecycle from target identification through close. No more hunting for documents or wondering what's blocking progress. Request a Demo today ____________________ Become an M&A Scientist: www.mascience.com/membership - $995/year for full access to the Intelligence Hub ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:38] From Organic Builder to PE Rollups – Lars and Birgitta contrast building companies 100% organically vs. scaling through programmatic M&A. [00:10:07] Validating the Rollup Thesis – How PE firms test market fundamentals, recruit operators, and pressure-test early industry hypotheses. [00:13:02] Defining the Acquisition Framework – Setting guardrails on size, profitability, services, and integration logic before chasing deals. [00:15:46] Avoiding Deal Fever with Massive Pipelines – Why long target lists prevent desperation, strategy drift, and "must-win" mistakes. [00:21:07] Saving Your Silver Bullets – How board members influence management without overplaying authority or derailing alignment. [00:23:43] Why Deals Go Off the Rails – How incentives, scarcity, and human bias quietly nudge teams away from original criteria. [00:29:10] Picking the Right Companies to Buy – The three core filters: business model, size compatibility, and profitability profile. [00:46:06] Integration Depth Drives Exit Value – Why partial integration destroys valuation and how buyers now scrutinize ERP, systems, and operational cohesion. [01:01:56] Signing 27 Deals in One Day – A firsthand look at high-velocity rollups and the operational intensity behind scaling platforms. [01:02:37] The Craziest Thing in M&A – Accounting "creativity," forward-recognized revenue, and a deal so distorted it forced a divestiture and loss. ____________________ Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| The Next Chapter After 400 Episodes | 16 Feb 2026 | 00:13:57 | |
No guest today. No interview. Just Kison talking directly to you. After 400 episodes and nearly 100 founding members, Kison wanted to give you a real update - where M&A Science has been, what we're building, and where this is going. In this episode:
If you've been part of this journey, this one's for you. Ready to join? Become an M&A Scientist: www.mascience.com/membership - $995/year for full access to the Intelligence Hub, live sessions, and practitioner community. Limited time: Become a member by March 1st, get $100 to the M&A Science shop. Want to contribute? Become a Deal Leader (20+ deals required): Email kison@mascience.com | |||
| Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform Strategy Before You Sign Part 2 with Ciprian Stan | 09 Feb 2026 | 00:44:24 | |
Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe Too many deals fail not because the strategy was wrong, but because execution realities surfaced too late. Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe, is back for part 2. In this portion of the interview, he shares a practitioner's perspective on why integration must inform strategy before a deal is signed, never after. The conversation explores why cultural non-negotiables rarely surface through checklists, how trust shapes execution outcomes, and why early commitments must survive post-close reality. Ciprian explains why integration leaders need to ask smarter questions, and how technology (including AI) should support judgment rather than replace it. This episode is for corp dev leaders, integration managers, and executives who want fewer surprises after close and more durable deal outcomes. If you missed part 1, make sure to catch that first, where we talk about building preliminary integration plans during diligence and why customization beats templates. Then come back for the trust and execution reality in part 2.
_____________________ Hitting pipeline or execution challenges? The State of M&A Report shows what other deal teams are dealing with and how they're adapting. Download the full report today: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZxRvD0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:04:29] Knowing When to Kill a Deal – Why smart executives walk away when sunk costs, ego, and reputation start driving bad decisions. [00:05:12] Integration Non-Negotiables – The critical role of a "red team" and trusted challengers in stress-testing deal assumptions early. [00:05:50] Custom Diligence, Not Checkbox M&A – How tailoring diligence to the deal thesis prevents wasted effort and missed risks. [00:06:25] The Thousand-Checklist Trap – Why dumping massive integration plans on teams backfires—and how to narrow focus without losing rigor. [00:07:28] Diligence Should Shape Integration – Aligning integration plans directly to value drivers uncovered during diligence. [00:10:17] Pre-Signing Integration Plans – Why having a preliminary integration roadmap before signing is essential to execution and accountability. [00:11:55] Trust Is the Real Integration Currency – How trust matters more after close than before—and how it's easily damaged. [00:15:18] Earn-Outs That Blow Up Trust – How overlapping acquisitions can quietly sabotage earn-outs and poison seller relationships. [00:19:29] When Culture and Ops Both Fail – The red-line rule: why deals with both operational and cultural issues should not get done. [00:23:03] AI, IP, and the Future of M&A Work – Why technology is becoming commoditized and experience-driven judgment is the real differentiator. [00:33:58] Defining IP in the Tech Era – Debating whether intellectual property lies in the technology itself or in unique, qualitative content and human insight. I have a question like what IP [00:47:10] The Craziest Thing in M&A – A deal dies after buyers are forbidden from entering one room during diligence—raising irreversible trust red flags. ____________________ Questions, comments, concerns? Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A. | |||
| Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform Strategy Before You Sign Part 1 with Ciprian Stan | 02 Feb 2026 | 00:58:09 | |
Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe Most M&A deals fail because integration was "something to figure out later". By the time execution realities, cultural risks, and people impacts surface, the deal is locked, and teams must work around untested assumptions. In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe, explains that integration must be a strategic input to increase chances of success.
_____________________ Want to know what 100+ deal professionals learned in 2025? ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:03:38] From Computer Science to M&A Integration – How an engineering background shaped Ciprian's integration mindset. [00:07:41] First Exposure to M&A by Accident – Learning integration the hard way through a CBRE–Johnson Controls acquisition. [00:10:18] Systems Thinking in Integration – Why no single workstream (IT, culture, ops) should dominate integration. [00:13:54] Proactive vs. Reactive Buyers – How deliberate M&A strategy outperforms impulse and competitive-response deals. [00:16:08] What "Good Strategy" Actually Looks Like – Using geographic and capability gaps to drive successful acquisitions. [00:21:40] Why Integration Must Be Involved Early – How late involvement leads to unexecutable deal strategies. [00:23:47] LOI Reality Check – Managing uncertainty, pricing flexibility, and risk before committing to a deal. [00:33:19] Three Schools of Thought on Culture – Ignoring culture, adapting to it, or using it as a value-creation lever. [00:43:53] The Case for Time Between Sign and Close – Why integration planning works best with a deliberate gap before closing. ____________________ Questions, comments, concerns? Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A. | |||
| How Experienced Buyers Actually Make M&A Work with Carlos Cesta | 26 Jan 2026 | 01:04:16 | |
Carlos Cesta, Partner at Makanta Services M&A isn't just about closing deals, it's about making the deal actually work. Carlos Cesta, M&A advisor and founder of his own boutique advisory practice, spent 30 years on the buy-side at Verizon, Dentsu, Presidio, and NP Digital. He's worked 125+ deals across telecom, advertising, and digital marketing. Now he's flipped to advisory, bringing that buy-side operator mindset to entrepreneurs preparing for exit. In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Carlos Cesta, Partner at Makanta Services, breaks down how seasoned buyers really think about M&A. Not as a linear process, but as a series of decisions that constantly reshape one another. Carlos shares why strategy is as much about what not to pursue, and he also explains why one-size-fits-all deal templates fail, how earnouts are often misused, and what experienced buyers do differently to protect value after closing.
_____________________ 💡Running M&A with a lean team? DealRoom helps you do more with less. Manage your pipeline, coordinate diligence, track deliverables, and keep stakeholders aligned- all in one place. 👉See it in action by requesting a demo:https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:03:34] Carlos Cesta Background – 30 years in corporate development across Verizon, Dentsu, Presidio, and NP Digital with 125+ deals executed. [00:05:27] Standing Up M&A from Zero – What it really takes to build an M&A function when no corporate development muscle exists. [00:09:32] Strategy Before Transactions – Why defining what NOT to buy is more important than chasing opportunistic deals. [00:11:05] Programmatic M&A Through Cycles – How repeatable, strategy-led M&A creates value across economic and technology shifts. [00:14:21] Blending Venture and M&A Thinking – Using VC-style investments to manage disruption and future-proof acquisition strategy. [00:17:23] The Deal Spiral Framework – Why deal structure, diligence, and integration must evolve together, not linearly. [00:21:57] Designing the End State First – Starting with culture, leadership, and go-to-market alignment before signing an LOI. [00:30:21] Creative Earnout Engineering – Structuring earnouts to de-risk deals while aligning seller incentives. [00:36:39] Optimizing for Outcome, Not Closing – Why long-term performance matters more than deal certainty or headline price. [00:59:14] Craziest M&A Story – A cautionary tale about diligence failures involving a meth lab explosion. ____________________ Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| A Founder's Guide to Lean M&A Strategy with Christian Hassold | 19 Jan 2026 | 01:14:30 | |
Christian Hassold, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wpromote x Giant Spoon Christian has been on both sides of M&A as a serial founder and corporate development leader. In this episode, Christian shares his hard-earned lessons about culture as the ultimate deal-breaker in M&A. He breaks down the subtle red flags that founders miss when evaluating acquisition targets, explains why he interviews employees before talking to investors, and shares the fascinating story of acquiring a competitor that was shutting down—where culture assessment made all the difference. Christian also introduces his 5-pillar lean M&A framework and explains why "commit to close" doesn't mean ignoring red flags, but rather cataloging them until you have enough evidence that culture fit is fundamentally broken.
Things You'll Learn
_____________ 💡Stop juggling six different tools to run one deal. DealRoom brings pipeline management, diligence tracking, document sharing, and team collaboration into one platform. Purpose-built for M&A teams who need to move fast without losing control. 👉Request your demo today:https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 _____________ Episode Chapters[00:03:00] The Entrepreneur's Path to Corporate Development – How building and selling three companies shaped Christian's view on culture fit [00:10:30] Three Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Deal – Why assuming nothing about culture and motivations is critical [00:13:00] The Lean M&A Framework for Culture Assessment – Five pillars that put people and culture at the center of deal evaluation [00:16:00] Deep Dive the Business: Beyond Numbers – Why talking to customers and employees reveals culture gaps before they kill deals [00:22:30] Commit to Close vs. Catalog Red Flags – When dishonesty, fraud, or culture misalignment should stop a deal immediately [00:27:00] Culture as the Ultimate Deal-Breaker – The difference between management style preferences and irreconcilable cultural dysfunction [00:31:00] Post-Merger Integration Starts Day One – Why the PMI team needs a front-row seat on culture assessment from the IOI forward [00:54:30] The Hub Logics Story: Interviewing Employees First – How Christian uncovered the real reasons a competitor failed by talking to the team
Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| How Integration Debt, Cultural Friction, and Communication Failures Kill M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan | 12 Jan 2026 | 00:34:27 | |
Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader Donara Jaghinyan, returns for Part 2 of our conversation on what actually breaks integrations after the deal closes. This episode tackles the messy reality of post-merger execution: integration debt that piles up when long-tail items don't get done, change management as a practical framework (not corporate fluff), and the cultural friction that surfaces in cross-border deals. Donara shares firsthand experiences navigating gender-based hierarchy in Middle Eastern TSA negotiations, building trust across geographies, and managing the communication breakdowns that create employee uncertainty. If you missed Part 1, listen to that first—then come back for the operational realities that determine whether your deal actually delivers value.
_____________ 💡 Today's Episode is Sponsored by DealRoom The best M&A teams close deals faster...not because they work harder, but because they have better systems. DealRoom helps you manage your entire deal lifecycle from target identification through close. No more hunting for documents or wondering what's blocking progress. 👉Request a Demo today: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 __________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:00] What Is Integration Debt and Why Track It – Long-tail items that don't close in 90 days and how to prevent them from getting lost after handoff [00:04:00] Change Management: Framework, Not Fluff – How change management sits on top of integration like Agile and why it's about experience, not just execution [00:06:00] Culture Isn't a Scapegoat—It's Strategy – Three approaches to culture in M&A: old-school "figure it out," progressive tailoring, and proactive culture transformation [00:11:00] Implementing Change Management from Scratch – Surveys, assessments, and identifying change agents who can influence adoption before mass rollout [00:17:30] US Work Standards Don't Translate Globally – Why European lunch breaks and Middle Eastern approval hierarchies require adaptation, not enforcement [00:19:00] Gender and Hierarchy in Cross-Border TSAs – Donara's experience navigating decision-making challenges as a woman in Middle Eastern TSA negotiations [00:21:00] Building Trust Across Borders – Human connections that smooth working relationships and create execution momentum [00:24:00] Where Friction Actually Shows Up – Communication gaps, leadership changes, and employee uncertainty that derail integration plans [00:27:00] What Goes Wrong and How to Go Fast – Delays, plan shifts, leadership turnover, and why IMOs push back on unrealistic timelines [00:30:00] The Craziest Things in M&A – From TSAs resolved by title hierarchy to founders walking away from earn-outs mid-integration.
Questions, comments, concerns?
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| Why Integrations Break: TSAs, Carve-Outs, and the Hidden Dependencies That Derail M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan | 05 Jan 2026 | 00:45:14 | |
Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader Donara joins us to pull back the curtain on why integrations break—and what it actually takes to make them work. With deep experience across healthcare, SaaS, professional services, and financial services in both public and PE-backed environments, Donara has led diligence, post-close integration, TSA execution, and enterprise system implementations. This episode tackles the hard truths about carve-outs, TSA management, day-one readiness, and the cross-functional dependencies that most teams miss until it's too late. If you've ever wondered why integration timelines slip or costs balloon, this conversation delivers the answers.
_____________ 💡 Tired of spending weeks organizing seller documents and building diligence checklists from scratch? DealRoom helps M&A teams cut manual review time and move faster through diligence. Automatically organize messy data rooms, surface risks earlier, and generate tailored diligence requests in seconds—so your team can focus on analysis, not admin work. 👉 See how AI can streamline your next deal: dealroom.net/ai __________________ Episode Timestamps [00:02:30] From International Relations to M&A Integration – Donara's unconventional path from Armenia to becoming a full-time integration leader in Boston [00:04:00] The Dependency Problem No One Sees Coming – Why integration isn't just about systems or people—it's about understanding what breaks when you miss upstream and downstream connections [00:06:00] Why You Can't Just Promote a PM to IMO – The critical difference between project management and integration program leadership [00:07:00] What Gets Underestimated in Carve-Outs – Scope creep, vendor negotiations, and people gaps that blindside even experienced teams [00:09:00] TSAs Are Projects, Not Contracts – Why treating TSAs as temporary extensions instead of hard deadlines creates integration debt and cost overruns [00:13:00] Managing Two Carve-Outs Simultaneously – The story of integrating two business units with heavy TSAs, cross-border complexity, and mismatched organizational structures [00:19:00] Getting IMO Involved Before LOI – How early integration involvement during diligence creates smoother execution and realistic timelines [00:30:00] Day One Readiness and the 30/60/90 Framework – What actually happens from day one through the first 90 days, including controls, discovery, and execution milestones [00:37:00] Integration Governance That Actually Works – Structuring steering committees, functional cadences, and escalation paths that keep deals on track [00:40:00] The Integration Kickoff That Sets the Tone – What to cover, who to involve, and how to align teams on why the deal matters Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| Building Your M&A Reputation: Why Relationships Beat Transactions Every Time with Andrew Cohen | 22 Dec 2025 | 01:08:16 | |
Andy Cohen, Vice President of Corporate Development at F5 Things you will learn:
_____________ 💡 Tired of spending weeks organizing seller documents and building diligence checklists from scratch? DealRoom helps M&A teams cut manual review time and move faster through diligence. Automatically organize messy data rooms, surface risks earlier, and generate tailored diligence requests in seconds—so your team can focus on analysis, not admin work. 👉 See how AI can streamline your next deal: dealroom.net/ai __________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. If you're in corp dev or PE, you know the pain — good private company data is hard to come by. Everyone's still chasing clean, reliable, up-to-date data. I started out using CapIQ Pro for public comps, but didn't realize until recently how deep their private company coverage has gotten. Over 58 million private companies, global reach, and actually usable for real deal work. This isn't surface-level. You get real metrics — ownership, financials, funding rounds, even asset-level insights. So if you're still toggling between a dozen tools trying to piece together the picture, maybe it's time to stop guessing and start sourcing better. _____________ Episode Timestamps
Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| My Daughter Interviews Me About M&A | Holiday Special Episode with Shyla Patel | 15 Dec 2025 | 01:07:26 | |
In this special father-daughter episode, My daughter interviews me on my new book on Buyer-Led M&A™. We break down the framework built from over 400 practitioner interviews—covering why traditional M&A is flawed, how to shift from reactive auction-chasing to proactive deal sourcing, and why integration planning must begin during diligence.
____________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: __________________ Buyer-Led M&A™: The Framework is Now Available Traditional M&A is broken. Buyers chase auctions. Sellers control the process. It's reactive, inefficient, and exhausting. After 300+ episodes of M&A Science, I've taken insights from the world's top corp dev leaders and distilled them into a practical framework for taking control of your M&A pipeline—how to source deals directly, build relationships earlier, and stop being auction-chasers. If you'd like to build a proactive M&A program that founders actually want to engage with, you can grab your copy. Access proven templates, frameworks, and real operator insights — all designed to help you learn faster, make smarter decisions, and run Buyer-Led M&A with confidence. Episode Timestamps [00:00:00] Introduction to Buyer-Led M&A – Kison introduces his new book and the framework for flipping traditional M&A from reactive to proactive deal-making. [00:05:30] The M&A Science Origin Story [00:08:30] The Maturity Curve Problem – Why companies make catastrophic mistakes on their first deal and how the buyer-led framework accelerates learning. [00:12:30] Integration Is Where Value Lives – Understanding that the real work starts after close and why planning integration early prevents people from quitting. [00:19:00] M&A Has a Design Problem, Not an Execution Problem – Why focusing on closing deals instead of making deals successful creates systemic failure. [00:25:00] The Five Pillars of Buyer-Led M&A – Breaking down never M&A on impulse, unified tools, synchronized diligence-integration, scalability, and win-win approaches. [00:37:30] The Three Coats of Conviction – How reactive positioning, integration negligence, and model mirage derail even well-intentioned deals. [00:49:00] What Elite Buyers Do Differently – Early alignment, clear accountability, defined operating models, and building M&A as an organizational muscle. [00:54:00] Proprietary Deal Sourcing Beats Auctions – The house-buying analogy that illustrates why doing the hard work of finding your own deals creates better outcomes. [01:00:30] The Single Most Important Takeaway – Own your assumptions, validate them through rigorous work, and lead the process instead of letting sellers drive it. Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| How to Score Culture Fit in M&A with Sharon Van Zeeland | 08 Dec 2025 | 00:59:32 | |
Sharon Van Zeeland, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rockwell Automation
____________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: __________________ Buyer-Led M&A™: The Framework is Now Available Traditional M&A is broken. Buyers chase auctions. Sellers control the process. It's reactive, inefficient, and exhausting. After 300+ episodes of M&A Science, I've taken insights from the world's top corp dev leaders and distilled them into a practical framework for taking control of your M&A pipeline—how to source deals directly, build relationships earlier, and stop being auction-chasers. If you'd like to build a proactive M&A program that founders actually want to engage with, you can grab your copy. Access proven templates, frameworks, and real operator insights — all designed to help you learn faster, make smarter decisions, and run Buyer-Led M&A with confidence. [00:02:30] From Engineering to Corp Dev – How Sharon's electrical engineering background shaped her analytical approach to evaluating all deal variables, including the unexpected correlation between employee retention and new product introductions. [00:05:30] Owning the Full Lifecycle – Why Rockwell expanded Sharon's role to include strategy, M&A, integration, and venture investing, creating an enterprise-wide view with quarterly reviews and closed-loop learning. [00:08:30] The Cultural Wake-Up Call – The story of how Rockwell acquired a small software company and nearly derailed a customer's drug development timeline because they missed evaluating decision-making authority during diligence. [00:12:00] Building a Culture Scoring System – How Rockwell uses a 50-item survey to create numerical rankings (0-5 scale) across cultural dimensions, then visualizes gaps and similarities in graphs that are "worth a thousand words." [00:19:00] Integration Playbooks by Company Size – Why Rockwell developed separate playbooks for small, mid-size, and large acquisitions, and how they determine whether to leave companies alone, partially integrate, or fully absorb. [00:27:00] Getting Deals Actionable – Sharon's unconventional negotiation stories: securing hunting land rights for a Texas seller, letting an owner keep his beloved company truck, and guaranteeing 4th of July parade sponsorships. [00:38:30] Marrying Diligence and Integration – The shift from waiting until closing to starting integration planning before LOI, including how Rockwell pairs each integration leader with a corresponding person on the target side. [00:46:00] Continuous Learning Through Retrospectives – How Rockwell conducts retrospectives after every deal phase—not immediately after closing, but six months to a year later when they can truly assess what worked. [00:49:00] AI's Impact on M&A – Sharon's perspective on how AI is changing deal flow and diligence processes, plus a cautionary tale about AI hallucinations incorrectly identifying a public company as private. [00:52:00] Data Beyond Financials – Why corp dev leaders should track employee retention rates, promotion rates, new product introduction velocity, and customer complaints as cultural success indicators. Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| Making M&A Boring (And Why That's a Good Thing) with Leon Brujis | 01 Dec 2025 | 01:07:50 | |
Leon Brujis, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. at 65 Equity Partners Leon Brujis shares how his firm is redefining private equity through non-control investments in founder-led businesses. In this conversation, Leon breaks down why the best companies are never for sale, how immigrant adaptability translates to investing success, and why boring, disciplined deal-making consistently outperforms flashy transactions. He also walks through his framework for negotiating term sheets and building relationships that span years before cutting checks north of $200 million. Things You'll Learn
____________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: __________________ Buyer-Led M&A™: The Framework is Now Available Traditional M&A is broken. Buyers chase auctions. Sellers control the process. It's reactive, inefficient, and exhausting. After 300+ episodes of M&A Science, I've taken insights from the world's top corp dev leaders and distilled them into a practical framework for taking control of your M&A pipeline—how to source deals directly, build relationships earlier, and stop being auction-chasers. If you'd like to build a proactive M&A program that founders actually want to engage with, you can grab your copy. Access proven templates, frameworks, and real operator insights — all designed to help you learn faster, make smarter decisions, and run Buyer-Led M&A with confidence. __________________ Episode Chapters [00:01:00] From Engineering to Wall Street – How Leon's immigrant journey led him from Lehman Brothers to 20+ years in private equity [00:05:30] The Immigrant Advantage – Why cultural adaptability creates flexibility in deal-making and relationship management [00:10:00] The 65 Equity Model – Non-control investments in founder-led businesses generating $20-100M EBITDA [00:16:00] Pull vs. Push Value Creation – Why partnership capital relies on influence, not mandates [00:24:00] Underwriting Relationships First – Spending 1-2 years building conviction before writing $200M+ checks [00:33:00] Crisis of Comfort – Getting comfortable being uncomfortable as the key to growth in business and life [00:43:00] Making M&A Boring – Why consistency and discipline beat motivation and excitement every time [00:48:00] Term Sheet Negotiation Framework – The five buckets that matter: value, structure, governance, strategy, and exit [00:56:30] Running a Competitive Process – How to balance broad outreach with targeted relationship-building [01:01:00] The Craziest Thing in M&A – When deal fever overtakes discipline and creates the next crisis __________________ Questions, comments, concerns?
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| Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with Brandon Batt | 24 Nov 2025 | 00:57:34 | |
Brandon Batt – Chief People and Transformation Officer at Quadient Brandon Batt joins us to discuss how successful M&A integration starts long before you sign an LOI. Brandon shares how Quadient built M&A capability across the organization through strategic hiring, created a transformation office that breaks down traditional silos, and executed portfolio transformation through dozens of acquisitions and divestitures. Learn why the secret to integration success isn't just about playbooks—it's about building M&A muscle into your team from day one. Things You'll Learn
____________________ Share Your M&A Experience for the Chance at $500 Giftcard M&A moved fast in 2025. But what actually changed? We're collecting real insights from practitioners—not consultants on the sidelines—to understand how corp dev teams, PE firms, and advisors are adapting. Takes 10 min. Get early access to results + chance at $500 gift card. Share your experience: https://hubs.ly/Q03Rr89G0 ____________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: __________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:30] Building a Transformation Office – How Quadient structured M&A, HR, legal, and sustainability under one umbrella to drive seamless execution [00:05:00] Portfolio Simplification Through M&A – Starting transformation with strategic divestitures before adding new capabilities through acquisitions [00:10:00] The Pre-LOI Integration Planning Model – Why strategic operations teams get involved in due diligence from the beginning, not after the deal is signed [00:16:00] Human Connection as M&A Secret Sauce – Building trust with founders and management teams before discussing price and terms [00:21:00] Hiring for M&A Muscle – Why M&A readiness starts with recruiting people who have transaction experience across key business functions [00:28:00] Evolving M&A Maturity – Getting more formal about talent assessment and playbooks while giving teams autonomy to move fast [00:33:00] Founder-Led Business Challenges – Learning to structure deals and set expectations upfront when acquiring companies led by first-time sellers [00:42:00] Collaboration Without Hierarchy – How "collaborate like crazy" became a cultural principle that breaks down silos in M&A execution [00:47:00] Deal Story: Meeting in London During COVID – Why some deals still require getting on a plane, even during a pandemic [00:51:00] AI in M&A and the Human Element – Balancing technology efficiency with the human intuition that uncovers critical deal insights __________________ Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| Strategic M&A Framework: IFS's Acquisition Playbook with Rachel Hindley | 17 Nov 2025 | 01:02:25 | |
Rachel Hindley, Vice President of Corporate Development, IFS Rachel oversees transformative acquisitions for the global leader in industrial AI and enterprise software. In this episode, Rachel shares how IFS navigates the unique dynamics of having three major private equity backers—EQT, HG, and TA Associates—while executing strategic deals that enhance their portfolio. She breaks down IFS's four acquisition archetypes (product bolt-ons, customer migration, market entry, and new platforms), explains why integration and value creation must be separated, and reveals how the company is adapting its strategy for early-stage AI acquisitions. M&A professionals will learn how to build repeatable frameworks, maintain cultural continuity during integration, and balance stakeholder priorities in complex deal environments.
____________________ Share Your M&A Experience for the Chance at $500 Giftcard M&A moved fast in 2025. But what actually changed? We're collecting real insights from practitioners—not consultants on the sidelines—to understand how corp dev teams, PE firms, and advisors are adapting. Takes 10 min. Get early access to results + chance at $500 gift card. Share your experience: https://hubs.ly/Q03Rr89G0 ____________________ Grata is the leading private market dealmaking platform. With its best-in-class AI workflows and investment-grade data, Grata helps investors, advisors, and strategic acquirers effortlessly discover, research, and connect with potential targets — all in one sleek, user-friendly interface. __________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: __________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:30] From Tax to Corp Dev – Rachel's unconventional path from PwC tax structuring to leading M&A at a global software company. [00:05:00] Managing Three PE Backers – How IFS leverages deep support from EQT, HG, and TA Associates while navigating different investment horizons and exit expectations. [00:12:30] Four Acquisition Archetypes – Breaking down IFS's strategic framework: product bolt-ons, customer migration, market entry, and new platform deals. [00:18:00] The AI Acquisition Challenge – Why IFS acquired The Loops despite it being smaller and earlier-stage than typical targets, and what it means for their agentic platform. [00:26:00] The Standalone Strategy – How IFS kept Poka as a standalone business to preserve culture and agility while still achieving cross-sell synergies. [00:31:00] In-House Commercial Diligence – Why IFS brings dozens of people into due diligence and keeps most work in-house rather than outsourcing to consultants. [00:37:30] Integration vs. Value Creation – The critical distinction between systems integration and value creation that determines whether deals hit their business case projections. [00:43:00] Cultural Retention Tactics – From MacBooks to Slack, the small decisions that make or break retention of key talent in acquired companies. [00:52:30] Building Trust Before the Deal – Why bilateral deals trump auction processes and how face-to-face relationship building accelerates transaction timelines. [00:59:00] Corporate Venture 2.0 – How fast-moving AI markets are pushing IFS to consider series financing and call options instead of traditional full acquisitions. __________________ Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| Mastering Carve-Out Transactions with Keith Crawford | 10 Nov 2025 | 00:58:07 | |
Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation, brings over 20 years of expertise executing some of the most intricate custody business carve-outs in financial services. In this episode, Keith breaks down the realities of carve-out transactions—from proactive deal sourcing and dependency mapping to navigating TSAs and post-close integration. He shares hard-won lessons on avoiding common pitfalls like scope creep, third-party contract renegotiations, and employee retention challenges that can derail even the most promising deals.
____________________ Share Your M&A Experience for the Chance at $500 Giftcard M&A moved fast in 2025. But what actually changed? We're collecting real insights from practitioners—not consultants on the sidelines—to understand how corp dev teams, PE firms, and advisors are adapting. Takes 10 min. Get early access to results + chance at $500 gift card. Share your experience: https://hubs.ly/Q03Rr89G0 ____________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: Episode Chapters: [00:03:30] From Accountant to M&A Leader – Keith's journey from audit to becoming a dealmaking general contractor ____________________ | |||
| Integration-Led M&A: Cisco's Approach to Deal Success Part 2 with Johanna Jaakola and Tesia Hostetler | 03 Nov 2025 | 00:45:43 | |
Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco
_____________________ M&A Doesn't Have to Be So Painful 💔 Get Optimized with DealRoom 👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process at DealRoom.net ____________________ This episode is brought to you by S&P Global. Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Learn More Here: | |||
| Integration-Led Diligence: Cisco's M&A Approach with Johanna Jaakola & Tesia Hostetle | 27 Oct 2025 | 00:39:39 | |
Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco
____________________ Only 3 Days Left to Register for the Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit. ____________________ M&A Doesn't Have to Be So Painful 💔🥀 Get Optimized with DealRoom 👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:00] Cisco's Integration Leadership Team [00:06:00] Role Clarity – Integration Lead vs. Integration Practice Leader [00:10:00] How Cisco evolved from integration showing up late to embedding integration thinking at the earliest deal thesis conversations. [00:15:00] Testing Assumptions Through Diligence [00:22:00] How Cisco reorganized corporate development to eliminate silos between deal strategy and integration execution, creating tighter feedback loops. [00:29:00] Two-Stage Approvals – Protecting Value with Structured Gates
Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| When Integration Beats Roll-Ups with Tim Hall | 20 Oct 2025 | 01:12:42 | |
Tim Hall - Managing Partner and Founder, Brenton Point Capital Tim brings 29 years of private equity experience to this conversation about what actually works in buy-and-build strategies. After launching Brenton Point in 2024 following a 20-year run at CI Capital Partners, where he completed 200+ acquisitions across 12 platforms, Tim breaks down the independent sponsor model and why integration—not just aggregation—is the real value driver. He walks through building platforms from scratch, the executive-first strategy for fragmented markets, and how standardized integration playbooks turn acquired companies into cohesive, high-performing businesses.
____________________ The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back. ____________________ Grata is the leading private market dealmaking platform. With its best-in-class AI workflows and investment-grade data, Grata helps investors, advisors, and strategic acquirers effortlessly discover, research, and connect with potential targets — all in one sleek, user-friendly interface. __________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:00] The GE Capital Training Ground – How Tim's early experience with expert networks shaped his approach to surrounding deals with industry advisors who invest alongside him [00:04:30] Starting companies with zero revenue by hiring CEOs first, then building deal pipelines in fragmented industries like funeral services [00:06:00] Why deal-by-deal capital raising enables longer hold periods, eliminates fund-driven decisions, and captures more value creation in the back half [00:11:30] Finding and Aligning Operators – Sourcing executives through recruiting firms willing to co-invest, and structuring 15% management equity pools for maximum alignment [00:22:00] Using buy-side search firms to validate thesis and create deal flow before platform acquisition, touching 2,000+ companies to close 200 deals [00:27:00] Why acquiring is easy but integrating is hard, and how culture assessment, facility tours, and team retention determine success [00:49:00] Hub, Spoke, and Route Strategy – Three acquisition types for platform building: regional hubs with management depth, spoke deals for synergies, and route buys for pure customer acquisition [00:52:00] The 150-Point Integration Playbook [00:58:30] One-Page Strategic Plans – Keeping teams aligned on priorities from monthly goals to five-year vision with a single dense but powerful reference document [01:04:00] The Herd Mentality Warning – How quickly industries go from undiscovered to overcrowded, and why being the 30th platform in a space means you're already too late Questions, comments, concerns? | |||
| Buyer-Led M&A™ Strategy at Snowflake with Stefan WIlliams | 06 Oct 2025 | 00:55:46 | |
Stefan Williams - Vice President of Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake Stefan Williams, Vice President of Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake, leads the company's acquisition strategy, corporate venture capital, and startup accelerator programs. In this episode, Stefan takes us inside Snowflake's disciplined, culture-first approach to M&A—from building the corporate development function from scratch to executing 20+ acquisitions while maintaining breakneck organic growth. He shares hard-won lessons on integration accountability, why relationships matter more than auctions, and how to balance proactive deal-making with the realities of a fast-moving AI landscape.
___________________ The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back. ____________________ Join us for the 3rd M&A Science Fair IN PERSON Get pure, off-the-record collaboration between corporate development, private equity, and integration leaders. Instead of passive listening, you'll be sharing real frameworks, trading ideas, and testing what actually works in modern deal execution. Everything's practitioner-led, and every topic is surfaced by the attendees themselves. October 16th — NYC ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:30] From Banking to Building – Stefan's journey from investment banking to building corporate development teams at ServiceNow and Snowflake [00:04:30] How the "amp it up" mentality shapes every aspect of operations, including M&A strategy [00:07:00] Why high-growth companies must begin with digestible acquisitions to develop integration capabilities [00:10:00] Week One Playbook – How to build a corporate development function from scratch by interviewing product leaders and aligning on strategy [00:14:00] Managing internal relationships across product, engineering, and go-to-market to maintain strategic clarity [00:21:00] Strategic Ventures, Not Financial Bets [00:27:00] Integration DRIs and the Marriage Analogy [00:37:30] Managing Three Concurrent Deals [00:42:00] Why nearly all 20 Snowflake acquisitions involved prior relationships and how buyer-led strategy wins [00:48:30] Navigating the AI Explosion – Staying current in a landscape where companies scale from zero to $100M in years, not decades Questions, comments, concerns?
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| Corporate Development Strategy: Notion's M&A Approach with Hilary Shirazi | 30 Sep 2025 | 01:02:21 | |
Hilary Shirazi - Head of Corporate Development at Notion Hilary Shirazi, Head of Corporate Development at Notion, brings over a decade of M&A experience from LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Zendesk to discuss building corporate development strategy at high-growth tech companies. She shares her proven deal thesis methodology, the "Four T's" framework for categorizing acquisitions, and why integration without an IMO might be the better approach for agile teams.
___________________ The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back. ____________________ Join us for the 3rd M&A Science Fair IN PERSON Get pure, off-the-record collaboration between corporate development, private equity, and integration leaders. Instead of passive listening, you'll be sharing real frameworks, trading ideas, and testing what actually works in modern deal execution. Everything's practitioner-led, and every topic is surfaced by the attendees themselves. October 16th — NYC ____________________ Episode Chapters[00:02:00] Hilary's career evolution and why in-house M&A beats advisory work [00:05:00] Building M&A Best Practices – Why starting at a mature organization teaches critical fundamentals before going solo [00:08:30] Getting to know executives' M&A fears and biases before sourcing deals [00:11:00] The Deal Thesis Methodology – Creating strategy documents before naming targets to avoid "solution shopping" [00:16:00] Deal Sponsor Selection [00:20:00] Front-Loading Vision Alignment [00:30:00] The Four T's Framework – Categorizing acquisitions as Talent, Tech, Traction, or Terrain deals [00:35:00] Integration Without IMO – Why Corp Dev should own integration instead of handing off to separate teams [00:42:00] Using Notion for M&A [00:51:00] AI in Corporate Development | |||