Part of the 30-Point EBITDA Transformation journey.
The Complexity
The deal teams had modeled the synergies and market expansion. What they hadn’t modeled was the human complexity. The German acquisition happened during COVID with no ability to build in-person relationships. The UK company, through previous acquisitions, had teams across the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria. The existing organization already included US and UK teams along with outsourced consulting teams in India, Albania/Kosovo, and Bangladesh.
Some people had been through an M&A before. Others had worked at the same company for 30 years as their only job. Both integrations included workforce reductions, which added emotional weight to every interaction.
The Approach
I incorporated acquired leadership directly into my global leadership team, aligning leaders with cultural and language connections where possible. I traveled to every location multiple times, building relationships in person and maintaining consistent executive presence across the organization. I hired a Chief of Staff based in Europe to provide ongoing support and proximity to the teams. Key systems were integrated in the first 90 days of each acquisition.
Across the growing portfolio, I built and deployed a product portfolio investment model that became the governance framework for strategic product decisions.
Outcomes
- Two European acquisitions integrated: German public carve-out and UK public-to-private
- Key systems integrated within 90 days for each acquisition
- Revenue grew 2.5X across the combined platform
- Global team operating across US, Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, Bulgaria, India, Albania/Kosovo, and Bangladesh
- Product portfolio investment model adopted as ongoing governance
Whether an acquisition creates value or destroys it depends on understanding how the people experience the change. When the team spans a dozen countries and ranges from M&A veterans to people who’ve never worked anywhere else, that understanding is the integration.