My guest, Ryan Galea, is the first guest in a CEO series I’m doing with search CEOs who acquired their companies within the last 3 years and have early lessons and emotions in their very recent, or current, memory. The series aims to learn strategies and hear stories from early career CEOs about how to manage the first couple of years running a new company. 

Ryan acquired VoiceFriend in August of '21, a communications platform for nursing homes and senior living facilities. Then less than a year later acquired a second business Caremerge which offers engagement software for senior living. Ryan and I discuss managing people and tasks, internal communication, change management with an acquisition vs a merger, and what’s gone differently than expected.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Links:

Ryan on LinkedIn

VoiceFriend (Now Icon)

Caremerge

Topics:

(4:25) - Ryan’s career

(10:48) - How do you Prioritize tasks and which ones to delegate?

(11:59) - What’s your process for training someone to do a task you’ve previously done yourself?

(13:56) - How do you think about the way you phrase things given your role as CEO?

(16:01) - What made you decide to get a law degree? 

(17:20) - Has your time horizon shifted as you’ve been able to delegate more of the business?

(18:37) - How has this shift affected your priorities?

(20:09) - Was there a critical point that allowed you to become more strategic as a CEO?

(22:09) - What are some of your biggest learnings in the process of integrating acquisitions?

(24:08) - What were some of the differences between the initial acquisition vs. the merger?

(28:46) - What strategies do you use to clear uncertainty?

(29:43) - What has been your best win and toughest loss during your first 2 years?

(31:33) - What kind of advice would you offer a first-year CEO?

(33:28) - In what ways has your life as CEO turned out differently than you thought it would?

(34:12) - What’s a strongly held belief that you’ve changed your mind on?

(35:23) - What are some ways you try to identify really motivated people?

(36:23) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?