M&A Science

Jim Buckley, Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions Integration at VMware (NYSE: VMW)

Integration can be difficult but it's, without a doubt, the most important part of M&A. In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Kison interviews Jim Buckley, Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions Integration at VMware as he talks about how to create a successful integration plan. Here's what you'll learn:

- Why working backwards is best in integration planning

- What makes a successful integration leader

- How to measure success

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Ken Bond, Head of Corporate Development at Cetera Financial Group

Building M&A teams require different considerations based on your growth strategy. In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Kison interviews Ken Bond, Head of Corporate Development at Cetera Financial Group on how he structures teams approaching diligence. Here's what you'll learn:

- The three functions you need to build your M&A team

- How to determine the ideal M&A team size for your strategy

- The role of the project manager in the M&A team

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter go to mascience.com.

Mark Khavkin, CFO of Pantheon Platform

NDAs are often overlooked as people tend to fall into the trap of thinking they can be templated. In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Kison interviews Mark Khavkin, CFO of Pantheon Platform about NDAs, how to negotiate them, and their structures. Here's what you'll learn:

• Why NDAs are not routine legal documents
• The fundamentals of NDAs
• Negotiating NDAs depending on the type of deal you have

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter go to mascience.com.

Cameron Weiner, VP of Strategic Development, Head of M&A at Shopko Optical

To buy or build, that is the question! In this interview with Cameron Weiner, VP of Strategic Development, Head of M&A at Shopko Optical, he shares how his team determines whether to buy or build a business. Here's what you'll learn:

- How to approach targets

- Considerations when buying or building a business

- Resources for deal origination

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter go to mascience.com.

Punit Micocha, Executive Vice President, Business and Corporate Development at Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS)

M&A deals are never easy and require rigorous planning. In this interview, Punit Micocha, Executive Vice President, Business and Corporate Development at Zscaler, shares how to execute successful deals by planning the end game. Learn about:

- Creating the deal vision pre-LOI

- Why planning for integration early is crucial

- The 3 elements of negotiating with employees

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter go to mascience.com.

Pragnya Kashinath, M&A Consultant at Deloitte

A go-to-market strategy is one of the most important things in an acquisition. In this week's podcast, we're featuring Kison's interview with Pragnya Kashinath. At the time of this interview, she was the Director of M&A, Corporate Strategy at Cognizant. Now, she's an M&A Consultant at Deloitte. Pragnya shares how to create a successful GTM strategy from the very beginning of a transaction and the challenges you need to watch out for. Learn about:

- Pragnya's unique role on the business side versus on the corporate development team

- How not to overestimate synergy models

- Customizing the customer journey

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter go to mascience.com.

Sabeeh Khan, Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Syniti

Aaron Whiting, M&A Integration and Strategic Programs at ContinuumCloud

Managing a deal can be complicated, especially on larger deals. You need experienced leaders from both ends of the spectrum. In this interview, we talk about how to manage sourcing, diligence, and integration from a project manager's perspective featuring Sabeeh Khan, Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Syniti, and Aaron Whiting, M&A Integration and Strategic Programs at ContinuumCloud. Here's what you'll learn:

- Why you should use pipeline management tools other than Excel

- The importance of having a go to market strategy before closing the deal

- How to gather intelligence aside from industry conferences

This episode is sponsored by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Access the most up-to-date and accurate data on private companies in a single web-based platform so you can get all the resources you need to create a winning pitch.

Trish Mosconi, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer & Corporate Development at Synchrony (NYSE: SYF)

Culture is one of the most controversial and hot topics in the world of M&A. On this episode of M&A Science, Trish Mosconi, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer & Corporate Development at Synchrony discusses how to stay true to culture during a deal. In the interview, she talks about how her team walked away from an almost perfect deal due to cultural differences. You'll hear about:

- When to involve HR

- How to approach integration to stay true to the target company

- When to walk away from a deal

This episode is sponsored by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Access the most up-to-date and accurate data on private companies in a single web-based platform so you can get all the resources you need to create a winning pitch.

Karen Ashley, Vice President of Corporate Development Integration at Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO)

Cisco is one of the largest and most successful acquirers in the world. On this week's episode of the podcast, Kison spoke with Cisco's Vice President of Corporate Development Integration, Karen Ashley. We looked at their deal process and how they commit to integration from start to finish. Here's what you'll learn:

- The importance of strategy meetings

- The 3 success metrics

- Why their integration team leads operational diligence

This episode is sponsored by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Access the most up-to-date and accurate data on private companies in a single web-based platform so you can get all the resources you need to create a winning pitch.

Duncan Painter, CEO of Ascential (LON: ASCL)

In this week's episode of the M&A Science podcast, we're learning about transformative M&A. In Kison's recent interview with Duncan Painter, CEO of Ascential, we talk about what a "transformative deal" means to their organization and how they achieve deal success. Here's what you'll learn:

- How to build a transformative M&A strategy

- How divestitures can transform your business

- Why you need to commit to the strategy

This episode is sponsored by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Access the most up-to-date and accurate data on private companies in a single web-based platform so you can get all the resources you need to create a winning pitch.