Master Your Merger Podcast

Mergers succeed or fail based on more than strategy and financial engineering. The people capabilities inside an organization often determine whether integration creates momentum or friction.

In this episode, Klint Kendrick speaks with Maureen Berkner-Boyt, Founder and CEO of C2IQ, about the human capabilities that shape how organizations navigate change. Mo has spent more than 30 years helping organizations unlock human potential and build stronger cultures that support performance and transformation.

Together, they explore how skills like change resilience, human connection, and adaptability influence the success of integrations; why organizations often miss critical capability gaps; and how leaders can gather better people data to guide integration decisions.

• Why the pace of organizational change has increased dramatically in recent years
• How to change resilience function as a measurable skill set rather than a personality trait
• Why missing human capability skills can quietly derail an integration
• The role neuroscience plays in how people experience change and uncertainty
• Why culture mapping alone is not enough to understand integration risk
• How skills gaps in resilience and connection show up in real organizations
• Why frontline managers are critical to successful integrations
• The difference between rear-view mirror data and forward-looking “windshield” data
• How organizations can identify capability strengths they can leverage during change
• Practical steps leaders can take to better support teams during integration

Maureen Berkner-Boyt (LinkedIn)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenberknerboyt/

#MasterYourMerger #HRMergersAndAcquisitions #PostMergerIntegration #ChangeLeadership #OrganizationalChange #FutureOfWork #Leadership

Many companies treat M&A as an occasional event. For companies that acquire frequently, it quickly becomes a capability.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick speaks with Anna Wilson, a senior HR leader at Uber who focuses on mergers and acquisitions and leads the HR business partner team for the delivery organization.

Anna shares how her experience leading the Postmates integration helped spark the creation of a dedicated HR M&A function at Uber. She explains how the company moved away from “HR on the side of the desk” and toward a purpose-built model designed to support repeat acquisitions and complex integrations.

The conversation explores how HR teams can partner more effectively with corporate development, technology, and business leaders while balancing strategy, operations, and the realities of integrating real people into a fast-moving organization.

• How the Postmates acquisition led Uber to build a dedicated HR M&A capability
• Why HR M&A teams often need to think like a CHRO across the full people lifecycle
• How Uber structured a “two in a box” model pairing HR M&A leaders with integration program managers
• Why HR sometimes moves ahead of the business strategy and how to avoid that trap
• How integration decisions can disrupt marketplace dynamics if timing is wrong
• Why serial acquirers benefit from dedicated M&A expertise instead of ad hoc HR support
• How Uber balances business HR partners with dedicated M&A specialists
• Why simplifying processes is essential in complex integrations
• How breaking down functional silos improves integration outcomes
• Why HR leaders must understand the business model behind the deal before designing a people strategy

Anna Wilson https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjushawilson/
Search: Anna Wilson, Uber

#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #PostMergerIntegration #HRLeadership #MergersAndAcquisitions #Uber

Most deal teams can model the financials. Far fewer can explain—early and credibly—whether the leadership team can actually deliver the value creation plan.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick sits down with Dr. Marc Prine of MIP Consulting, an industrial-organizational psychologist known for talent and leadership assessment work in the private equity space. Marc shares how investors and portfolio companies can connect leadership assessment to real value creation outcomes—before and after close.

They unpack what strong PE-backed leadership looks like, the most common red flags that derail growth, why “culture fit” should be treated as measurable behavior, and how assessment should evolve into action plans, performance management, and 360 feedback—not stop at diligence.

• The baseline leadership capabilities Marc looks for in PE-backed environments
• Why assessment should be built from the value creation plan, not a generic model
• Common red flags: inability to delegate, founder-stage skills mismatch, and resistance
• Green flags: self-awareness, humility, resilience, and building high-performing teams
• How to balance speed vs depth in short PE diligence timelines
• Why leadership assessment must extend into the first 100 days and beyond
• How to evaluate the leadership team as a system—not just the CEO
• Turning “culture fit” into measurable behavioral competencies
• Practical ways to assess the “next clicks down” below the C-suite
• Retention realities after announcement: “headhunters are sharks and announcement is blood in the water”

• Adam Coffey, The Private Equity Playbook (recommended by Marc)

• Dr. Marc Prine (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcprine/ 
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: mipconsultingllc.com

#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #PrivateEquity #LeadershipAssessment #ValueCreation #PostMergerIntegration

Most integration teams can explain synergies, savings, and EBITDA targets on paper. Far fewer can quantify what is actually happening on the people side of the business after close.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick sits down with Tom Bradbury, Founder and CEO of Broad-Gauge, to explore how workforce data can move beyond reporting and become a true driver of integration success and long-term value creation.

Tom shares how private equity firms and operating leaders can use decision-ready workforce metrics to uncover hidden risk, reduce attrition, and manage integration debt before it shows up in performance or valuation. Drawing on real client examples, he explains how culture, leadership, engagement, and operational effectiveness can be measured in ways business leaders actually trust and act on.

• Why people are often the largest and least understood investment in a PE portfolio
• The difference between reporting workforce data and managing value with it
• How attrition, leadership, and operational effectiveness act as early warning signals
• How to quantify culture by focusing on behaviors, not just values
• Why ENPS is most powerful when paired with segmentation and action
• How workforce measurement helps surface and manage integration debt early
• What HR leaders can do today using existing HRIS data to increase credibility with executives

• Tom Bradbury LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaspbradbury/
• Email: [email protected]

#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #PostMergerIntegration #WorkforceAnalytics #PrivateEquity #HRM&A #IntegrationDebt

Most leaders know change is hard.
Very few know why people resist, when to communicate, or how to move teams forward without burning trust.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick is joined by Liz Lance and Suzanne Rudnitzki, co-authors of The Change Cheat Code.

Together, they unpack a simple, practical framework for leading people through change: Hear, Fear, Near, and Cheer. This model helps leaders understand what employees actually need at each stage of disruption, whether that change comes from M&A, restructuring, AI adoption, or life itself.

Rather than treating change as a rational checklist, Liz and Suzanne show why change is emotional, repeatable, and manageable when leaders meet people where they are.

What you will learn in this episode

• Why people stop listening during announcements and what leaders should say instead
• How the Hear stage requires repetition, clarity, and restraint
• Why fear is unavoidable and how to use it productively instead of suppressing it
• How Near becomes the moment where learning and adoption finally work
• Why training too early actually slows change
• How celebration creates closure, trust, and momentum for what comes next
• The most common leadership mistakes that deepen resistance during M&A
• How this framework applies to AI, organizational redesign, and personal change

Connect with the guests
Liz Lance LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlizlance/
Suzanne Rudnitzki LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-rudnitzki/
Book website: https://thechangecheatcode.com

In post-merger integration, most teams can run the checklist. The hard part is getting people aligned, working together, and executing the strategy fast enough to capture value.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick talks with Alex Amsden and Tom Gaunt from BTS about how simulations can accelerate integration, reduce misalignment, and turn culture from an abstract idea into practical ways of working.

Alex Amsden is Vice President and Head of Growth, Strategy and Culture Transformation for BTS USA. Tom Gaunt is Vice President and Head of Change and Transformation for BTS Europe. Together, they share how BTS uses simulations to help leaders practice the future before they have to live it.

What you will learn in this episode

• Why starting with the human conversation can unlock faster strategy decisions
• Three principles that speed integration: practical vision, authorship creates ownership, and culture linked to strategy
• Common pitfalls that slow transformation, including assuming buy-in and treating culture as an afterthought
• What simulations are and how they differ from training, comms, and traditional workshops
• When simulations work best, including executive alignment, newco launch, and critical team integration
• How simulations surface hidden assumptions and legacy misalignment from past acquisitions
• How AI and digital twins may change simulation design and speed

Connect with the guests

• Alex Amsden LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-amsden-35732b23
• Tom Gaunt LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tom-gaunt-12570819
• Taryn Davino email: [email protected]
  Tom email: [email protected] 

#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #PostMergerIntegration #Culture #ChangeManagement #StrategyExecution

In M&A, few mistakes damage trust faster than payroll problems.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick talks with Melissa Madi, a seasoned HR and payroll leader who has supported hundreds of transactions over the past decade. Melissa spent more than eight years at AssuredPartners, most recently as Director of Employee M&A, and now serves as Director of Payroll and Benefits at Kustom US.

Melissa shares what employees actually need during a transaction, why payroll diligence is often overlooked, and how leaders can show up with calm, clarity, and grace during some of the most stressful moments in a deal.

What you will learn in this episode

• Why communication must be clear, honest, and repeated
  
  
• How payroll diligence prevents downstream chaos
  
  
• What to plan for when pay cycles and benefits change
  
  
• Why backup plans matter more than perfect execution
  
  
• How to show up with grace when employees are overwhelmed
  
  

Connect with Melissa Madi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-madi-cpp-shrm-cp-b72807128/

Roll-ups do not fail because the spreadsheet is wrong. They fail when seller psychology, team readiness, and platform gaps turn integration into a slow bleed.

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick talks with Eiron Roffey, an M&A integration leader based in Canada who has led the integration of more than 80 founder-led businesses across healthcare, technology, and professional services. Eiron shares the founder personas he sees most often, how to build trust without losing integration momentum, and why delaying integration without purpose creates integration debt.

What you will learn in this episode:

• The founder personas Eiron sees most often and what each one needs to trust the buyer
  
  
• How to lead with empathy while still keeping integration moving
  
  
• Why fear of the unknown drives resistance more than the change itself
  
  
• How to earn trust in stages without breaking the founder’s legacy
  
  
• What deal teams should stop saying, and what they should say instead
  
  
• How platform readiness, unclear end states, and repeated delays create integration debt
  
  
• Why ripping off the band-aid once can be easier than dragging change out repeatedly
  
  
• How integration leaders can help Corp Dev teams focus on the people behind the value
  
  

🎧 Subscribe and listen now.
#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #Integration #RollUp #MNA #ChangeManagement

What happens when HR is asked to integrate a global acquisition without complete data?

In this episode of the Master Your Merger Podcast, Klint Kendrick speaks with Naveen Nagpal, a global HR M&A strategist with more than 25 years of experience supporting cross-border transactions.

Naveen shares lessons from more than 40 global deals and walks through a real example where missing benefits data almost led to a multi-million-dollar mistake. He explains why HR instincts, escalation, and persistence matter, especially when data is incomplete and pressure to move fast is high.

Listeners will learn how HR leaders can:

• Get involved early in diligence to surface people risk
  
  
• Challenge assumptions when data is missing or unclear
  
  
• Manage country-by-country integration complexity
  
  
• Identify culture risk before it shows up as attrition or disengagement
  
  
• Track the people metrics that signal whether integration is working
  
  

🎧 Subscribe and listen now.
#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #GlobalMNA #IntegrationLeadership #HRMNA

What separates the 10 percent of deals that deliver real value from the 90 percent that don’t?

In this Season 2 premiere, Master Your Merger Podcast host Klint Kendrick talks with Al Ansari, founder of M&A Alliance and author of Unraveling the Mystery of M&A Integration and Divestiture Success.

With more than 100 deals and $25 billion in value under his belt, Al explains how to:
• Apply the seven pillars of integration success
• Align deal strategy with execution before close
• Connect incentives to integration outcomes
• Build a culture that supports synergy and speed

🎧 Subscribe and listen now.

#MasterYourMerger #PeopleFirstMNA #IntegrationLeadership #MNA #Strategy