The Art of M&A® Integration Strategy & Change Management: Live-Online with M&A Direct℠ / Online / April 2021

Course Summary

Building on the fundamentals of The Art of M&A® – Executing Integration for Maximum Results, this topical deep dive training provides executives and integration leaders the awareness, insight, and confidence to lead effectively and get essential integration decisions right.

This ONLINE seminar will help you and your organization plan and lead a successful M&A integration based on and adapted from our premier three-day on-site workshops.  The program will be focusing on essential topics, including integration strategy, people and organizational risks, governance, Day 1, employee experience, customer experience, culture, and more.

Each module provides an overview of essential learning, processes, and best practices necessary for success in every integration; then, through discussion, case examples, and virtual small group breakouts, fundamental principles and practices will be adapted for optimal success and effectiveness in primarily remote or virtual integration scenarios.

If you have taken our former training program The Art of M&A® Integration, this course will be a refresh of that. The course is a total of 10.5 hours, conducted over three, 3.5-hour modules on successive days.

Online Platform

Our events are held on the Zoom platform. Please check with your IT department to verify your ability to use this platform. Please note that all training programs will be password protected. You can learn more about the system requirements and download the latest Zoom Security White Paper for more detailed information.

Tuition and Discounts

Standard Price: $1500

Payment is accepted by credit card or ACH (invoice available at registration; payment is due prior to providing access credential).

*Only one discount per person per event; must be applied at time of registration

Who Should Attend

• Corporate Development Leads – Those accountable to the executive committee or deal team for overall strategy execution, end-to-end M&A operations, internal capability development, and ensuring completion of the deal thesis objectives and synergies.
• Integration Leads – Those principally responsible for integration strategy, planning, decision making, and accomplishing overall “integration complete” on-time, on-budget, and with the deal, objectives met.
• Integration Management Office Leads and Program Managers – Those responsible for detailed integration planning, mapping, and managing all cross-functional dependencies, scheduling, coordinating, tracking, statusing, reporting, managing risks, action items, and issues.
• Functional Workstream Leads and Dedicated Workstream Program Managers – Those responsible for integration planning and execution of their specific functional, business, or cross-functional workstream across the M&A life cycle, while supporting all related cross-functional dependencies.
• Key Executives (CFOs, Business Unit GM’s, VP Strategy/Corporate Development, etc.) – Those tasked with driving strategic growth through MA&D and accountable for deal resourcing or building a more robust and repeatable M&A capability in their respective organizations or seeking continuous improvements in key “gap areas” where consistent program execution has been problematic.

Key Topics include:

• Integration Begins in Due Diligence. When should you read-in your Integration Leader and IMO team to the deal? What should their role be in due diligence? What are the essential steps and requirements for bridging effectively between due diligence and integration?
• Deal Strategy Implications for Integration. Based on the deal’s strategic objectives and desired business results, participants will learn to differentiate different integration strategies and priorities for different deal-types and key components for a comprehensive and useful Integration Strategy Framework.
• Understanding People Issues and Organizational Risks to Integration. This highly interactive session explores critical strategic priorities in the human capital domain, including individual, organizational, and employee plans, programs, and contracts. Learn which people and organizational decisions are needed when the things you should be considering regarding retention and recruiting; and, what to do about compensation and benefits program harmonization. 
• Getting Governance Right. One of the most common and most challenging integration failure factors – governance, roles, and responsibilities, getting governance right requires effective decision processes and a robust and disciplined IMO process for coordination, status reporting, and managing risks, issues, and action items. 
• Leading A Successful Day 1. Thinking beyond the tactics, what kind of Day 1 will enable your organization to gain traction, credibility with key stakeholder groups and begin demonstrating the value proposition of the deal from the outset?
•  Managing EX and CX Through Communication and Change Management. This invaluable session presents best practices and immediately applicable insights for turning “ho-hum” integration communications and change management (CCM) into strategic, “game-winning” campaigns for winning the battle of employee experience and customer experience. Participants will learn key foundations of success, including M&A-specific change dynamics to overcome and brain science realities of how M&A impacts individuals and organizations. Three key strategies for improved CCM will be provided, along with three mission-critical tactical litmus test standards every organization must apply.
• Leading Culture Across the M&A Lifecycle. While culture is typically cited as both a top integration failure factor and capability required for success, most organizations have not yet developed their M&A skill set to deliver meaningful culture actions effectively and constructively throughout the M&A lifecycle. Participants will learn how to build-in and execute actionable culture strategies at every phase of M&A.
• Application Exercises. To fully leverage our live online seminar, participants will be assigned periodic discussion points. There will also be application exercises and small virtual group break-out discussions, including a comprehensive capstone exercise, case study, or panel discussion to maximize peer insights, networking, lessons learned, and next steps for success in planning and leading your next M&A integration.

Course Materials

Each registered participant will receive a summary of the seminar content for each module in a watermarked PDF document at the time of each module along with all exercises, small group breakout instructions and case studies to support the overall learning experience of each course.

 

Participants of this course will receive 30 CMAS credits