M&A Science
M&A Science, hosted by Kison Patel (Founder & CEO of DealRoom), is a podcast dedicated to mastering mergers and acquisitions. Each week, Kison and expert guests from leading brands like Xerox, FastLap, and Cisco discuss real-world M&A strategies, offering actionable insights on sourcing, due diligence, integration, and divestitures. With over 300 episodes, it serves as a premier thought leadership resource for both experienced practitioners and newcomers. The podcast is brought to you by DealRoom, an M&A optimization platform.
Episodes
How to Finance Acquisitions Without Giving Up Equity
Bill Stone, Founder and CEO of SS&C How do you keep buying companies without eventually losing control of the company you built? SS&C Technologies founder and CEO Bill Stone has spent four decades avoiding exactly that. Rather than treating each acquisition as an isolated transaction, SS&C built a system around protecting ownership, using debt when the economics make sense, paying it down quickly
Where AI Actually Helps and Fails in M&A Legal Work
Aaron Binstock, Partner, Co-Head of Private Equity Practice at Cooley LLP AI can now draft, review, and benchmark deal documents in a fraction of the time it used to take, but knowing when to trust the output is a different skill entirely. Aaron Binstock, a partner at Cooley with nearly 20 years of transactional experience, has seen both sides of that tradeoff firsthand. Where does AI actually sa
The Back-Office Surprises Nobody Warned You About When Going Global
Jennifer Lipschultz, Sr. Director Merger & Acquisition Integration and Corporate Project Management Due diligence covers deal terms, but it doesn't cover what happens once you're running payroll, benefits, and banking in a country you've never operated in before. A legal entity change can lock a company out of its own bank account overnight. Benefits plans get frozen in by local law. A language
How to Structure an Acquihire Deal in the AI Talent Race
Derek Liu, M&A Partner at Baker McKenzie AI talent deals are no longer small acquihires built around a simple price per engineer. Some now carry billion-dollar price tags, forcing buyers to rethink deal structure, diligence, tax exposure, and retention. Baker McKenzie's M&A Partner Derek Liu has personally signed over $110 billion in transactions from both sides of the table. That mismatch, old to
What Buyers Want from Bankers and Founders
Andrew Morbitzer, VP of Corporate Development, Life360 (ASX: 360) Your standard teaser tells a buyer everything about your company and nothing about why you fit their strategy right now. When sellers expect the buyer to figure out that alignment, the deal dies on the desk. Andrew Morbitzer has led more than $2 billion in acquisitions at Intuit and GoDaddy, worked on the sell-side as an M&A advisor
220 Deals. One Playbook. How to Scale M&A Without Losing Control
Shawn Rodricks, Head of M&A - Independent Consultant If you scale the deal flow without the operating infrastructure to match it, things break fast. The playbook is a document nobody opens, closing weeks turn into fire drills, and the returns you modeled start to slip. Shawn Rodricks, Head of M&A - Independent Consultant, built the infrastructure before the volume hit. He closed 220 acquisitions
How to Build a Deal Model That Beats PE on Price
Jeremy Segal, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) Buyers who mistake a high LOI bid for a winning strategy are easy prey for sellers who know the growth equity playbook. Jeremy Segal's position: precision at the LOI stage is a stronger differentiator than price. Jeremy Segal is EVP of Corporate Development at Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS), a publicly traded softwa
The People You Lose in M&A: Key Talent Retention Before Close
Haseeb Jawad, VP and Head of Corporate Development, Commvault (NASDAQ: CVLT) The people who leave post-close are usually the ones the deal depended on. Which means the problem starts with how you read culture before LOI and whether financial incentives are the only retention tool you are building with. Haseeb Jawad heads corporate development at Commvault, running a lean team with full accountabi
How to Buy Companies That Aren't Profitable Yet
Matt Arsenault, VP of Corporate Development & Strategic Alliances at Jamf Venture-backed companies are priced at their future state, not their current revenue. When growth stalls and another fundraising round stops making sense, the gap between VC valuation and what a strategic buyer will pay becomes the hardest conversation in any deal process. Matt Arsenault, VP of Corporate Development & Str
When Deals Get Weird: Stories You Don't See in the CIM
Nathan Rust, Lutz Lehmann, Troy Pospisil, Jeremy Segal, Patrick Mumman, Tej Brahmbhatt, George Helock, and Angie Astle Eight deal professionals share the M&A moments that never make the CIM. A birthday cake in a management presentation that confirmed a culture fit and influenced a bid. A buyer who died before close, forcing a nine-month restart from scratch. Eight years of customer revenue data on
The Real Work Behind the Close: When Judgment Beats the Checklist
Brent Baxter, Sam Delestienne, Steve Hoffman, John Strenger, and Matt Melsen Winning a banker-run auction at 5% under the highest bid. Closing a deal when co-sellers have not spoken in months. Getting through 22 countries of employment complexity with a client who refused to work with EOR providers. Acquiring a Netherlands-based public company and discovering the due diligence documents were in Du
The Nordic Compounder Playbook: How Jörgen Wigh Runs 85 Companies With 22 HQ Staff and No Integration
Jörgen Wigh, CEO of Lagercrantz Group Lagercrantz Group has completed 90+ acquisitions over 20 years and never sold one. CEO Jörgen Wigh runs 85 niche B2B companies under a 22-person headquarters with no integration, no exits, and no value realization targets. This is Part 2 of 2. Part 1 covers the deal model, while Part 2 is the operating culture. Jörgen gets into how 85 autonomous companies are
The Nordic Compounder Playbook: How Lagercrantz Bought 90 Companies and Never Sold One
Jörgen Wigh, CEO of Lagercrantz Group Jörgen Wigh has been CEO of Lagercrantz Group (STO: LAGR-B) for over 20 years. In that time he completed 90+ acquisitions, built a portfolio of 85 niche B2B companies, and delivered 15 consecutive years of record earnings per share. No capital raises. No forced integration. No exits. The Nordic compounder model has quietly outperformed global markets for decad
M&A Integration Technology: What Actually Works
Jim Buckley, VP M&A Integration at Coursera | Todd Manley, VP of Corp Dev Integration at Intel | Carey Pugh is Sr. Director, M&A Corporate Integration at Ansys | Mahesh Ganesan, Sr. Director, M&A Integration at UKG Four integration leaders from Intel, Coursera, Ansys, and UKG debate what integration technology actually delivers versus what creates expensive overhead and where the real value leaks
Partner Before You Buy: The Pre-Acquisition Strategy Corp Dev Teams Skip
Tomer Stavitsky is SVP and Chief Corporate Development Officer at Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) Corp dev teams treat M&A and partnerships as separate tracks, but Tomer Stavitsky looks at them holistically. In this episode, he breaks down the partner-first approach: an acquisition framework for situations where the target isn't ready, the PE owner isn't selling, or your integration capacity isn't there.
How M&A Turns a Chemical Company Into a Tech Business
Chandradev Mehta, SVP Strategy and Business Development at Hexion Inc. Chandradev Mehta, SVP Strategy and Business Development at Hexion Inc., breaks down how a commodity chemical company uses M&A to transform into a technology-enabled, chemistry-as-a-service business. He covers the acquisition of an AI and MarTech company, the build vs. buy vs. partner decision framework, integration planning dis
CPG Exit Strategy: How to Build a Consumer Brand Strategics Will Acquire | Keith Levy Part 2
Keith Levy, Operating Partner at Sonoma Brands Capital Most consumer brand founders think about exit as an event. Keith Levy thinks about it as a design requirement. In the second of two episodes, Keith walks through what exit-ready actually looks like in CPG: the revenue and EBITDA thresholds that matter, why you have to get beyond the corp dev team to the operators who actually need what you're
CPG Due Diligence: The Operator Framework Behind a $1B Exit | Keith Levy Part 1
Keith Levy, Operating Partner at Sonoma Brands Capital Keith Levy backed an exit of just under $1B and a $400M exit using the same five-pillar framework, and he starts with the founder every time. Finance comes last. As Operating Partner at Sonoma Brands Capital, Keith has spent six years evaluating consumer brands across food, beverage, pet food, snacks, and cosmetics. Before that he was CMO at
400 Acquisitions and a Failed Process: What Happens When You Don't Integrate
Matt James, EVP, CFO & Chief Acquisition Officer at Oakbridge Insurance Roll-up platforms that skipped real integration are getting exposed when they go to market. Buyers want proof of organic growth, clean data, and a platform that actually functions as one. A lot of processes are breaking down because those proof points aren't there. Matt James co-founded Oakbridge Insurance in 2020 and has sinc
M&A Roll-Up Playbook: The IRR Framework That Replaced Budgets at Zayo | Dan Caruso (Part 2)
Dan Caruso, Managing Director, Caruso Ventures; Founding CEO of Zayo Group This is Part 2 of our conversation with Dan Caruso, founder and former CEO of Zayo Group. Be sure to start with Part 1. It covers the Zayo thesis, deal sourcing, structure, and the negotiation playbook, whereas this episode picks up at the execution. Part 2 is about the equity value-creation framework Dan built at Zayo, app
M&A Roll-Up Playbook: How Zayo Did 45 Acquisitions and Sold for $14B | Dan Caruso (Part 1)
Dan Caruso, Managing Director, Caruso Ventures; Founding CEO of Zayo Group Dan Caruso built Zayo from a startup into a $14B+ bandwidth infrastructure platform through 45 acquisitions. In Part 1, he walks through the full buyer-led playbook: how the thesis was built on a contrarian bet that everyone else got wrong, how proprietary deals were sourced through early relationship-building, and why fast
Cross-Border M&A: Doing Deals in Latin America
Rodrigo Dominguez Sotomayor, Partner at White & Case LLP Most US buyers approach Latin America M&A the same way they do a domestic deal — optimize the process, close fast, move on. That approach gets deals killed. Rodrigo Dominguez Sotomayor, Partner at White & Case LLP, has spent 25 years closing transactions across every major Latin America market. In this episode, he walks through what actuall
Partnering Before Purchasing: How Booz Allen Wins Proprietary Deals Early
Chrissy Cox, VP & Head of Corporate Development, Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton didn't build one of the most active acquisition programs in federal tech by waiting for banker inbounds. They built it by showing up years before anyone else. Chrissy Cox has built Booz Allen's corporate development function from scratch and done it twice. Her team was named Deal Team of the Year by the Asso
Cultural Fit Over EBITDA: How Salas O'Brien Built a 30-Merger Program Without a Single Failure
Nathan Rust, Senior VP of Corporate Development, Salas O'Brien Salas O'Brien has completed 30+ mergers with a 100% success rate and 93% cumulative leadership retention. That doesn't happen by accident. Nathan Rust, Senior VP of Corp Dev, explains the system behind those numbers. He shares how they screen bad fits on the first call, why their CEO meets every employee from acquired firms, and how a
Cross-Border M&A: How to Do Deals in Italy with Mauro Sambati and Donato Romano
Mauro Sambati, Partner – Gianni & Origoni Donato Romano, Partner – Gianni & Origoni Italy remains one of Europe's most attractive markets for foreign investment. But cross-border deals in Italy are shaped by regulatory scrutiny, strict labor laws, and unique cultural dynamics that many investors underestimate. In this episode, Mauro Sambati and Donato Romano, Partners at Gianni & Origoni, explain
Four Questions That Defined a $1 Billion Deal with Robert Lovegrove
President & CEO of The ChemQuest Group. Previously, as VP of Corporate Strategy at Milliken & Company When it comes to billion-dollar deals, success depends less on how much analysis is done and more on how clearly the organization aligns around what truly matters. In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Robert Lovegrove, President & CEO of The ChemQuest Group. Previously, as VP of Corporate
Stop Falling in Love with the Deal: Guardrails for High-Volume Acquisitions with Birgitta and Lars Elfversson
Birgitta Elfversson, Non-executive director at Netlight Consulting AB Lars Elfversson, VP/Co-Founder, Netlight Consulting AB In fragmented industries, roll-ups are one of the most powerful strategies available. But high-volume acquisition programs come with hidden risks. Without discipline, complexity can quickly overwhelm value creation. In this episode, Birgitta Elfversson, Non-executive directo
The Next Chapter After 400 Episodes
No guest today. No interview. Just Kison talking directly to you. After 400 episodes and nearly 100 founding members, Kison wanted to give you a real update - where M&A Science has been, what we're building, and where this is going. In this episode: Why episodes are moving to Thursdays How the Intelligence Hub actually works (and why it's better for M&A than ChatGPT) What's coming next: Buyer-Led
Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform Strategy Before You Sign Part 2 with Ciprian Stan
Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe Too many deals fail not because the strategy was wrong, but because execution realities surfaced too late. Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe, is back for part 2. In this portion of the interview, he shares a practitioner's perspective on why integration must inform strategy before a deal is signed, never after. The
Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform Strategy Before You Sign Part 1 with Ciprian Stan
Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe Most M&A deals fail because integration was "something to figure out later". By the time execution realities, cultural risks, and people impacts surface, the deal is locked, and teams must work around untested assumptions. In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Ciprian Stan, M&A Integration Manager at SALESIANER Gruppe, explains that
How Experienced Buyers Actually Make M&A Work with Carlos Cesta
Carlos Cesta, Partner at Makanta Services M&A isn't just about closing deals, it's about making the deal actually work. Carlos Cesta, M&A advisor and founder of his own boutique advisory practice, spent 30 years on the buy-side at Verizon, Dentsu, Presidio, and NP Digital. He's worked 125+ deals across telecom, advertising, and digital marketing. Now he's flipped to advisory, bringing that buy-si
A Founder's Guide to Lean M&A Strategy with Christian Hassold
Christian Hassold, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wpromote x Giant Spoon Christian has been on both sides of M&A as a serial founder and corporate development leader. In this episode, Christian shares his hard-earned lessons about culture as the ultimate deal-breaker in M&A. He breaks down the subtle red flags that founders miss when evaluating acquisi
How Integration Debt, Cultural Friction, and Communication Failures Kill M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan
Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader Donara Jaghinyan, returns for Part 2 of our conversation on what actually breaks integrations after the deal closes. This episode tackles the messy reality of post-merger execution: integration debt that piles up when long-tail items don't get done, change management as a practical framework (not corporate fluff), and the cultural friction t
Why Integrations Break: TSAs, Carve-Outs, and the Hidden Dependencies That Derail M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan
Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader Donara joins us to pull back the curtain on why integrations break—and what it actually takes to make them work. With deep experience across healthcare, SaaS, professional services, and financial services in both public and PE-backed environments, Donara has led diligence, post-close integration, TSA execution, and enterprise system implemen
Building Your M&A Reputation: Why Relationships Beat Transactions Every Time with Andrew Cohen
Andy Cohen, Vice President of Corporate Development at F5 Andy has built a career that proves M&A is fundamentally about relationships, not just transactions. With 30 years of experience and 60 deals closed across high-growth tech companies including Citrix, Acquia, and F5, Andy has cultivated the kind of reputation where every CEO he's worked with will take his call tomorrow. In this conversatio
My Daughter Interviews Me About M&A | Holiday Special Episode with Shyla Patel
In this special father-daughter episode, My daughter interviews me on my new book on Buyer-Led M&A™. We break down the framework built from over 400 practitioner interviews—covering why traditional M&A is flawed, how to shift from reactive auction-chasing to proactive deal sourcing, and why integration planning must begin during diligence. Things you will learn: Why integration planning during d
How to Score Culture Fit in M&A with Sharon Van Zeeland
Sharon Van Zeeland, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rockwell Automation Sharon brings a unique engineer's perspective to the softest parts of M&A. In this episode, Sharon reveals how Rockwell developed a systematic scoring system for evaluating culture fit during due diligence—complete with numerical rankings across key dimensions like decision-making authority, adaptabili
Making M&A Boring (And Why That's a Good Thing) with Leon Brujis
Leon Brujis, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. at 65 Equity Partners Leon Brujis shares how his firm is redefining private equity through non-control investments in founder-led businesses. In this conversation, Leon breaks down why the best companies are never for sale, how immigrant adaptability translates to investing success, and why boring, disciplined deal-making consistently outperforms flashy tra
Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with Brandon Batt
Brandon Batt – Chief People and Transformation Officer at Quadient Brandon Batt joins us to discuss how successful M&A integration starts long before you sign an LOI. Brandon shares how Quadient built M&A capability across the organization through strategic hiring, created a transformation office that breaks down traditional silos, and executed portfolio transformation through dozens of acquisitio
Strategic M&A Framework: IFS's Acquisition Playbook with Rachel Hindley
Rachel Hindley, Vice President of Corporate Development, IFS Rachel oversees transformative acquisitions for the global leader in industrial AI and enterprise software. In this episode, Rachel shares how IFS navigates the unique dynamics of having three major private equity backers—EQT, HG, and TA Associates—while executing strategic deals that enhance their portfolio. She breaks down IFS's four
Mastering Carve-Out Transactions with Keith Crawford
Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation, brings over 20 years of expertise executing some of the most intricate custody business carve-outs in financial services. In this episode, Keith breaks down the realities of carve-out transactions—from proactive deal sour
Integration-Led M&A: Cisco's Approach to Deal Success Part 2 with Johanna Jaakola and Tesia Hostetler
Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco Johanna Jaakola, Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team, and Tesia Hostetler, Leader of Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, continue their deep dive into Cisco's integration-led M&A framework. In Part 2, they reveal ho
Integration-Led Diligence: Cisco's M&A Approach with Johanna Jaakola & Tesia Hostetle
Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco Johanna Jaakola, Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team, and Tesia Hostetler, Leader of Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, share how one of the world's most prolific acquirers structures deals for success. This episo
When Integration Beats Roll-Ups with Tim Hall
Tim Hall - Managing Partner and Founder, Brenton Point Capital Tim brings 29 years of private equity experience to this conversation about what actually works in buy-and-build strategies. After launching Brenton Point in 2024 following a 20-year run at CI Capital Partners, where he completed 200+ acquisitions across 12 platforms, Tim breaks down the independent sponsor model and why integration—no
Buyer-Led M&A™ Strategy at Snowflake with Stefan WIlliams
Stefan Williams - Vice President of Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake Stefan Williams, Vice President of Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake, leads the company's acquisition strategy, corporate venture capital, and startup accelerator programs. In this episode, Stefan takes us inside Snowflake's disciplined, culture-first approach to M&A—from building
Corporate Development Strategy: Notion's M&A Approach with Hilary Shirazi
Hilary Shirazi - Head of Corporate Development at Notion Hilary Shirazi, Head of Corporate Development at Notion, brings over a decade of M&A experience from LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Zendesk to discuss building corporate development strategy at high-growth tech companies. She shares her proven deal thesis methodology, the "Four T's" framework for categorizing acquisitions, and why integration with
How Corporate Venture Capital 2.0 is Reshaping M&A with Jennifer Miller
Jennifer Miller - Senior Director of Corporate Development, Oshkosh Corporation Jennifer Miller, Senior Director of Corporate Development at Oshkosh Corporation, brings over 24 years of M&A experience spanning investment banking, boutique advisory, and corporate development. In this episode, she reveals how Oshkosh evolved their corporate venture capital approach from CVC 1.0's financial focus to
M&A Integration Reality: Deal Economics vs Human Dynamics with Nicole Markowski
Nicole Markowski - Former Director of Business Integration and Operations, Wipfli Join Nicole as she shares unvarnished truths from managing 30+ transactions. Nicole reveals how integration-led diligence prevents value destruction, why traditional deal economics often miss critical human factors, and practical strategies for maintaining the human touch while scaling M&A programs from 3 to 16 concu
Strategic M&A at Scale: Insight Partners' Buyer-Led Approach with Byron Lichtenstein
Byron Lichtenstein, Managing Director at Insight Partners Byron brings over a decade of experience scaling M&A operations across one of the world's leading software investors. In this episode, Byron breaks down how Insight executes buyer-led M&A at scale, supporting CEOs across their 500+ portfolio companies from sourcing through integration. He shares frameworks for strategic positioning, the cr
Think Like a Buyer: Valuation & Deal Structuring with Javier Enrile
Javier Enrile, Managing Director of M&A at TIAA In this episode, he breaks down the art and science of thinking like a strategic buyer—from building proprietary deal pipelines through relationship-first sourcing to using sophisticated valuation techniques that separate intrinsic value from market noise. Javier reveals why patient relationship building beats aggressive auction processes, how to str
Founder Exit Strategy: Xavier Gury on M&A Deal Terms vs Valuation
Xavier Gury, Founding Partner at Wind Xavier Gury, founding partner at Wind venture capital firm, brings a unique triple perspective to M&A: serial entrepreneur, acquisition target, and now investor. In this episode, Xavier unpacks the critical lessons from his three successful exits, including one transformative deal with Publicis, where he structured a performance-based earnout that prioritized
M&A Execution: Strategy from Skadden Expert Arash Attar-Rezvani
Arash Attar-Rezvani - M&A Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP In part two of this masterclass conversation, Arash Attar-Rezvani gets into the execution challenges that separate successful M&A practitioners from the rest. From deconstructing French labor consultation myths to revealing how AI will reshape legal advisory models, this segment delivers actionable frameworks for advanc
Cross-Border M&A Strategy: Navigating Complex International Deals with Arash Attar-Rezvani
Arash Attar-Rezvani - M&A Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Arash Attar-Rezvani, M&A Partner at Skadden based in Paris, brings over two decades of cross-border M&A strategy experience to this in-depth conversation. From billion-dollar telecom deals across Latin America to luxury brand acquisitions spanning multiple jurisdictions, Arash reveals the hidden complexities that make int
Building Successful Buy-and-Build Platforms: Alpine's Blueprint for Strategic M&A with Haley Van Cleve
Haley Van Cleve, Partner at Alpine Investors Haley joins us to decode the art of building successful buy-and-build platforms from the ground up. In this episode, Haley walks through Alpine's proven methodology for transforming small $3M EBITDA businesses into $100M+ platforms through strategic M&A and operational excellence. Learn how Alpine's unique talent model, integration-first approach, and
M&A in Healthcare with John Palusci
John Palusci, Former Vice President of Transformation and Strategic Finance, BAYADA In this episode of M&A Science, John Palusci, former Vice President of Transformation and Strategic Finance at BAYADA, joins Kison Patel to discuss how to build a repeatable, Buyer-Led M&A™ engine within a nonprofit structure. John walks through his journey from IT to finance to corporate development, detailing how
The Secrets to Sourcing Proprietary Deals in Private Equity with Ryan Gable
Ryan Gable, Managing Partner, BW Forsyth Partners Ryan discusses how his team uses a hybrid private equity model backed by Barry-Wehmiller to execute people-first, long-term acquisitions. With over 55 deals and zero exits, Forsyth has developed a sourcing and integration playbook that challenges traditional PE norms, focusing instead on trust, cultural alignment, and multi-decade value creation. R
Why Pendo Buys Startups (And It's Not for Revenue) with Todd Olson
Todd Olson, CEO and Co-founder, Pendo From buying startups to speed up roadmap execution to preserving founder autonomy post-close, Todd breaks down the real levers behind successful acquisitions. This episode dives into how Pendo thinks about M&A without a corporate development team, why it rarely buys for revenue, and how Todd's team avoids common post-close integration mistakes by keeping cult
Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A—and What They're Testing Next (Part 2) with Harrison Thomas
Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. In Part 2 of our conversation, we go deep into how Beacon is operationalizing M&A. Harrison reveals how they reduced their request list by over 65%, why they require third parties to use their DealRoom, and how integration now begins before the deal is even signed. He also dives into the organization's AI roadmap, t
Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A with Harrison Thomas
Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. In Part 1 of our conversation with Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, we dive into how one of the largest providers of specialized behavioral health services is rethinking M&A using AI. Harrison shares why Beacon created a dedicated AI committee focused on improving every st
How to Break Into M&A: Lessons from Todd Manley Part 2
Todd Manley, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Intel In Part 2 of our conversation with Todd Manley, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Intel, we unpack how professionals from diverse backgrounds can successfully break into M&A and what it takes to build and maintain high-performing deal teams. Todd shares tactical advice on networking, career transitions, team dynamics, and leade
Build a Career in M&A: Lessons from Intel's Todd Manley
Todd Manley, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Intel In this episode, Todd Manley joins Kison Patel to share his non-traditional path into the world of M&A. Starting his career in IT and organizational behavior, Todd brings a unique lens to integration and leadership in corporate development. From his early consulting days to overseeing integrations at Cisco, Symantec, and now Intel, Todd
Buyer-Led vs. Seller-Led M&A with Matthew Person
Mathew Person, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Quikbase In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Kison Patel interviews Mathew Person, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Quickbase. Mathew brings a unique blend of operator, banker, and corp dev experience, making him a strategic leader in buyer-led M&A. Together, they dive deep into how to proactively structur
From Loom to Trello: How Atlassian Scales Through Smart M&A with Sarah Hughes
Sarah Hughes, Head of Corporate Development and Product Partnerships, Atlassian Uncover the inside workings of Atlassian's M&A strategy—from how Sarah's team sources deals and aligns with product to the importance of relationship-building and a structured, founder-first integration approach. With over seven years of experience leading corporate development at Atlassian, Sarah shares practical less
Building Trust in Acquisitions with Dan Pollock
Dan Pollock, Vice President of Corporate Development/M&A at SAM Companies Dan shares how he built SAM Companies' M&A function from the ground up—executing over 30 deals and transforming M&A into a strategic growth engine. Backed by Peak Rock Capital, SAM Companies focuses on acquiring founder-led geospatial and infrastructure services businesses. Dan dives deep into how he balances disciplined dil
How Blackstone is Unlocking Lasting Value Across Private Equity with Viral Patel
Viral Patel, CEO of Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Viral Patel unpacks how the firm is reshaping private equity for the next era. From launching new fund structures to leading thematic investments in sectors like electrification and AI infrastructure, Viral shares how Blackstone builds enduring value—and why alignment, data, and management fit are key to every deal. He also breaks down the
M&A Lawyers vs. Bankers: What's Changed and What Still Matters with Rob Kindler
Rob Kindler, Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Kison Patel sits down with Rob Kindler, a uniquely positioned dealmaker whose career has spanned both sides of the M&A table—law and investment banking. Rob previously led global M&A at Morgan Stanley and is now a senior partner at Paul Weiss. With 44 years of experience, he's seen fir
CEO Growth Strategy: How Culligan Scaled 300+ Acquisitions with Scott Clawson
Scott Clawson, CEO of Culligan International Scott Clawson turned Culligan from a legacy water treatment business into a $3.3 billion global platform operating in over 50 countries—powered by a programmatic M&A engine that has executed 300+ acquisitions. In this episode, he sits down with Kison to share exactly how that machine works. From beachside inspiration to building a decentralized deal eng
Fixing Broken Companies Through Smart Deals with Marc Bell Part 2
Marc Bell, CEO of Marc Bell Capital Marc Bell has taken 17 companies public, rebuilt distressed businesses, and invested across industries most wouldn't dare touch. In this follow-up to Part 1, he's back with sharp insights on what it really takes to run high-stakes deals—and survive them. Marc and Kison cover everything from building a rock-solid diligence process to choosing between private equi
Fixing Broken Companies Through Smart Deals with Marc Bell
Marc Bell, CEO of Marc Bell Capital Marc Bell is a self-described "deal junkie" who's built an empire across internet infrastructure, real estate, entertainment, defense, and private equity. In this episode, Marc breaks down his unconventional path—from turning around Penthouse into a $500M acquisition engine, to producing Tony Award-winning Broadway shows, to backing national security tech ventur
Inside Soundtrack's Roll-Up Strategy: Building a Global Leader in Background Music with Ola Sars
Ola Sars, Founder, CEO & Chairman of Soundtrack Your Brand In this episode of M&A Science, Ola Sars shares the story of his 20-year journey disrupting the music industry—first by co-founding Beats Music (later acquired by Apple), and now as the visionary behind Soundtrack Your Brand. Ola dives into the bold thesis that's guided his career, why he's pursuing a buyer-led M&A approach to consolidate
How to Build Better Deals: Sourcing and Integration with John Romeo
John Romeo, CEO of the Oliver Wyman Forum and Head of M&A at Oliver Wyman We sit down with John Romeo to explore Oliver Wyman's disciplined, strategic approach to M&A. Romeo shares how his team sources deals through a bespoke pipeline, aligns incentives with founder-led businesses, and plans integrations that prioritize people and long-term value creation. From cultural diligence to pricing discip
How to Get Investors Onboard: What Founders Need to Know Part 2 with Stew Campbell
Stew Campbell, Partner at The Chernin Group In Part 2, Stew Campbell returns to share tactical guidance for founders evaluating outside capital. We dive deep into how to run a founder-led investor process, what to watch for in term sheets, and how to build long-term wealth while scaling a founder-led business. Stew breaks down growth equity vs. private equity, investor diligence, and how to choos
Growth Equity vs. PE vs. VC: What Founders Need to Know Part 1 with Stew Campbell
Stew Campbell, Partner at The Chernin Group In this episode of M&A Science, host Kison Patel sits down with Stew Campbell to explore how growth equity supports founder-led companies beyond just capital. Stew shares lessons from his career helping businesses scale while preserving their culture and mission. They discuss how founders should think about their boards, when to consider a minority reca
How to Scale Global M&A with Culture, Strategy, and AI with Rob Brown, CEO of Lincoln International
Rob Brown, CEO of Lincoln International Explore how one of the world's top M&A advisory firms scales through acquisition. Rob shares his leadership journey, reveals how Lincoln actively manages culture during growth, and explains why integration starts from Day 1. Rob and Kison also dive into cross-border M&A, the rise of buyer-led strategies, and how AI is transforming the deal process. 💡What You
How Private Equity Firms Structure M&A Deals with Jon Dhanawade
Jon Dhanawade, Private Equity M&A Partner at Mayer Brown In this episode of M&A Science, Kison Patel sits down with Jon Dhanawade to unpack how private equity firms structure M&A deals—what works, what doesn't, and how to manage risk every step of the way. Jon brings legal insight from both sides of the table, sharing practical strategies for aligning deal terms with investment objectives, miti
Lessons from 90+ Deals: Questex CEO, Paul Miller on Cultural Fit, Value Creation & Post-Close Audits
Paul Miller, CEO of Questex Paul Miller joins us to share his extensive experience in M&A, having led more than 90 acquisitions throughout his career. Paul reveals how Questex uses a proactive, buyer-led approach focused on culture, strategic alignment, and integration discipline. The conversation dives into the importance of early relationship-building with potential targets, auditing post-close
How ZRG's CEO Built a 17-Deal M&A Engine with Larry Hartmann
Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG Partners Larry Hartman, CEO of ZRG Partners dives into aligning strategic M&A with scalable growth. Larry shares how he transformed ZRG into one of the fastest-growing executive search and talent advisory firms through 17 acquisitions in just four years. They break down how to compete with strategic buyers, incentivize founders post-close, maintain deal momentum, and cho
4 Ways to Grow a Multi-Site Business While Protecting Core Values with Clare Roberts
Clare Roberts OBE, Founder and CEO at Kids Planet In this episode of M&A Science, Clare Roberts shares her journey of founding Kids Planet and growing it into one of the UK's largest childcare providers with 225 nurseries. She reveals how she balanced organic growth with strategic acquisitions while staying true to her company's values. Clare discusses the importance of culture in M&A, managing se
Managing Risks and Liabilities in M&A with Tina Kassangana
Tina Kassangana, Corporate & M&A Lawyer, Associate at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP Tina Kassangana joins usto explore how legal counsel manages risk throughout the M&A lifecycle. With firsthand insight from a practicing M&A attorney, this conversation dives into the real-world complexities of diligence, purchase agreement structuring, reps and warranties, and navigating disputes post-close. Whether y
Buyer-Led M&A: How To with Carson Group's Michael Belloumini
Michael Belluomini, Senior Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions, Carson Group Kison sits down with Michael Belluomini to unpack how Carson Group scaled its M&A strategy—shifting from internal partner investments to sourcing proprietary external deals at volume. Michael shares tactical insights into managing concurrent transactions, building a sourcing engine, and executing with precision.
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