M&A Science
M&A Science, hosted by Kison Patel (Founder & CEO of DealRoom), is your go-to podcast for mastering the art of mergers and acquisitions. Each week, Kison and his expert guests from leading brands like Xerox, FastLap, and Cisco dig deep into real-world M&A strategies, offering actionable insights to optimize your M&A practice. Whether you're an experienced practitioner or new to the field, M&A Science provides practical advice on key topics like sourcing, due diligence, integration, divestitures, and more. With over 300 episodes, this podcast is the premier thought leadership resource designed to streamline your deal-making process. Start listening...
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A Founder's Guide to Lean M&A Strategy with Christian Hassold
<p>Christian Hassold, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wpromote x Giant Spoon</p> <p>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 acquisition targets, explains why he interviews employees before talking to investors, and shares the fascinating story of acquiring a competitor that was shutting down—where culture assessment made all the difference. Christian also introduces his 5-p...
How Integration Debt, Cultural Friction, and Communication Failures Kill M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan
Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader <p >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 that surfaces in cross-border deals. Donara shares firsthand experiences navigating gender-based hierarchy in Middle Eastern TSA negotiations, building trust across geographies, and managing the communication breakdowns that create employee uncertainty. If you missed Part 1, listen to that first—then come back for the oper...
Why Integrations Break: TSAs, Carve-Outs, and the Hidden Dependencies That Derail M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan
Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader <p >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 implementations. This episode tackles the hard truths about carve-outs, TSA management, day-one readiness, and the cross-functional dependencies that most teams miss until it's too late. If you've ever wondered why integration timelines slip or costs balloon, this conversation delivers the answers.</p> <p > Things you...
Building Your M&A Reputation: Why Relationships Beat Transactions Every Time with Andrew Cohen
<p>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 conversation, he reveals why zero-sum thinking kills deals, how to convince people to sell without convincing them to sell, and why walking away on principle matters more than closing at any cost. </p> <p>Things you will learn: <...
My Daughter Interviews Me About M&A | Holiday Special Episode with Shyla Patel
<p>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:</p> Why integration planning during diligence (not after) determines deal success How the five pillars of buyer-led M&A transform reactive processes into strategic engines Why proactive deal sourcing beats bank-led auctions every time <p>____________________</p> <p >This episode is brought to you by S...
How to Score Culture Fit in M&A with Sharon Van Zeeland
<p>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, adaptability, and mission alignment. She also shares unconventional tactics for getting deals across the finish line, from negotiating hunting rights to sponsoring 4th of July parades, and explains why marrying your diligence and integration teams early is the secret to accelerating post-deal value creation.</p>...
Making M&A Boring (And Why That's a Good Thing) with Leon Brujis
<p>Leon Brujis, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. at 65 Equity Partners</p> <p>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 transactions. He also walks through his framework for negotiating term sheets and building relationships that span years before cutting checks north of $200 million.</p> Things You'll Learn Why non-control "partnership capital" allows PE firms to capture the alpha of founder-led companies...
Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with Brandon Batt
<p >Brandon Batt – Chief People and Transformation Officer at Quadient</p> <p>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 acquisitions and divestitures. Learn why the secret to integration success isn't just about playbooks—it's about building M&A muscle into your team from day one.</p> Things You'll Learn <p >Why hiring for M&A experience across your organization crea...
Strategic M&A Framework: IFS's Acquisition Playbook with Rachel Hindley
Rachel Hindley, Vice President of Corporate Development, IFS <p > 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 acquisition archetypes (product bolt-ons, customer migration, market entry, and new platforms), explains why integration and value creation must be separated, and reveals how the company is adapting its strategy for early-stage AI acquisitions. M&A professionals will learn how to build repe...
Mastering Carve-Out Transactions with Keith Crawford
Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation <p >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 sourcing and dependency mapping to navigating TSAs and post-close integration. He shares hard-won lessons on avoiding common pitfalls like scope creep, third-party contract renegotiations, and employee retention challenges that can derail even the most promising deals.</p> <p > Things You'll Le...
