The Execution Gurus chat with special guest Nate Raymond, who leads the IT Clean Teams practice at Credera - a technology consulting firm.  We discuss the essential strategic role IT plays in any successful acquisition and the importance of an IT clean team approach to pressure test valuation assumptions surrounding Information Technology in M&A deals.  Our exploration considers pitfalls and performance gaps and prescribes best practices that combine execution orientation with a precise methodology for validating IT synergies.  

How can the company turn difficult concepts into easy-to-understand ideas that drive meaningful outcomes and actions?

The Execution Gurus interview one of our distinguished collaborators - Bob Gourley - the former CTO and Head of Cyber for the Defense Intelligence Agency and a recognized thought leader in technology and cyber security who has advised many companies on cyber matters.  We chat with Bob in the studio about strategies for quelling rising anxiety around cyber threats for boards, investors, and c-teams in companies planning for or in the midst of strategic change or global initiatives, such as a merger integration. Bob shares essential guidance for such situations that will help keep strategic initiatives on track by avoiding cyber pitfalls and establishing effective cyber planning and mitigation. Look for more upcoming interview podcasts with other well-known Execution Gurus collaborators.  If you find the Strategic Execution podcast useful, please give a "thumbs up" on whichever media platform you heard us on.  As always, thanks for listening!

Use of a forward-looking approach, tools, and methods can improve the value and impact of dialog between the board and the senior executive while enhancing the success of strategic execution initiatives. There are two important constructs that must be activated.

In this week's Strategic Execution podcast, we examine the integration of functions during a merger, how the type of merger factors into synergy expectations, and the two types of integration approaches for functions.  We cover the impacts - positive and negative - of the two approaches and discuss how these played out in real world examples from our work leading mergers and acquisition support on behalf of boards and investors.

In today's inaugural Strategic Execution podcast from the Execution Gurus, we explore how to gauge whether or not a CEO has what it takes to successfully oversee a merger in an investor-driven company.  We touch on the key characteristics investors and boards should be evaluating, the potential impact of failing to make a solid assessment early on, and some examples from our own real world experience leading mergers and acquisitions on behalf of boards and investors.