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PODCAST

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,

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All Episodes

53:53

CPG Due Diligence: The Operator Framework Behind a...

M&A Science ·

2026/04/23

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 Anheuser-Busch through the $52B InBev deal, president of Royal Canin USA for Mars, and the strategic

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58:01

400 Acquisitions and a Failed Process: What Happens...

M&A Science ·

2026/04/16

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 since closed 60+ acquisitions, integrating 100% from day of close. This conversation covers how he built

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01:07:37

M&A Roll-Up Playbook: How Zayo Did 45 Acquisitions...

M&A Science ·

2026/04/02

Dan Caruso, Managing Director, Caruso Ventures; Founding CEO of Zayo Group Dan Caruso built Zayo from a startup into an $8.5B 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 integration wasn't a reputation problem — it was a competitive advantage. He also breaks down the

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01:00:02

Cross-Border M&A: Doing Deals in Latin America

M&A Science ·

2026/03/26

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 actually determines outcomes: antitrust consent timelines, labor regimes that make post-close restructuring

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53:24

Partnering Before Purchasing: How Booz Allen Wins...

M&A Science ·

2026/03/19

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 Association for Corporate Growth, and under her leadership, roughly 80% of their acquisitions come from

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01:08:28

Cross-Border M&A: How to Do Deals in Italy with Mauro...

M&A Science ·

2026/03/05

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 what it truly takes to structure and close successful transactions in Italy. What You'll Learn in This

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44:24

Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform...

M&A Science ·

2026/02/09

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 conversation explores why cultural non-negotiables rarely surface through checklists, how trust shapes

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01:04:16

How Experienced Buyers Actually Make M&A Work with...

M&A Science ·

2026/01/26

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-side operator mindset to entrepreneurs preparing for exit. In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast,

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34:27

How Integration Debt, Cultural Friction, and...

M&A Science ·

2026/01/12

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 that surfaces in cross-border deals. Donara shares firsthand experiences navigating gender-based

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01:08:16

Building Your M&A Reputation: Why Relationships Beat...

M&A Science ·

2025/12/22

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

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01:07:26

My Daughter Interviews Me About M&A | Holiday Special...

M&A Science ·

2025/12/15

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 diligence (not after) determines deal success 🔹 How the five pillars of buyer-led M&A transform

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59:32

How to Score Culture Fit in M&A with Sharon Van Zeeland

M&A Science ·

2025/12/08

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

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57:34

Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with...

M&A Science ·

2025/11/24

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 acquisitions and divestitures. Learn why the secret to integration success isn't just about playbooks—it's about

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01:12:42

When Integration Beats Roll-Ups with Tim Hall

M&A Science ·

2025/10/20

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—not just aggregation—is the real value driver. He walks through building platforms from scratch, the

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55:46

Buyer-Led M&A™ Strategy at Snowflake with Stefan...

M&A Science ·

2025/10/06

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 the corporate development function from scratch to executing 20+ acquisitions while maintaining

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58:02

M&A Integration Reality: Deal Economics vs Human...

M&A Science ·

2025/09/16

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 concurrent deals. Things You'll Learn Why integration leaders must be involved in deal economics discussions

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59:04

Strategic M&A at Scale: Insight Partners' Buyer-Led...

M&A Science ·

2025/09/01

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 critical difference between types of M&A deals, and why strategy must drive every acquisition decision

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56:46

M&A in Healthcare with John Palusci

M&A Science ·

2025/07/21

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 he helped scale BAYADA’s deal strategy with a focus on long-term value, integration-led diligence, and

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45:44

How to Break Into M&A: Lessons from Todd Manley Part 2

M&A Science ·

2025/07/03

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 leadership traits he looks for when hiring M&A talent. Whether you’re early in your M&A career or looking to

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50:24

Build a Career in M&A: Lessons from Intel’s Todd Manley

M&A Science ·

2025/06/30

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 has seen it all. He opens up about what it really takes to thrive in M&A—from career pivots and

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368 results

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