LEGO's CEO notes that absorbing new hires into the culture at its established HQ is easy due to the high density of tenured "culture carriers." The real challenge is scaling culture in new, specialized hubs, which requires a much more deliberate effort because that organic cultural osmosis is absent.

Rather than choosing a headquarters based on financial hubs like London, Pacific Avenue based its main European office in Paris. This decision was driven entirely by the location of the specific, highly sought-after individual they hired to lead their European efforts after an 18-month search, prioritizing key talent over geography.

Implement a "buddy system" during integration by pairing an employee from the acquirer with their counterpart at the target. This provides a personal, concierge-like welcome and a go-to resource for questions, dramatically easing the transition and fostering a feeling of being expected and valued.

To ensure cultural consistency while scaling, A16Z codifies its values in a document that every new hire must sign. This is followed by a personal one-hour briefing from a co-founder, making the culture explicit and non-negotiable from day one.

The cultural gap between a domestic remote and an international remote team is much smaller than the gap between in-person and remote work. Effective global culture relies on the same principles as any remote team: solid communication, regular check-ins, and finding common ground.

To ensure a smooth cultural and operational merger, PNC sends experienced branch managers from across the country to sit with employees of an acquired bank for weeks. This hands-on "branch buddy" approach helps transfer tacit knowledge, train on new systems, and build essential relationships.

During a merger, prioritize people over process. Technical integration is secondary to building trust between teams. Use simple, cultural activities like joint happy hours and "show-and-tells" about the tech stack to humanize the engineering effort and foster empathetic collaboration early on.

To make a split US/UK leadership team work, Enara Bio's CEO focuses on creating a deep "sense of belonging" for remote executives. This goes beyond logistics and time zones. The core challenge is making geographically distant leaders feel fully integrated, empowered, and part of the company's fabric from day one.

European firm Permira successfully entered the US not by just opening an office, but by relocating its top talent, empowering local decision-making, and accepting years of minimal activity to build relationships and market knowledge before scaling.