M&A Science

Episodes

M&A Roll-Up Playbook: How Zayo Did 45 Acquisitions and Returned 8.5x | Dan Caruso (Part 1)

April 2, 2026

Zayo founder Dan Caruso reveals his playbook for 45 acquisitions and an 8.5x return, detailing his contrarian thesis and buyer-led M&A tactics.

Partnering Before Purchasing: How Booz Allen Wins Proprietary Deals Early

March 19, 2026

Booz Allen's Chrissy Cox on winning proprietary deals through a partner-first, culture-led M&A strategy. Learn how to build trust and pipelines.

Cultural Fit Over EBITDA: How Salas O'Brien Built a 30-Merger Program Without a Single Failure

March 12, 2026

Salas O'Brien's M&A playbook: 30 deals in 3 years with 93% leadership retention by prioritizing cultural fit and partnerships over EBITDA.

Cross-Border M&A: How to Do Deals in Italy with Mauro Sambati and Donato Romano

March 5, 2026

Mastering cross-border M&A in Italy: Navigating Golden Power regulations, cultural nuances, and relationship-driven deal-making for success.

Four Questions That Defined a $1 Billion Deal with Robert Lovegrove

February 26, 2026

Learn how four critical questions defined a $1B deal. Robert Lovegrove shares Milliken's buyer-led M&A playbook for strategic transformation.

Stop Falling in Love with the Deal: Guardrails for High-Volume Acquisitions with Birgitta and Lars Elfversson

February 19, 2026

Experienced board advisors share guardrails for roll-up M&A: use strict frameworks, build massive pipelines, and master the people element.

The Next Chapter After 400 Episodes

February 16, 2026

M&A Science is evolving from a podcast into a platform to standardize buy-side M&A and democratize practitioner knowledge for all.

Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform Strategy Before You Sign Part 2 with Ciprian Stan

February 9, 2026

Master M&A integration by embedding it into strategy before you sign. Prioritize trust, tailor diligence, and establish non-negotiables.

Integration Focused M&A: Why Execution Should Inform Strategy Before You Sign

February 2, 2026

M&A expert Chiprian Stan shares why a proactive, buyer-led approach, early integration planning, and cultural alignment are critical for deal success.

How Experienced Buyers Actually Make M&A Work with Carlos Cesta

January 26, 2026

Corp dev veteran Carlos Cesta shares how to make M&A work by aligning strategy, deal structure, and integration in a dynamic 'spiral' model.

A Founder's Guide to Lean M&A Strategy with Christian Hassold

January 19, 2026

A founder's guide to lean M&A strategy. Learn a five-step framework for companies under 1,000 employees to drive successful acquisitions.

How Integration Debt, Cultural Friction, and Communication Failures Kill M&A Deals

January 12, 2026

M&A success hinges on managing integration debt, cultural friction, and communication. Learn why people and change management are key.

Why Integrations Break with Donara Jaghinyan

January 5, 2026

Unpacking M&A success: The IMO's role in diligence, carve-outs, TSA execution, and building a seamless 30-60-90 day integration plan.

Building Your M&A Reputation: Why Relationships Beat Transactions Every Time with Andrew Cohen

December 22, 2025

F5's M&A head Andy Cohen reveals his framework for proactive, relationship-driven deals, emphasizing empathy and internal alignment.

My Daughter Interviews Me About M&A | Holiday Special Episode with Shyla Patel

December 15, 2025

Traditional M&A is broken. Author Kison Patel introduces Buyer-Led M&A, a framework to proactively source deals and lead with integration.

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

December 8, 2025

Rockwell Automation's Sharon Van Zelen on engineering M&A success with data-driven cultural assessments and creative deal structuring.

Making M&A Boring (And Why That's a Good Thing) with Leon Brujis

December 1, 2025

65 Equity Partners' Leon Borges on non-control investing, the immigrant edge, and why embracing discomfort is key to value creation.

Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with Brandon Batt

November 24, 2025

Master M&A carve-outs. State Street's Keith Crawford shares insights on proactive sourcing, navigating dependencies, and early integration.

Strategic M&A Framework: IFS's Acquisition Playbook with Rachel Hindley

November 17, 2025

IFS's Rachel Hindley on navigating multi-PE ownership, M&A archetypes, and balancing strategy with integration for long-term value creation.

Mastering Carve-Out Transactions with Keith Crawford

November 10, 2025

Mastering M&A carve-outs. State Street's Keith Crawford shares his playbook for proactive sourcing, managing dependencies, & building alignment.

Integration-Led M&A: Cisco's Approach to Deal Success Part 2 with Johanna Jaakola and Tesia Hostetler

November 3, 2025

Cisco's M&A experts reveal their integration-led diligence model, from early thesis validation to surgical go-to-market execution.

Integration-Led Diligence: Cisco's M&A Approach with Johanna Jaakola & Tesia Hostetle

October 27, 2025

Cisco's secret to M&A success? Integration-led diligence. Learn how they planned the transformational Splunk deal from thesis to close.

When Integration Beats Roll-Ups with Tim Hall

October 20, 2025

PE expert Tim Hall unveils his independent sponsor playbook for executing successful roll-ups through disciplined integration & strategic alignment.

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

October 6, 2025

Snowflake's corp dev leader Stefan Williams on building an M&A muscle: start small, prioritize culture, and integrate ventures for growth.

Corporate Development Strategy: Notion's M&A Approach with Hilary Shirazi

September 30, 2025

Notion's M&A head Hilary Shirazi on building a strategy-led M&A function, using the "4 Ts" framework, and driving integration without an IMO.

How Corporate Venture Capital 2.0 is Reshaping M&A with Jennifer Miller

September 23, 2025

Oshkosh Corp's Jennifer Miller details the shift to CVC 2.0, prioritizing strategic innovation and partnerships over pure financial returns.

M&A Integration Reality: Deal Economics vs Human Dynamics with Nicole Markowski

September 16, 2025

Bridge deal economics and human dynamics with an integration-led approach to prevent value destruction and drive M&A success.