How Experienced Buyers Actually Make M&A Work with Carlos Cesta
M&A Science
M&A isn’t just about closing deals, it’s about making the deal actually work. , 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, Carlos Cesta, Partner at Makanta Services, breaks down how seasoned buyers really think about M&A. Not as a linear process, but...
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A Founder's Guide to Lean M&A Strategy with Christian Hassold
M&A Science
, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wpromote x Giant Spoon 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...
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How Integration Debt, Cultural Friction, and Communication Failures Kill M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan
M&A Science
– Transformation and Integration Leader , 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...
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Why Integrations Break: TSAs, Carve-Outs, and the Hidden Dependencies That Derail M&A Deals with Donara Jaghinyan
M&A Science
– Transformation and Integration Leader 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...
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Building Your M&A Reputation: Why Relationships Beat Transactions Every Time with Andrew Cohen
M&A Science
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. ...
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My Daughter Interviews Me About M&A | Holiday Special Episode with Shyla Patel
M&A Science
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 reactive processes into strategic engines Why proactive deal sourcing beats bank-led...
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How to Score Culture Fit in M&A with Sharon Van Zeeland
M&A Science
, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rockwell Automation 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...
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Making M&A Boring (And Why That’s a Good Thing) with Leon Brujis
M&A Science
, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. at 65 Equity Partners 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. Things You'll Learn Why non-control "partnership capital"...
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Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with Brandon Batt
M&A Science
– Chief People and Transformation Officer at Quadient 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. Things You'll Learn Why hiring for M&A experience...
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Strategic M&A Framework: IFS's Acquisition Playbook with Rachel Hindley
M&A Science
, Vice President of Corporate Development, IFS 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...
info_outlineChristian Hassold, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wpromote x Giant Spoon
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-pillar lean M&A framework and explains why "commit to close" doesn't mean ignoring red flags, but rather cataloging them until you have enough evidence that culture fit is fundamentally broken.
Things You'll Learn
- Why interviewing employees before investors reveals the real culture story—and the specific red flags that signal a deal should stop
- How to distinguish between fixable cultural friction and fundamental misalignment that will crater post-merger integration
- The "commit to close" philosophy that balances conviction with cataloging red flags—knowing when three strikes means you walk away
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Episode Chapters
[00:03:00] The Entrepreneur's Path to Corporate Development – How building and selling three companies shaped Christian's view on culture fit
[00:10:30] Three Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Deal – Why assuming nothing about culture and motivations is critical [00:13:00] The Lean M&A Framework for Culture Assessment – Five pillars that put people and culture at the center of deal evaluation
[00:16:00] Deep Dive the Business: Beyond Numbers – Why talking to customers and employees reveals culture gaps before they kill deals
[00:22:30] Commit to Close vs. Catalog Red Flags – When dishonesty, fraud, or culture misalignment should stop a deal immediately
[00:27:00] Culture as the Ultimate Deal-Breaker – The difference between management style preferences and irreconcilable cultural dysfunction
[00:31:00] Post-Merger Integration Starts Day One – Why the PMI team needs a front-row seat on culture assessment from the IOI forward
[00:54:30] The Hub Logics Story: Interviewing Employees First – How Christian uncovered the real reasons a competitor failed by talking to the team
Questions, comments, concerns?
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