Podcast: Why Culture is a Major Success Factor in M&A

GPMIP Partner, Thomas Kessler, discusses culture as an essential success factor in M&A in this podcast.  Thomas looks at culture beyond being a success factor. In his experience, culture should be a key decision factor when acquiring.  He will present his view on how companies can incorporate culture during strategic selection and due diligence to ensure they are considering the impact of culture integration in the purchase decision.

His three tips for becoming more culturally competent are:

• Be open and listen actively. Take note of the other organisation’s culture.  What do you see? What do people talk about? What do they celebrate?
• Realize that culture is a major success factor when it comes to M&A’s. There are plenty of success stories (mentioned in the interview), but unfortunately, many failures.
• Have people on board in your organisation that act as “champions” so other people can see what they do, how they act, and in this way identify themselves with the desired (new) culture.