Steering Committee

A Steering Committee provides guidance and oversight to the integration effort, approves plans, allocates the necessary resources to the integration, reviews progress, and resolves cross-functional disputes whenever a major impasse is reached at lower levels. Members of the Committee also pick strategic points throughout the integration to kick off meetings and demonstrate their support.

The M&A Integration Steering Committee is typically comprised of C-level executives from both the acquiring and acquired organizations.

This section of the web site covers many of the decisions that a Steering Committee should make early in the integration process. The initial direction provided by the Steering Committee aligns teams on objectives before detailed planning begins.

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Steering Committee Decisions

Guiding Principles

Steering Committee Decisions

Global Steering Committee M&A Integration Planning

Global Steering Committee M&A Integration Planning

Meeting Objectives

Review and agree on the:

  • Role of the Integration Steering Committee
  • Role of the Integration Manager
  • Integration Team Structure
  • Integration Value Drivers Integration
  • Guiding Principles
  • Non-Negotiables
  • Integration Approach. . .
Steering Committee Roles and Responsibilities

Steering Committee Roles and Responsibilities

The Steering Committee is typically comprised of senior-level executives. The size of the committee will vary depending on the importance, scope, and complexity of the integration.

The Steering Committee:

  • Makes foundational decisions: Specifies the integration’s objectives, success metrics, assumptions, and non-negotiables...
M&A Integration Strategy: Presentation to Board of Directors

M&A Integration Strategy: Presentation to Board of Directors

Prepared by Steering Committee and IMO

Topics

Integration Team Structure
Team Targets
The Challenge
Integration Team Mission
Improving Financial Performance ...
Post-Merger Integration Strategy and Teams

Post-Merger Integration Strategy and Teams

Agenda

  • Integration Guiding Principles
  • High-Level Integration Plan
  • Integration Milestones on Timeline
  • Value Drivers
  • Governance Structure
  • Governance Teams
  • Steering Committee Roles & Responsibilities
  • IMO Roles & Responsibilities. . .
15 Areas Executives Should Agree On Before Integration Planning

15 Areas Executives Should Agree on Before Integration Planning Begins

Integration teams need clear direction in 15 areas before they begin detailed planning.

When M&A integration teams begin planning without clarity from top management, they are more likely to make the wrong assumptions, draw different conclusions, and veer off on tangents.
M&A Presentation Template

M&A Presentation Template: Strategy and Structure

Understanding the Deal 4 S’s

  • Strategy for the deal
  • Synergy for the companies
  • Structure of the deal
  • Steps for the M&A integration …
Steering Committee M&A Integration Initial Decisions

Steering Committee M&A Integration Initial Decisions

Agenda

Guiding Principles
End States
Priorities
Non-Negotiables
Risks
End State Cover

End State Post-Merger Vision

Agenda

End State Vision for: 

  • Company
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Purchasing
  • Manufacturing
  • Customer Support
  • Engineering
  • Administration . . .
M&A Integration End States

M&A Integration End States

What the organization will look like at the conclusion of the integration.

End states involve big questions (usually initially defined by executives) to provide direction to the functional teams such as:  

  • What functions will you integrate now, later, or preserve indefinitely?
  • What IT systems will you use in the short-term and what ones will use down the road . . .
M&A Integration Success Metrics

M&A Integration Success Metrics

Agenda

  • Success Metrics 
  • Sales and Costs
  • Retention and Company Image
  • Internal Communications and Training

Guiding Principles

M&A Integration Guiding Principles: Examples from 5 Deals

M&A Integration Guiding Principles: Examples from 5 Deals

Executives agree on a set of principles that will help direct the actions of integration teams such as:

  • Who makes the final call if and when any impasse is reached?
  • Which, if any, integration methodology will be followed?
  • How fast will the integration proceed?
  • How open will communications be?
10 M&A Integration Guiding Principles

10 M&A Integration Guiding Principles

First 3 of 10 Guiding Principles

  1. The transaction will benefit customers and the community
  2. All stakeholders will contribute; Acquirer is accountable and responsible for all decisions
  3. Integration leadership is committed to providing:
  • Transparency and predictability
  • Clarity, direction, and decisions
  • Consistency across the program